The roles of surface processes in porphyry copper deposit preservation

Hadler Boggiani, Beatriz; Salles, Tristan; Mallard, Claire; Atwood, Nicholas

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-683-2025

Articles | Volume 13, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-683-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-683-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 13, issue 4

Research article

|

07 Aug 2025

Research article |

| 07 Aug 2025

The roles of surface processes in porphyry copper deposit preservation

Beatriz Hadler Boggiani, Tristan Salles, Claire Mallard, and Nicholas Atwood

Data sets

Porphyry Copper Data Beatriz Hadler Boggiani et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11239057

Paleo-Physiography Project T. Salles et al. https://www.hydroshare.org/resource/0106c156507c4861b4cfd404022f9580/

PALEOMAP Paleodigital Elevation Models ({PaleoDEMS}) for the Phaerozoic N. Wright https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5460860

Model code and software

Porphyry Copper Workflows Beatriz Hadler Boggiani et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15400584

Porphyry Copper Data Beatriz Hadler Boggiani et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11239057

Paleo-Physiography Project T. Salles et al. https://www.hydroshare.org/resource/0106c156507c4861b4cfd404022f9580/

Short summary

We studied how erosion and tectonic forces can affect the exposure and preservation of copper deposits formed in subduction zones in the past 65 Myr. We used a global model that simulates landscape changes over time based on climate and elevation changes. Our findings show that climate is more important in preserving or exposing copper deposits than previously described. We help improve methods for locating copper deposits, offering new insights for mineral exploration.