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A global database of porphyry copper deposits and prospects

Metadata Updated: May 2, 2025

Porphyry copper deposits are the world's primary source of copper and can also host a variety of secondary commodities identified as critical by the U.S. Geological Survey (U.S. Geological Survey, 2022). These deposits occur primarily along convergent plate margins, and their metal association and geochemical characteristics are reflective of whether the deposit formed in continental/island arc, back-arc, or syn- to post-collisional environments (e.g., Hofstra and others, 2021). Based on this association, understanding the ___location, age, and endowment of global porphyry deposits can be leveraged to identify prospective regions for discovery of new porphyry deposits along these ancient margins. This data release is a compilation and update from previously published global and regional datasets of porphyry copper deposits and prospects. The data sheet includes deposit names and their ___location, age (if known, and including analytical method), deposit classification based on Hofstra and others (2021), interpreted tectonic origin, and grade-tonnage compiled from public databases where available. The final spreadsheet represents the most up-to-date published information of global porphyry copper deposits and prospects as of Spring 2024. References Hofstra, A., Lisitsin, V., Corriveau, L., Paradis, S., Peter, J., Lauzière, K., Lawley, C., Gadd, M., Pilote, J., Honsberger, I., Bastrakov, E., Champion, D., Czarnota, K., Doublier, M., Huston, D., Raymond, O., VanDerWielen, S., Emsbo, P., Granitto, M., and Kreiner, D., 2021, Deposit classification scheme for the Critical Minerals Mapping Initiative Global Geochemical Database: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021–1049, 60 p., https://doi.org/ 10.3133/ ofr20211049. U.S. Geological Survey, 2022, 2022 Final List of Critical Minerals: Federal Register Document 2022-04027, p. 10381-10382. (available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/02/24/2022-04027/2022-final-list-of-critical-minerals).

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date May 2, 2025
Metadata Updated Date May 2, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI EDI

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date May 2, 2025
Metadata Updated Date May 2, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
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Identifier USGS:67210ae5d34ed0f827eaa791
Data Last Modified 20250304
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://datainventory.doi.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
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Harvest Source Id 52bfcc16-6e15-478f-809a-b1bc76f1aeda
Harvest Source Title DOI EDI
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -161.1,-48.075,179.3915,68.7
Publisher Hierarchy White House > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 4e953e0febfcfa2a0460dac162772784ab51192d341254a54cac73750c116395
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