Porphyry copper

Porphyry copper is a copper deposit in a porphyritic granodioritic intrusion of recent chains (especially the Pacific perimeter). The low copper content ore (0.5 to 1.5% Cu) is in the form of disseminations and interlacing veins; it is open mined and the copper is extracted by heap leaching. There are hundreds of millions of tonnes of ore in these deposits.