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Implications of the Isotopic Ages of Ignimbrite Flows, Southern Atacama Desert, Chile

Abstract

IN the Andean Cordillera from central Chile to southern Peru, supergene alteration has been of profound economic significance to copper mining, because the unenriched hypogene assemblages rarely attain mineable grades in present conditions. The dimensions, grade, mineralogy and preservation of supergene enrichment zones in this region largely reflect the geomorphological evolution of the mineralized areas in the period since the orebodies were originally exposed.

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CLARK, A., MAYER, A., MORTIMER, C. et al. Implications of the Isotopic Ages of Ignimbrite Flows, Southern Atacama Desert, Chile. Nature 215, 723–724 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/215723a0

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