Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515

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Earth and Planetary Science Letters

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / e p s l

Rapid transition to long-lived deep crustal magmatic maturation and the formation
of giant porphyry-related mineralization (Yanacocha, Peru)
Massimo Chiaradia , Daniel Merino, Richard Spikings
Department of Mineralogy, University of Geneva, Rue des Marachers 13, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The Yanacocha magmatic eld (northern Peru) hosts the largest high suldation gold deposit on Earth.
Received 6 July 2009 Mineralization is associated with porphyritic intrusions distributed along a NE-trending magmatic structural
Received in revised form 29 September 2009 corridor. Eight of these intrusions investigated in this study range in age from 12.4 to 8.4 Ma and show
Accepted 8 October 2009
systematic chemical and isotopic changes through time. They are interpreted to derive from hydrous mac
Available online 7 November 2009
magmas evolving through amphiboleclinopyroxene garnet fractionation and lower crust melting (leaving
Editor: R.W. Carlson a garnet residue) at deeper levels, which led to variably strong adakite-like signatures, and through
plagioclaseamphibole fractionation at shallower levels, both accompanied by crustal assimilation and
Keywords: recharge (recharge assimilation fractional crystallization, RAFC, processes). Systematic geochemical and
Yanacocha isotopic changes with intrusion ages, coupled with plagioclase zoning and amphibole geobarometry, suggest
magmatism that the evolution of the magmatic system occurred through interaction of mantle-derived melts with an
adakite-like increasing length of the crustal column and propagation from deep towards shallower crustal levels through
gold time. This was probably the result of a steadily increasing compression that has progressively slowed down
geochronology
magma ascent forcing magmas to evolve at a series of intermediate level chambers between the lower and
radiogenic isotopes
upper crust. Increased compression might have been related to the onset of subduction of the buoyant Inca
oceanic plateau, estimated to occur at 12 Ma, i.e., the same time of the onset of the rapid transition from
normal to adakite-like signatures. The giant Yanacocha ore system developed in coincidence with the
3.64.0 Ma-long intrusion of the adakite-like magmas (12.4/12.08.4 Ma) formed by the above processes
into a small upper crustal volume and peaked during the last 2.4 Ma (10.88.4 Ma) of magmatic activity
after a 1.4 Ma long (12.411.0 Ma) maturation of magmas at deep crustal levels. Further investigation is
needed to understand whether the association of adakite-like magmas with ore, which is typical of other
giant porphyry-systems, is the result of the build-up of incompatible volatiles and metals in oxidized
magmas that evolve under high-pressure conditions, of recycling of lower crustal sulde-rich cumulates,
and/or of a long-lived, focused transfer of magmas from deep to shallow crustal levels.
2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction twofold: on one hand the genesis of adakite-like rock is controversial;

Porphyry-type deposits are clustered in time and space reecting
the transitory concomitance of magmatic, hydrothermal and tectonic
processes occurring at convergent margins (e.g., Richards, 2003). It
would be advantageous for scientic and mineral exploration
purposes to identify geological features that are diagnostic of these
genetically related processes. An expanding amount of literature over
the previous decade reports the occurrence of magmatic rocks with
geochemical features of adakites (or adakite-like; i.e., high Sr/Y, low
Yb) in association with major porphyry CuAu and porphyry-related
epithermal deposits (e.g., Thiblemont et al., 1997; Sajona and Maury,
1998), and a scientic debate has developed about this question (e.g.,
Oyarzun et al., 2001; Rabbia et al., 2002; Richards, 2002). The debate is
Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 22 379 6634; fax: +41 22 379 3210.
E-mail address: Massimo.Chiaradia@unige.ch (M. Chiaradia).
on the other the meaning itself of the association of porphyry-type
deposits with adakite-like rocks is debated.
Rocks with adakite-like features are considered to be the result of
either slab melting and slab melt-mantle wedge interactions (Kay, 1978;
Defant and Drummond, 1990; Kay et al., 1993; Yogodzinski et al., 1995;
Abratis and Wrner, 2001), of mac lower crust melting (Atherton and
Petford, 1993; Petford and Gallagher, 2001; Chung et al., 2003), or of high-
pressure fractional crystallization accompanied or not by melting and
assimilation of lower crust (Castillo et al., 1999; Macpherson et al., 2006;
Davidson et al., 2007; Chiaradia et al., 2009). Discrimination between
these processes is not straightforward, which has led to controversy on the
origin of rocks with adakite-like signatures in many Phanerozoic arc
systems. The debated origin of these rocks has propagated into contrasting
models explaining the mechanisms of the association between adakite-
like rocks and porphyry-type deposits in various Phanerozoic arc
environments and post-collisional zones (Kay and Mpodozis, 2001;
Mungall, 2002; Richards, 2003, 2009; Chiaradia etal., 2004; Richards and

0012-821X/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2009.10.012
506 M. Chiaradia et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515
Kerrich, 2007). Any hypothesis accounting for the relationships between
adakite-like rocks and porphyry-type deposits should be based on a
thorough petrogenetic study that is tightly coupled with the temporal
evolution of magmatic rocks and their relationships with mineralization
(e.g., Rohrlach and Loucks, 2005; Jones, 2006).
We report new geochronologic, geochemical and isotopic data from
adakite-like porphyritic rocks associated with the giant high-suldation
system of Yanacocha, northern Peru, the world's largest gold deposit of
this type. Our study addresses specic questions to contribute to the
debated link between adakite-like signatures and porphyry-type
deposits: (i) how do adakite-like magmas relate temporally to normal
arc magmas; (ii) what is the temporal relationship between adakite-like
rocks and ore; (iii) what is the geodynamic meaning of adakite-like
rocks? Geochronology, geochemistry and isotopic signatures have been
combined to show that a rapid geochemical transition from normal to
adakite-like signatures occurred between 12.4 and 12.0 Ma in the
Yanacocha magmatic system. This transition was caused by a slow-down
of magma ascent, probably due to increased compression, which
resulted in magmas evolving at and interacting with various levels of
the crustal column in a sort of crustal distillation process. The bulk of the
mineralization occurred in coincidence with the ensuing 3.64.0 Ma-
long (12.4/12.08.4 Ma) period of such a magmatic maturation, through
recharge assimilation fractional crystallization (RAFC) and crustal
melting at variably deep crustal levels, and peaked in coincidence with
the last 2.4 Ma (10.88.4 Ma: Longo, 2005) of such evolution.
2. Geological setting
2.1. Cenozoic magmatism in northern Peru
Yanacocha is situated in the Cajamarca region, northern Peru (Fig. 1a),
where Cenozoic volcanism (Cobbing et al., 1981; Noble et al., 1990;
Turner, 1997; Noble and McKee, 1999; Benavides-Cacres, 1999) occurred
following the Incaic I (5955 Ma: Llama and Calipuy volcanic sequences
starting at 55 Ma) and Incaic II (44 Ma: Porculla, 39 Ma, and Huambos
Formation, 35.4 Ma) orogenies. After a period of quiescence in the
Oligocene, during which magmatism migrated southward (Noble and
McKee, 1999), volcanism resumed after the Quechua I deformation phase
(23 Ma) with the development of the Miocene arc in the Yanacocha
area. Conglomerates, volcaniclastic rocks and air-fall tuffs (Chala
sequence: 23.2 Ma) were deposited unconformably over the Huambos
Formation (Noble et al., 1990). Early Miocene andesite lava ows and
lahars occurred between 19.5 and 16.0 Ma and were covered by an
extensive sequence of dacite tuffs and accompanying lahars at 15.5 Ma
(Longo, 2005). Volcanism continued during the Middle and Late Miocene
with the eruption of the Yanacocha Volcanic Field (14.5 to 8.4 Ma: Longo,
2005; this study). At 8.4 Ma arc volcanism ceased with the initiation of
at-slab tectonics and associated volcanic gap from 2S to 15S (Gutscher
et al., 1999).
2.2. Geology of the Yanacocha area
Lower Cretaceous quartzite and minor siltstone are the oldest exposed
rocks and crop out in the central and western parts of the Yanacocha
district (Wilson, 1984) (Fig. 1b). Middle Cretaceous grey limestones
intercalated with minor limey shale and siltstone beds are exposed in the
eastern part of the district (Fig. 1b). Volcanic rocks deposited above the
basement are subdivided into the Lower Andesite Sequence (LAS),
Yanacocha Pyroclastic Sequence (YPS) and Upper Andesite Sequence
(UAS) (Bell et al., 2004). The LAS (19.513.3 Ma: Longo, 2005) includes
andesitic lava ows, tuffs, pyroclastic breccias, lahars and debris ows.
The YPS, which crops out in the central part of the Yanacocha district,
consists of various crystal and lithic tuff units. The UAS consists of the
Maqui Maqui ignimbrite, the Upper Pyroxene Hornblende Andesite
(12.1 0.10 11.7 0.07: Longo, 2005), and the Upper Crystal-Lithic
Ignimbrite (12.6 0.05 12.4 0.10 Ma: Longo, 2005).
The Cretaceous basement rocks and the entire volcanic pile are
intruded by multiple phases of porphyritic rocks in the form of stocks,
plugs and dikes feeding volcanic domes (Loayza, 2002; Longo, 2005; this
study) along a NE-trending magmaticstructural corridor. From south-
west to northeast, the main porphyritic intrusions are (Fig. 1b): Cerro
Negro, Cerro Quilish, El Tapado, Yanacocha Oeste, Yanacocha Norte,
Yanacocha Sur and Cerro Encajon.
These intrusions range in composition from andesite to rhyolite and
are characterized by porphyritic textures with 20 to 40% phenocrysts in
an aplitic to aphanitic groundmass. Phenocrysts are plagioclase, horn-
blende and pyroxene with biotite, quartz and K-feldspar phenocrysts
becoming abundant in the more felsic compositions. Most of the
plagioclase phenocrysts show inverse zoning with anorthite-, Sr-, and
Fe-richer rims overgrowing rounded cores with patchy or concentric
zoning or with sieve textures, suggesting the occurrence of recharge by
more mac magmas (Merino, 2009). Porphyritic intrusions also contain
small enclaves of metamorphic rocks (e.g., sillimanite-bearing gneiss)
and mac cumulate rocks.
2.3. Mineralization
Yanacocha is South America's largest gold district and the world's
largest high-suldation gold district. It has produced more than 10Moz Au
and contains at least 32.6Moz Au reserves in the oxidized portion alone
(Ca. de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A., annual report 2002). Mineralization
consists of various high-suldation ore deposits occurring in zones of
intense silicication, advanced argillic, argillic and propylitic alteration,
that are distributed, together with associated intrusive porphyritic rocks,
along the NE-trending magmatic-structural corridor (Fig. 1b).
The location of the deposits is controlled by NE and NW structural
intersections at the district scale and by NE, NW and extensional EW
faults at the deposit scale (Fig. 1b). Lithologic control is very
important in most deposits, where mineralisation occurs in the
more porous and permeable rocks, such as crystal and lithic tuffs.
Hydrothermal breccia and dome as well as breccia diatreme margins
control the localisation of gold, especially high-grade (Au > 1 ppm), in
many deposits (Turner, 1997; Bell et al., 2004; Longo, 2005).
3. Analytical techniques
Major and trace element geochemical analyses of 12 powdered
porphyritic rocks from eight intrusions (Quilish andesite, El Tapado
dacite, Yanacocha Oeste dacite, Yanacocha Oeste rhyolite, Yanacocha
Norte dacite, Yanacocha Sur andesite, Yanacocha Sur rhyolite, Encajon
dacite) and one andesitic dome (Cerro Pampa Negro, CPN) were carried
out at Lausanne University (Switzerland). Radiogenic isotope (Sr, Nd, Pb)
analyses on the same rocks were carried out at Geneva University
(Switzerland), together with UPb dating of zircon by isotope dilution
thermal ionization mass spectrometry and 40Ar/39Ar dating of horn-
blende and biotite of ve porphyritic rocks (Table 1). Details of the
methods are provided in the Electronic Supplementary Material
(Techniques_ESM; Tables ESM1 and ESM2).
4. Results
4.1. Geochronology
UPb and 40Ar/39Ar radiometric ages obtained in this study on ve
porphyritic intrusions are summarized in Table 1 and illustrated in Figs. 2
and ESM1 (for a complete presentation of data refer to Tables ESM1 and
ESM2). These ages are integrated with 40Ar/39Ar radiometric dates of
Noble et al. (1990), Turner (1997) and Longo (2005) for the remaining
porphyritic intrusions and the CPN andesitic dome that we have
geochemically and isotopically characterized in this study (Table 1).
Because of the limited number of dates obtained on each one
of the investigated intrusions, an exhaustive geochronologic
 M. Chiaradia et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515 507

Fig. 1. A. Geodynamic setting of northern Peru and Ecuador showing topographic features of the subducting Nazca plate. Also shown are the positions of the inferred Inca oceanic plateau at
the present time (from Gutscher et al., 1999) and at 1012 Ma (from Rosenbaum et al., 2005), when the giant Yanacocha ore deposit started to form. B. Simplied geological map of the
Yanacocha area (modied after Longo, 2005), showing the ages (in italic) of the investigated intrusions. Abbreviations: Y. =Yanacocha; PCN= Pampa Cerro Negro.

characterization of the latter is beyond the scope of this study.
Nonetheless, the concordance of the UPb and 40Ar/39Ar dates
obtained on the same intrusions (Table 1) gives us condence about
intrusion age accuracy and allows characterization of the temporal
evolution of the Yanacocha magmatic system at the time scale
discussed below.
Three single zircon grains were analyzed from a decimetre-sized
porphyritic dacite clast collected within a mineralized diatreme
breccia in Yanacocha Oeste (sample DM002). All three are discordant
with 238U/206Pb ages of 37, 112 and 149 Ma (Table 1). These data
reveal the presence of an inherited component in these zircons,
derived from the underlying basement.
Two single zircon grains were analyzed from the porphyritic dacite
of Cerro Encajon (DM008). Both zircons are concordant with ages of
10.72 and 10.37 Ma (Fig. 2). The older concordant age compares well
with the biotite 40Ar/39Ar plateau age obtained from the same sample
(10.62 0.15 Ma: Fig. ESM1a), implying that the younger UPb age is
likely affected by slight Pb loss.
Three single zircon grains from the porphyritic dacite of El Tapado
(DM019) yield concordant ages of 11.06, 11.08 and 11.38 Ma (Fig. 2).
508 M. Chiaradia et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515

Table 1
Summary of ages of intrusive rocks in the Yanacocha District obtained in this study and from references cited.
238
Intrusion Sample dated UPb zircon U/206Pb age of 40Ar/39Ar age Mineral dated Reference Additional samples with
(this study) concordant age (Ma) 2a discordant zircon (Ma) 2 by 40Ar/39Ar geochemical data (this study)

Cerro Quilish andesite DM014 (z1) 45.5 This study DM016, DM017
DM014 (z2) 12.41 0.02b This study
DM014 (z3) 14.49 0.02c This study
Pampa Cerro Negro 12.01 0.10 to Plagioclase Longo DM018
andesite 11.68 0.07 (2005)
Yanacocha hornblende 12.09 0.06 Hornblende Noble et al. DM004, DM005
porphyry (1990)
El Tapado dacite DM019 (z1) 11.06 0.02b 11.06 0.67 Hornblende This study DM020
DM019 (z2) 11.09 0.24c This study
DM019 (z3) 11.38 0.25c This study
Encajon dacite DM008 (z1) 10.72 0.02b 10.62 0.15 Biotite This study
DM008 (z2) 10.37 0.02d This study
Yanacocha Oeste dacite 9.91 0.04 Biotite Longo DM021, DM022
(2005)
Yanacocha Norte dacite 9.90 0.05 Biotite Turner DM012
(1997)
Yanacocha Oeste rhyolite DM001 8.59 0.14 Biotite This study
Yanacocha Sur rhyolite 8.40 0.06 Biotite Turner DM024
(1997)
Yanacocha Oeste: dacite DM002 (z1) 149.5 This study
clast in diatreme breccia DM002 (z2) 112.6 This study
DM002 (z3) 37.5 This study

Abbreviations: z1, 2, 3 = zircon single grain n. 1, 2, 3.

a
Includes decay constant uncertainties.
b
Preferred UPb crystallization age.
c
Antecryst or old autocryst.
d
Pb loss?.

All these concordant ages are within the error of the hornblende 40Ar/
39
Ar plateau age of 11.06 0.67 Ma (Fig. ESM1b). The youngest age
should approach more closely the crystallization age of the latest
autocrysts (see also Schaltegger et al., 2009). The older concordant
ages might be inherent to the 0.0X0.X Ma lifetime of individual
magma batches (e.g., Schaltegger et al., 2009) or represent recycled
xenocrysts from the plutonic roots of the magmatic system.
Of the three zircon crystals from the porphyritic andesite of Cerro
Quilish (DM014), one yielded a concordant age of 12.41 Ma (Fig. 2). A
second zircon grain yielded a concordant age of 14.49 but with an
MSWD of 3.1 (Table 1) and a third one was discordant with a 238U/
206
Pb age of 45.4 Ma (Table 1). The youngest concordant age of
12.41 Ma overlaps with hydrothermal activity recorded at Cerro
Quilish at 12.64 0.61 Ma by alunite 40Ar/39Ar dating (Longo, 2005)
and can be considered as the closest to the age of latest autocryst
crystallization.
The Yanacoha Oeste rhyolite has been dated in the present study
by 40Ar/39Ar on biotite at 8.59 0.14 Ma (Fig. ESM1c). The other
porphyritic intrusions investigated in the present study for geochem-
istry and isotopic compositions have been dated by the 40Ar/39Ar
method in the frame of previous studies (Table 1).
Overall, porphyritic intrusions investigated in this study span a
time range between 12.4 and 8.4 Ma, which is within the time range
of extrusive rocks (Longo, 2005) and, similar to the latter, show ages
decreasing northeastward (Fig. 1b). Crystallization and/or cooling
ages of these magmas overlap with 40Ar/39Ar ages of hydrothermal
activity (13.68.2 Ma) and bulk ore deposition (10.88.4 Ma) (Longo,
2005), supporting a direct link between magmatic activity and
mineralization.

4.2. Geochemistry

The porphyritic intrusive rocks and the CPN andesitic dome

Fig. 2. UPb concordant ages (errors include decay constant uncertainties for comparison
with 40Ar/39Ar ages) for single zircon grains of three porphyritic intrusions of the Yanacocha
district. All concordant ages obtained in this study are plotted (see Table 1) except that of
zircon DM014 (z3), which yields a concordant age of 14.490.02 Ma with an MSWD of 3.1
and a very low probability of concordance (0.08). The Concordia is plotted as two separate
lines to account for 2 uncertainties in the decay constants.
investigated in this study range in composition from andesite/trachyan-
desite, through dacite/trachydacite to rhyolite (according to the TAS
classication scheme of Le Bas et al., 1986). Their Fe2O3, MgO, TiO2, CaO,
P2O5, Sc and V contents decrease with increasing SiO2 (Figs. 3a and ESM2).
K2O contents steadily increase, whereas Al2O3 (and Na2O) display no clear
correlations with SiO2 (Fig. ESM2). Sr concentrations increase for SiO2
values between 60 and 64 wt.% and then decrease, but are generally high
(6001100 ppm: Fig. ESM2). Y occurs at low levels (10 ppm) in all
rocks, except the Cerro Quilish andesite (Table 2).
Sr/Y and La/Yb systematically increase with SiO2 except for the most
evolved rocks (Figs. 3b and ESM2). LREE/MREE (e.g. La/Gd) values also
increase with SiO2 suggesting fractionation of MREE-bearing minerals
 M. Chiaradia et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515
Fig. 3. Fe2O3, Sr/Y and Gd/Yb versus SiO2 plots for porphyritic rocks of Yanacocha. Rocks
of broadly similar ages are contoured to show systematic geochemical variations with
decreasing age. For a discussion see text. Additional plots of major elements, trace
elements and trace element ratios versus SiO2 are reported in the Electronic
Supplementary Material (Fig. ESM2).
(i.e., amphibole and clinopyroxene). MREE/HREE (e.g. Gd/Yb), which is a
proxy for differentiating amphibole from garnet fractionation, increases
with SiO2 values up to 65 wt.% SiO2, and then decreases for higher SiO2
following the same trend as Sr/Y and La/Yb (Fig. 3c). Zr/Sm, a proxy for
the fractionation of low Mg# amphibole (Foley et al., 2002), like that
occurring in the majority of andesitic to dacitic rocks of Yanacocha
(Merino, 2009), displays a continuous increase with SiO2 (Fig. ESM2).
Geochemical indices vary systematically also with intrusion ages (Fig. 3).
509
Compared to primitive mantle values the intrusive rocks are enriched
in large ion lithophile elements (LILE: Sr, K, Rb, and Ba), depleted in high
eld strength elements (HFSE), and yield Nb and Ta negative anomalies
(Fig. ESM3). Chondrite-normalized REE patterns are characterized by
variably strong fractionation between LREE and HREE (LaN/YbN = 825)
and by the absence of negative Eu anomalies (Fig. 4).
4.3. Isotope geochemistry
The porphyritic rocks of the Yanacocha district investigated in this
study show limited variations of Nd and Sr isotopic compositions
(143Nd/144Nd = 0.51263 to 0.51278; 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7045 to 0.7051),
which correspond to mixed crustmantle contributions. Despite the
small variability, both Sr and Nd isotopes of the porphyritic rocks
correlate very well with evolution indices. Isotopic signatures become
steadily more evolved (lower 143Nd/144Nd and higher 87Sr/86Sr) going
from andesite to rhyolite (Fig. 5a and ESM4). 87Sr/86Sr values regularly
increase also with increasing Sr/Y except for the most evolved rhyolitic
rocks (Fig. 5b). 87Sr/86Sr values correlate with increasing Sr contents
for rocks with SiO2 concentrations up to 64 wt.% and with decreasing
Sr concentrations for rocks with higher SiO2 contents (Fig. ESM4). In
contrast, 87Sr/86Sr values correlate with continuously increasing Zr/Sm
values (Fig. ESM4). Pb isotope data of the magmatic rocks show a broad
range of values, due in particular to the non-radiogenic signature of
sample DM001 (Table 2; Fig. ESM4). They also suggest mixed mantle
crust sources, but, different from Sr and Nd isotopes, do not show clear
trends with magmatic evolution indices.
5. Discussion
5.1. Petrogenesis
The porphyritic rocks of Yanacocha display typical features of
subduction-related magmas (Nb and Ta negative anomalies, LREE
enrichments). Decreases of Fe2O3, TiO2, CaO, P2O5, V, and Sc with SiO2
suggest fractionation of clinopyroxene, FeTi-oxides and apatite. Frac-
tionation of (low Mg#) amphibole is supported by steadily increasing Zr/
Sm with SiO2, in addition to the occurrence of abundant amphibole
phenocrysts. Garnet fractionation (either as a crystallizing magmatic
phase or as a residual phase: see below) is suggested by increasing Gd/Yb
with SiO2 (up to 64 wt.% SiO2) and by the overall low HREE contents of the
rocks. Modelling shows that a parent magma equivalent to the most
primitive andesite of Cerro Quilish (DM017) reproduces the REE patterns
of all other intrusive rocks of Yanacocha by up to a maximum of 50%
fractional crystallization with a bulk assemblage of 62% amphibole, 20%
clinopyroxene, 10% garnet and 8% apatite (Fig. 4). Magmatic garnet
fractionation may occur at pressures as low as 1.2 to 0.8 GPa (35 to
25 Km) in H2O-rich basaltic to andesitic melts (Mntener et al., 2001;
Alonso-Perez et al., 2009), similar to the hydrous amphibole-rich andesitic
melts of Yanacocha, implying that crustal thickness (estimated at 45 km
in northern Peru: Fukao et al., 1989) would not be a limiting issue for
garnet fractionation. Plagioclase occurs as a phenocryst in all of the rocks
investigated, although increasing Sr contents with SiO2 suggest that
plagioclase fractionation was suppressed during high-pressure and high
pH2O evolution from andesitic to dacitic magmas, and that it was
geochemically expressed only from dacitic to rhyolitic magmas (evolving
at lower P conditions), for which Sr correlates negatively with increasing
SiO2 (Fig. ESM2; see below).
However, while fractional crystallization may account for several
geochemical evolution trends of the porphyritic intrusive rocks, there
is widespread petrographic, geochemical and isotopic evidence for
open system evolution. Changes in chemistry (including increasing
adakitic indices) are strongly correlated with isotopic compositions, a
feature that can be explained either by an assimilation fractional
crystallization (AFC) process or/and by mixing between magmas
originating from isotopically different sources.
510 M. Chiaradia et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515

Table 2
Geochemical and radiogenic isotope data for rocks investigated in this study.

Sample DM001 DM004 DM005 DM008 DM012 DM014 DM016

Location Yanacocha Oeste Yanacocha Sur Yanacocha Sur Encajon Yanacocha Norte Cerro Quilish Cerro Quilish

Lithology Rhyolite Andesite Andesite Dacite Dacite Andesite Andesite

Age (Ma) 8.59 12.09 12.09 10.72 9.90 12.41 12.41

SiO2 69.38 59.96 62.12 65.02 65.47 60.94 60.19

TiO2 0.29 0.54 0.57 0.4 0.36 0.63 0.64
Al2O3 16.13 18.15 17.84 16.18 16.31 18.31 18.03
Fe2O3 1.89 4.14 4.09 3.91 2.49 5.63 5.71
MnO 0.04 0.13 0.09 0.4 0.06 0.1 0.1
MgO 0.58 1.16 0.81 0.71 0.85 2.16 2.16
CaO 2.26 6.17 5.19 2.43 3.91 5.79 5.72
Na2O 4.42 3.73 3.74 3.91 4.04 3.77 3.68
K2O 3.4 1.58 1.87 2.96 2.67 1.87 1.87
P2O5 0.11 0.25 0.26 0.17 0.16 0.26 0.26
LOI 0.59 3.32 2.55 2.12 2.86 0.79 0.88
Total 99.09 99.13 99.13 98.21 99.18 100.25 99.24
Rb 98.09 32.97 38.86 86.57 76.64 46.48 46.42
Sr 584 827 882 657 851 684 678
Y 6.4 10.5 10.5 6.0 5. 8 31.8 64.6
Zr 133 112 108 108 109 107 102
Nb 3.4 5.3 5.1 3.3 3.4 5.7 5.4
Cs 3.5 1.19 1.02 4.57 4.82 1.21 1.14
Ba 773 619 572 660 660 525 520
Hf 3.6 3.1 3.0 2.9 3 3.1 2.8
Ta 0.22 0.31 0.32 0.2 0.2 0.39 0.33
Pb 32.7 7.4 9.0 8.6 8.6 9.4 9.0
Th 7.5 4.6 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.5 4.4
U 3.1 1.7 1.9 1.9 2.1 1.9 1.9
Sc 3.6 8.7 9.0 5.3 4.7 11.2 11.0
V 33 94 96 55 53 115 123
Cr 6 14 11 9 14 13 13
Ni 3.9 4.3 3.8 2.8 2.7 7.5 3.9
Cu 10.0 16.8 23.1 15.6 9.7 25.3 10.0
Zn 124 71 62 136 64 76 124
La 21.5 22.8 21.0 18.7 18.3 30.2 21.5
Ce 35.9 42.3 40.6 35.1 32.1 47.3 35.9
Pr 4.4 5.2 5.0 4.2 4.0 7.2 4.4
Nd 15.5 19.3 19.1 15.5 14.0 29.3 15.5
Sm 2.4 3.6 3.4 2.4 2.4 5.9 2.4
Eu 0.7 1.0 1.1 0.8 0.6 1.9 0.7
Gd 1.6 2.2 2.5 1.6 1.4 5.8 1.6
Tb 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.7 0.2
Dy 0.9 1.7 1.8 1.2 0.9 4.8 0.9
Ho 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.2 1.0 0.2
Er 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.5 0.5 3.0 0.5
Tm 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.1
Yb 0.6 1.1 1.1 0.6 0.5 2.7 0.6
Lu 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.1
87
Sr/86Sr 0.705127 0.704662 0.70468 0.704904 0.704898 0.704563 0.704531
143
Nd/144Nd 0.512635 0.512661 0.5127 0.512653 0.512667 0.512736 0.512755
Nd(0) 0.06 0.49 1.29 0.21 0.57 1.91 2.28
206
Pb/204Pb 17.818 18.494 18.584 18.626 18.579 18.636 18.65
207
Pb/204Pb 15.547 15.581 15.607 15.599 15.6 15.611 15.608
208
Pb/204Pb 37.635 38.306 38.448 38.489 38.441 38.497 38.503

Sample DM017 DM018 DM019 DM020 DM021 DM022 DM024

Location Cerro Quilish Pampa Cro Negro El Tapado El Tapado Yanacocha Oeste Yanacocha Oeste Yanacocha Sur

Lithology Andesite Andesite Andesite Andesite Dacite Dacite Rhyolite

Age (Ma) 12.41 12.011.7 11.06 11.06 9.91 9.91 8.40

SiO2 60.37 60.91 63.86 63.86 65.09 64.44 69.46

TiO2 0.67 0.61 0.54 0.54 0.39 0.37 0.27
Al2O3 17.95 17.65 17.82 17.85 16.32 16.29 16.52
Fe2O3 5.88 4.38 3.59 3.48 2.35 2.57 1.77
MnO 0.1 0.08 0.04 0.03 0.09 0.1 0.03
MgO 2.27 2.28 0.67 0.67 0.84 0.8 0.45
CaO 5.96 5.69 3.86 4.04 4.26 4.21 2.2
Na2O 3.67 4.59 4.83 4.87 3.49 2.92 4.65
K2O 1.86 2.2 2.5 2.48 2.68 2.91 3.31
P2O5 0.26 0.26 0.22 0.24 0.16 0.16 0.09
LOI 0.52 0.61 1.31 1.09 3.48 4.29 0.65
Total 99.51 99.26 99.24 99.15 99.15 99.06 99.4
Rb 46 47 54 53 89 104 97
 M. Chiaradia et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515 511

Table 2 (continued)
(continued)
Sample DM017
DM001 DM018
DM004 DM019
DM005 DM020
DM008 DM021
DM012 DM022
DM014 DM024
DM016

Location Cerro
Yanacocha
Quilish
Oeste Pampa
Yanacocha
Cro Negro
Sur El
Yanacocha
Tapado Sur El Tapado
Encajon Yanacocha
Yanacocha
Oeste
Norte Yanacocha
Cerro Quilish
Oeste Yanacocha
Cerro Quilish
Sur

Lithology Andesite
Rhyolite Andesite
Andesite Andesite Andesite
Dacite Dacite
Dacite Dacite
Andesite Rhyolite
Andesite

Age (Ma) 12.41

8.59 12.011.7
12.09 11.06
12.09 11.0610.72 9.91 9.90 9.9112.41 8.40
12.41

Sr 671 1005 1029 1069 917 693 630

Y 29 9 8 9 6 6 5
Zr 101 109 116 119 101 96 123
Nb 5.3 4.4 4.2 4.2 3.5 3.3 3.5
Cs 1.2 2.3 0.9 0.9 7.0 9.1 3.1
Ba 520 640 741 744 879 624 755
Hf 2.8 3.0 2.9 3.0 3.0 2.7 3.5
Ta 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Pb 9.1 11.6 8.9 8.8 25.1 34.6 13.6
Th 4.6 4.1 4.3 4.3 5.1 5.0 7.2
U 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.4 2.2 2.2 2.9
Sc 11.8 10.1 7.4 7.7 4.8 4.8 3.7
V 143 108 85 87 54 53 32
Cr 36 42 42 13 10 10 6
Ni 9.0 14.7 5.3 4.4 2.6 2.5 1.4
Cu 29.3 29.3 19.5 22.7 14.6 38.8 5.8
Zn 85 72 176 161 101 95 46
La 31.7 23.5 20.6 22.2 17.8 17.1 18.6
Ce 53.4 41.0 39.7 41.7 32.5 31.0 33.1
Pr 8.1 5.6 5.0 5.4 4.0 3.7 3.9
Nd 35.0 21.6 18.8 19.9 14.8 14.2 13.3
Sm 7.1 3.5 3.1 3.5 2.5 2.3 2.0
Eu 2.5 1.0 0.9 1.1 0.7 0.7 0.6
Gd 6.2 2.3 2.0 2.3 1.7 1.4 1.1
Tb 0.8 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2
Dy 5.4 1.7 1.4 1.5 1.1 0.9 0.9
Ho 1.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2
Er 2.8 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.5
Tm 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Yb 2.8 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.6
Lu 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
87
Sr/86Sr 0.704529 0.704769 0.704810 0.704784 0.704892 0.704934 0.705105
143
Nd/144Nd 0.512768 0.512672 0.512654 0.512645 0.512633 0.512661 0.512629
Nd(0) 2.54 0.66 0.31 0.14 0.10 0.45 0.18
206
Pb/204Pb 18.654 18.482 18.601 18.606 18.666 18.67 18.671
207
Pb/204Pb 15.61 15.596 15.593 15.585 15.61 15.614 15.616
208
Pb/204Pb 38.513 38.34 38.443 38.426 38.544 38.573 38.594

Ages are from Table 1.

The old discordant zircon dates (238U/204Pb ages from >37 to >
149 Ma) support assimilation of basement rocks that can be even older
than the exposed Cretaceous sequences. The occurrence of frequent
gabbroic xenoliths and of concordant zircons with an age range from a few
hundreds of thousands of years to a few Ma in the same rock sample (e.g.,
DM014 and DM019: Table 1) probably suggests that plutonic roots of the
magmatic arc were also assimilated (e.g., Dungan and Davidson, 2004).
The small isotopic variability and relatively primitive Sr and Nd signatures
suggest overall limited crustal assimilation or dominant assimilation of a
crust rened by recent magmatic processes (e.g., Chiaradia et al., 2009).
Mixing processes through mac recharge are revealed by inverse zoning
(increasing anorthite, Sr and FeO towards the rim) in plagioclase
phenocrysts of the investigated samples.
On the other hand, partial melting of lower crust is likely to occur
when the latter is continuously uxed by mantle-derived melts for
several Ma (e.g., Annen et al., 2006), as is the case for the long-lived
magmatic system at Yanacocha. As a consequence, the REE garnet
signature of the Yanacocha rocks, besides or instead of magmatic garnet
fractionation, might also derive from lower crustal melts (leaving a
garnet residue) that have mixed at depth with mantle-derived melts. In
summary, melting and assimilation of (mostly) rened crust and
plutonic roots as well as mixing/recharge have operated in the
petrogenesis of the Yanacocha porphyritic rocks, in addition to fractional
crystallization (RAFC process: e.g., Spera and Bohrson, 2002).

5.2. Temporal evolution of the magmatic system

Fig. 4. REE chondrite-normalized plot for porphyritic rocks of Yanacocha. Normalizing
values are from Sun and McDonough (1989). The grey eld represents REE patterns for 30%
(upper limit of the eld) to 50% (lower limit) fractional crystallization of an assemblage
consisting of 62% amphibole, 20% clinopyroxene, 10% garnet and 8% apatite starting from
the andesitic composition of sample DM017. The used REE partition coefcient (KD) values
are from the Geochemical Earth Reference Model (GERM) (http://earthref.org/cgi-bin/er.
cgi?s=germ-s0-main.cgi). Same symbols as in Fig. 3. For further discussion see text.
Critical information about the petrogenesis of the Yanacocha
porphyritic rocks is provided by the temporal evolution of the magmatic
system. In fact, rocks become systematically more felsic and isotopically
crust-contaminated through time, whereas adakitic indices at rst
(14.411.0 Ma) strongly increase and subsequently (11.08.4 Ma)
512 M. Chiaradia et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515
Fig. 5. Variations of SiO2 and Sr/Y with Sr isotopes for the porphyritic rocks of Yanacocha.
Same symbols as in Fig. 3. Uncertainties (2) of radiogenic isotope values are smaller than
symbol sizes. For discussion see text. Additional plots of correlations of geochemical indices
with Sr and Nd isotopes are reported in the Electronic Supplementary Material (Fig. ESM4).
remain constant and/or decrease (Figs. 3, 6, ESM5). A model explaining
the geochemical evolution through time of the Yanacocha porphyritic
intrusive rocks is proposed in Fig. 7.
Initially (step 1, Fig. 7a; 12.4 Ma), mantle-derived melts evolve in a
deep crustal chamber(s) through pyroxene and olivine fractionation
(with limited amphibole fractionation, shown by the lack of adakite-like
signatures), until they acquire a Cerro Quilish-type high-Al2O3 (>18 wt.%)
hydrous andesitic composition (see also Foden and Green, 1992). These
hydrous andesitic magmas rise readily to shallow levels yielding the
porphyry intrusion of Cerro Quilish, after a short residence time in a
transient upper crustal magmatic chamber. A polybaric (deep-shallow)
evolution of Cerro Quilish andesitic magmas is supported by the
coexistence in the same rocks of (i) abundant anorthite-rich plagioclase
cores (An80), which are indicative of high pressure (and high pH2O)
crystallization and are heavily resorbed, replaced and surrounded by
anorthite-poorer (An3060) plagioclase during magma ascent, and (ii) rare
plagioclase phenocrysts with rounded cores (An50) overgrown by
anorthite-richer (An70) rims, indicative of recharge in shallower cham-
ber(s) (data in Merino, 2009). High crystallization pressures are also
supported by the high Al2O3 contents of Cerro Negro amphiboles (Fig. 7b).
The rapid transition from the non-adakitic Cerro Quilish andesite (Sr/
Y30) to the more evolved and adakite-like Cerro Negro and PCN
andesites (Sr/Y80110) between 12.4 and 12.0 Ma (Fig. 6a) suggests
that within this time interval mantle-derived melts start to stall and
evolve in several lower to mid-crust magmatic chambers (step 2, Fig. 7b)
through amphiboleclinopyroxenegarnet fractionation in concomi-
tance with crustal melting (leaving garnet as a residue) and assimilation
(correlation between radiogenic isotopes and increasing Sr/Y, Gd/Yb).
This conclusion is supported by a widening of the pressure interval of
amphibole crystallization towards lower values between 12.4 and
12.0 Ma (Fig. 7b), which is consistent with evolution of the magmatic
system at various intermediate level chambers (Fig. 7a), in a sort of crustal
distillation process. A polybaric magmatic evolution in variably deep to
shallower crustal chambers typically develops during growing compres-
Fig. 6. Variations of geochemical indices and Sr isotopes with ages of the porphyritic
rocks of Yanacocha. The grey area represents the main ore stage at Yanacocha (from
Longo, 2005). Ages of porphyritic rocks are from Table 1. The horizontal bar for the
Pampa Cerro Negro sample, for which no direct dating is available, represents the range
of ages of andesitic to dacitic domes from the same area (Longo, 2005; Table 1) from
which this sample was collected. Same symbols as in Fig. 3. For discussion see text.
Additional plots of correlations of geochemical indices and Nd isotopes with age are
reported in the Electronic Supplementary Material (Fig. ESM5).
sion (e.g., Cembrano and Lara, 2009), which slows down magma ascent
and increases the virtual length of the crustal column with which magma
efciently interacts (Fig. 7a). Therefore, the swift change of magmatic
system evolution between 12.4 and 12.0 Ma, resulting in the development
of adakitic signatures, suggests the rapid onset of a compressional phase.
Inverse zoning in plagioclase phenocrysts indicates recharge of the
shallower chamber(s) magmas by more mac magmas coming from
depth (Fig. 7c) throughout the magmatic system history, from 12.0 Ma
(time of the rst adakite-like signatures recorded in andesitic intrusive
rocks) to 8.4 Ma (youngest adakite-like rhyolitic intrusion). The steady
anorthite content decrease in both plagioclase cores and rims and the
overall increasing SiO2 content of whole rocks (Fig. 7c) suggest that both
the deeper and shallower chamber magmas evolved towards more felsic
compositions through time, notwithstanding that the deeper chamber
magmas were always more mac than the shallower chamber magmas
that they were recharging at any given time. This scenario is consistent
with the crustal distillation process discussed above.
In this view, we can also explain the increasing adakitic indices (Sr/Y,
Gd/Yb) with SiO2 contents of porphyritic rocks up to 64 wt.% SiO2 (steps
1 to 2 in Fig. 7) to indicate that the budget of the magmatic system during
 M. Chiaradia et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515 513

Fig. 7. Simplied model of the temporal evolution of magmatism at Yanacocha. A. Evolution of the magmatic plumbing system at Yanacocha through 4 time steps. In step 1 mantle-
derived melts reside shortly in a deep chamber evolving to high-Al2O3 hydrous andesite, which then rises to shallow levels yielding the porphyritic andesite of Cerro Quilish, after a
short residence time in a transient shallow chamber (dashed). In step 2 mantle-derived melts start to evolve at several deep crustal levels through RAFC processes before
replenishing and mixing with magmas of shallower chamber(s) under an increased compressional regime (horizontal arrows). Thermal maturation of lower to mid-crustal levels
due to continuous magma ux during steps 1 and 2 favours propagation of the magmatic system to shallower crustal levels during steps 3 and 4. B. Variations of pressure of
amphibole crystallization and of the Sr/Y adakitic indice through time (from Fig. 6). The pressure of amphibole crystallization has been estimated from the Al2O3 content in
amphibole in equilibrium with the required phase assemblage (Johnson and Rutherford, 1989), except for the Cerro Quilish andesite. Correlations between VIAl and IVAl (Al-
Tschermak exchange) but not between IVAl and (Na + K) (edenite-exchange) suggest that Al2O3 changes in the amphiboles of the Yanacocha magmatic system (including the Cerro
Quilish andesite) are pressure- rather than temperature-sensitive. For further discussion see text. Abbreviations: Q = Cerro Quilish; PCN = Pampa Cerro Negro; ET = El Tapado;
En = Encajon; YS = Yanacocha Sur. C. Average compositions of cores and rims of plagioclase phenocrysts with inverse zoning in the porphyritic rocks of Cerro Quilish (12.4 Ma,
SiO2 = 60.3 wt.%), Pampa Cerro Negro (12.111.7 Ma, SiO2 = 60.9 wt.%), El Tapado (11.06 Ma, SiO2 = 63.9 wt.%), Encajon (10.72 Ma, SiO2 = 65.02 wt.%), and Yanacocha Sur
rhyodacite (8.6 Ma, SiO2 = 69.38 wt.%).

this time interval (12.411.0 Ma) was dominated by evolution in the
deeper chambers, swamping possible geochemical signatures (Sr
decrease) of shallow level plagioclase fractionation. Afterwards (i.e.,
for SiO2 > 64 wt.%; steps 3 to 4 in Fig. 7: 11.08.4 Ma), decreases in
adakitic indices (Sr/Y, Gd/Yb) and Sr contents in the porphyritic rocks
suggest a propagation of the magmatic system to shallower crustal
levels (Fig. 7a), where magmas evolved through plagioclase and
amphibole fractionation (increasing Sm/Zr with magmatic evolu-
tion) as well as assimilation of (mostly rened) crust (radiogenic
isotopes increasingly crustal from dacite to rhyolite). This scenario is
consistent with the lower pressures of amphibole crystallization in
the younger rocks (Fig. 7b).
The post-11 Ma old extension of the magmatic system towards
shallower crustal levels might have been caused by the continuous
transit of magmas through the lower/mid-crust during the previous time
interval ( 12.411.0 Ma), which, resulting in thermal maturation of the
lower/mid-crust, could have favoured an easier propagation of mantle-
derived melts to shallower levels (see also Grunder and de Silva, 2007).
Nonetheless, the rocks remain strongly adakite-like throughout,
suggesting that, despite its gradual reduction, deep crustal evolution of
the magma occurs all the time (Fig. 7a).
The above model implies a focused and long-lived magmatic ux from
lower to upper crustal levels during a period of 3.64.0 Ma, i.e., from
12.4/12.0 Ma (the time span during which porphyritic rocks attain
514 M. Chiaradia et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 288 (2009) 505515
adakite-like signatures) to 8.4 Ma. A focused transfer of magma from
lower to upper crustal levels might explain the small radiogenic isotope
variability as due to a high [melt/host rock] ratio in conduits and in-
termediate chambers that have been used repeatedly as pathways for
magma ascent from depth during several Ma (Fig. 7), resulting in isotopic
and geochemical renement of the wall rocks.
5.3. Relationship between magmatic evolution, mineralization and
geodynamics
40
Ar/39Ar ages of hydrothermal activity (Longo, 2005) span a time
range (13.68.2 Ma) similar to the intrusive magmatic activity, with the
main ore deposited between 10.8 and 8.4 Ma (Longo, 2005). Overall,
geochronologic data indicate that the giant hydrothermal system at
Yanacocha developed in coincidence with the onset of and during
prolonged magmatic evolution at variably deep crustal levels (12.4/12.0
8.4 Ma), resulting in adakite-like signatures of the associated porphyritic
rocks (Figs. 6 and 7). The beginning of the main ore stage (10.88.4 Ma)
occurred immediately after the propagation of the magmatic system to
shallower crustal levels (11.0 Ma), following a 1.4 Ma long period of
magmatic and thermal maturation (12.411.0 Ma) at deep crustal
levels (Fig. 7). This probably suggests the necessity of a shallow magmatic
system, continuously alimented by a long-lived magmatic system
maturing at depth, as a feeder of the giant hydrothermal system.
The transition from non-adakitic to adakite-like signatures as a result
of the slow-down of magma ascent through the crust, typied by the
widening of the amphibole crystallization pressure in the Yanacocha
intrusive rocks, occurs during a short time interval (0.5 Ma: Figs. 6
and 7b), which coincides with the beginning of the Quechua II orogenic
phase (1210 Ma). Pre-Yanacocha magmatic rocks (up to ages of 60 Ma)
in the Yanacocha area and surroundings are also non-adakitic (Merino,
2009), thus highlighting the peculiarity of the rapid geochemical change
occurring at 12 Ma.
Gutscher et al. (1999) have proposed that the cause of the Quechua
II orogenic phase was the subduction of the buoyant and thick Inca
oceanic plateau (Fig. 1a). Subduction of oceanic plateaus and aseismic
ridges can be responsible for quasi-instantaneous increased coupling at
the trench between the subducted and overriding plate, with onset of
compression in the latter (e.g., Graindorge et al., 2004). Increased
compression slows down magma ascent and thus causes prolonged
magmatic evolution at variably deep crustal levels leading to the
development of adakite-like signatures. Based on the temporal
coincidence between estimated arrival time at the trench of the Inca
plateau (1210 Ma: Rosenbaum et al., 2005; Fig. 1), Quechua II
compressional phase and swift transition to adakite-like signatures at
Yanacocha, we reiterate the possibility that subduction of buoyant
topographic features may be responsible for the rapid transition of
magma geochemistry from normal to adakite-like as a result of rapidly
increasing compression in the overriding plate (e.g., Chiaradia et al.,
2009). In turn, this could also be a favourable scenario for the production
of giant porphyry-type systems (e.g., Cooke et al., 2005; Stern and
Skewes, 2005; Hollings et al., 2005). Whether this occurs through the
build-up of high concentrations of incompatible volatiles and metals in
residual highly oxidized adakite-like melts evolving at depth (see also
Rohrlach and Loucks, 2005; Chambefort et al., 2008), recycling of lower
crustal sulde-rich cumulates (Richards, 2009) or/and by creating
crustal stress conditions and magma volumes large enough for a long-
lasting (several Ma) and focussed transfer from the mid-lower crust to
shallow levels such as at Yanacocha (see also Longo, 2005), requires
further investigation.
6. Conclusions
Porphyritic intrusive rocks of the Yanacocha district, northern Peru, are
associated with one of the largest gold concentrations on Earth.
Geochemical, isotopic and geochronologic features of these rocks indicate
that they derive from hydrous magmas evolving, at deeper levels, through
amphiboleclinopyroxenegarnet fractionation accompanied by melt-
ing of (mostly rened) lower crust (leaving a garnet residue) plus
recharge, and, at shallower levels, through plagioclaseamphibole
fractionation, assimilation of (mostly rened) crust plus recharge (RAFC).
Porphyritic rocks of Yanacocha display systematic geochemical and
isotopic changes through time, which, coupled with plagioclase zoning
and amphibole geobarometry, suggest that the magmatic system evolved
through interaction of mantle-derived melts with an increasing length of
the crustal column and through propagation from deep to shallower
crustal levels through time. We propose that this evolution was the result
of increased compression, which slowed down magma ascent and forced
magmas to evolve at a series of intermediate chambers between lower
and upper crust levels. In support to our hypothesis, the swift (0.5 Ma)
transition to adakite-like signatures in the Yanacocha magmatic rocks
occurs (12.0 Ma) at the same time of the onset of the Quechua II
compressional phase (1210 Ma). This time coincides also with the
proposed beginning of subduction of the buoyant Inca oceanic plateau,
thus making plausible a causeeffect relationship between stronger
coupling at the trench induced by subduction of the buoyant oceanic
plateau, increased crustal compression in the overriding plate, and
development of adakite-like signatures.
Thermal maturation of the lower/mid-crust, due to 1.4 Ma of sus-
tained and focused magma ux (12.411.0 Ma), promoted an overall
extension of the magmatic system to shallower levels starting from
11.0 Ma, resulting in a decrease of the adakitic signal although rocks
remained strongly adakite-like throughout. The development of the main
stage mineralization during the following period (10.88.4 Ma) of long-
lived adakite-like magmatism suggests that large-scale geodynamic
processes leading to prolonged magmatic maturation at deep crustal levels
might exert a rst-order control on the formation of giant porphyry-type
systems, as is also indicated by similar magmatic evolutions in other
porphyry-systems of the Central Andes (e.g., Kay and Mpodozis, 2001) and
worldwide. How this occurs in detail (e.g., generation of volatile- and
metal-rich oxidized magmas through high-pressure fractionation, recy-
cling of sulde-rich cumulates in the lower crust, focussed and long-lived
magmatic input into a small upper crustal volume) requires additional
investigation.
Acknowledgements
MC thanks John Dilles and Anita Grunder (Oregon State University,
USA) for the stimulating discussions and D. Fontignie, M. Senn, F. Capponi
(University of Geneva) and A. Ulianov (University of Lausanne) for their
technical support. Constructive reviews by R. Tosdal, an anonymous
reviewer and R. Carlson are gratefully acknowledged. This project has
been funded by the Swiss National Foundation (SNF Project N. 200020-
117616).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in
the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2009.10.012.
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