Abstract
Sulfide minerals of the Bingham mining district are distributed as concentric rings in plan view and inverted shells in cross section. Mineralization is centered on and drapes around and through the quartz monzonite porphyry phase of the Bingham stock. The dominant overlapping sulfide mineral zones, from the interior outward, are deep, low-grade core, molybdenite, bornite-chalcopyrite, chalcopyrite-pyrite, pyrite, and galena-sphalerite. Hydrothermal biotite distribution is concentric with the sulfide mineral zones in plan but crosscuts them in section. The controlling parameters for the sulfide and alteration mineral zones are: location relative to the quartz monzonite porphyry phase of the Bingham stock, rock type, degree of fracturing and permeability, and copper grade.
