©2004 Society of Economic Geologists

Special Publication 11, 2004, pp. 301–312

Chapter 16

Geology, Mineralization, and Genesis of the La Quinua Gold Deposit,

Yanacocha District, Northern Peru
PATRICK M. MALLETTE,†
Newmont Mining Corporation, 1700 Lincoln Street, Denver, Colorado 80203

RAUL E. ROJAS, AND ALBERTO R. GUTIERREZ

Minera Yanacocha S.R.L., Av. Camino Real 348, Torre El Pilar-Piso 10, Lima 27, Peru

Abstract
With premining reserves plus resources of 10.2 million oz (Moz) of gold, 424 million metric tons (Mt) at 0.75
g/t, La Quinua is one of several world-class gold deposits that comprise the Yanacocha mining district in the
Cajamarca province, northern Peru. Unlike volcanic-hosted high-sulfidation gold deposits that characterize
much of the Yanacocha district, La Quinua is hosted by unconsolidated gravel. In 1996, Newmont and Minera
Yanacocha geologists discovered gold-bearing gravel while drilling an alluvial basin to test “blind” basement tar-
gets. Exploration and development drilling proceeded rapidly; 1 yr after initial discovery the reserve plus re-
source stood at 7 Moz. Production began in mid-2001.
At La Quinua, there is infilling of coarse clastic sediments in two structural basins situated along the west-
ern flank of the Yanacocha Sur and Yanacocha Oeste gold deposits. Gravel fans reach a maximum thickness of
350 m on the downthrown side of the basin-bounding La Quinua fault. Sediments fine down gradient from
chaotic boulder gravel in proximal facies to gravelly silt and sand in distal facies. Bedding becomes more pro-
nounced down gradient with a decrease in bed thickness. Five deposit-scale stratigraphic units are recognized.
These include, from bottom to top, (1) regolith directly overlying basement rocks, (2) high- to low-energy de-
posits of clay- and alunite-bearing sand and gravel, (3) low-energy deposits of organic-rich mud, peat, and bog
iron, (4) ferruginous gravel, and (5) high-energy deposits of pebble-cobble-boulder gravel grading distally to
fine-grained sandey silt.
La Quinua gold was derived from erosion, transportation, and deposition of gold particles and mineralized
clasts from the Yanacocha Sur and Yanacocha Oeste deposits. However, a portion of the gold may have resulted
from chemical mobilization and reprecipitation. Gold particles are mostly micron sized, liberated within mud
matrix, and disseminated within mineralized clasts, although liberated particles to 0.2 mm have been observed.
Gold is disseminated throughout the deposit with only gradual lateral and vertical grade transitions. Placer
“paystreaks” have not been encountered. The La Quinua gold-trapping system was efficient; grade dilution
from source deposits is <25 percent. The Ag/Au ratio is 6/1, compared to >10/1 for the Yanacocha Sur and
Yanacocha Oeste deposits. Copper and iron are locally enriched in specific stratigraphic horizons. Copper val-
ues up to a few percent are associated with detrital and authigenic minerals. Copper mineralization is erratic
and not considered economic and may present future ore-processing challenges. Authigenic iron is present as
bog-iron lenses, ferricrete cement, and gravel matrix impregnation.
La Quinua formed in response to dynamic interaction of climate and tectonics. A subsiding tectonic basin
preserved gold-bearing sediments during periods of intense mechanical weathering in the adjacent highlands.
Cold alpine climatic conditions resulted in two pulses of rapid sedimentation and basin infill. Temperate con-
ditions resulted in diastems marked by organic accumulation and surficial iron deposits. La Quinua is charac-
terized by a paucity of channel deposits, lack of coarse-grained placer gold, and preservation of fine-grained
gold. Structural offset and warping of sedimentary units indicates that basinal tectonism continued after depo-
sition of the gravel sequence.
Gold production from La Quinua will exceed 1 Moz/yr during 5 yrs of an 8-yr mine life, with a peak of nearly
2.5 Moz predicted in 2006. Light blasting improves mining efficiency. Oxide ore is belt agglomerated prior to
placement on the leach pad. The majority of gold is recovered in carbon columns with a smaller portion re-
covered in a Merrill-Crowe facility. Mine equipment includes Hitachi 5500EX shovels, Cat 992 loaders, and
Cat 785 and 793 haul trucks.

Resumen
La Quinua es uno de los tantos yacimientos de oro de clase mundial que comprenden el distrito minero
Yanacocha en la provincia de Cajamarca del norte del Peru, el cual tiene un total de reservas y recursos pre-
minados de 10.2 millones de onzas de oro – 424 millones de toneladas métricas y una ley promedio de 0.75
g/t. A diferencia de los yacimientos de oro de alta sulfuración emplazados en rocas volcánicas que caracteriza
al distrito minero Yanacocha, el yacimiento La Quinua está emplazado en gravas no consolidadas. En 1996,
† Corresponding author: e-mail, Patrick.Mallette@Newmont.com

\ 301
302 MALLETTE ET AL.

los geólogos de Newmont y Minera Yanacocha descubrieron oro hospedado en gravas mientras perforaban una
cuenca aluvial para encontrar oro en blancos de perforación en el basamento. La exploración y la perforación
de desarrollo sucedieron con rapidez; un año después las reservas y recursos iniciales fueron de 7 millones de
onzas de oro. La producción se inició a mediados del año 2001.
En La Quinua, los sedimentos clásticos llenan dos cuencas estructurales ubicadas al lado oeste de los
yacimientos de oro de Yanacocha Sur y Yanacocha Oeste. El abanico de gravas llega a un espesor máximo de
350 metros sobre el bloque estructural de movimiento normal descendente de la falla La Quinua que limita a
la cuenca hacia el noreste. Los sedimentos clásticos gradan desde bloques caóticos en la zona proximal a la
fuente a limos gravosos y arenas en las zonas alejadas. La estratificación plana se vuelve más pronunciada hacia
las zonas alejadas de la fuente con decrecimiento del espesor. En el yacimiento han sido reconocidos cinco hor-
izontes estratigráficos. Estos incluyen, de la base al tope, (1) regolito que sobreyace directamente el basamento
rocoso, (2) depósitos de alta a baja energía de gravas y arenas con alteración argílica y argílica avanzada, (3) de-
pósitos de baja energía de lodo rico en materia orgánica, turba y hierro de pantano, (4) gravas ferruginosas, y
(5) depósitos de alta energía de gravas de tamaños de bloques, guijas y guijarros que gradan a limos arenosos
de grano fino cuanto mas se alejan de la fuente de aporte.
El oro de La Quinua se formó a partir de la erosión, transporte y deposición de las partículas de oro y clas-
tos mineralizados de los yacimientos Yanacocha Sur y Yanacocha Oeste. Sin embargo, una parte del oro puede
ser el resultado de movilización química y reprecipitación. Las partículas de oro mayormente son del tamaño
de micrones, liberados dentro de una matriz de lodo, y diseminadas dentro de clastos mineralizados, aunque
se han observado partículas de 0.2 mm. El oro está diseminado a lo largo del yacimiento con solo transiciones
graduales laterales y verticales. No se han encontrado acumulaciones de tipo placer. El sistema de captura del
oro en La Quinua fue eficiente; el grado de dilución de los yacimientos de la fuente es menor que el 25 por
ciento. La proporción Ag/Au es de 6:1, comparado con >10:1 para los yacimientos de Yanacocha Sur y Yana-
cocha Oeste. El cobre y el hierro están localmente enriquecidos en específicos horizontes estratigráficos. Los
valores de cobre por encima de 1% están asociados a minerales detríticos y autogénicos. La mineralización del
cobre es errática y no es considerada económica y puede presentar futuros desafíos para el procesamiento del
mineral. El hierro autogénico está presente como lentes de pantanos de hierro, cementante de las ferricretas,
y como impregnación en la matriz de las gravas.
La Quinua se formó en respuesta a las interacciones dinámicas del clima y de la tectónica. Una cuenca con
una tectónica de subsidencia preservó los sedimentos que contenían el oro durante períodos de intensa mete-
orización mecánica en las montañas adyacentes. Las condiciones climáticas de frío tipo alpino resultaron en dos
pulsos de rápida sedimentación y llenado de la cuenca. Las condiciones temperadas resultaron en hiatos mar-
cados por la acumulación de depósitos de materia orgánica y hierro superficial. La Quinua se caracteriza por
una pequeña cantidad de depósitos de canal, carencia de oro tipo placer de grano grueso, y la preservación de
oro de grano fino. El desplazamiento estructural y el suave plegamiento de las unidades sedimentarias indican
un tectonismo de la cuenca que siguió a la deposición de las gravas.
La producción del oro de La Quinua superará el millón de onzas por año durante cinco años de ocho de
vida de la mina, con una máxima producción cercana a 2.5 millones de onzas en el 2006. Una voladura con-
trolada mejorará la eficiencia de la minería. El mineral oxidado es aglomerado antes de ser puesto en las can-
chas de lixiviación. La mayor parte del oro es recuperado en columnas de carbón y solo una pequeña porción
es recuperada a través del método Merrill-Crowe. El equipo de minería incluye palas Hitachi 5500EX, car-
gadores Cat 992, y camiones Cat 785 y 793.

Introduction Yanacocha Sur and Yanacocha Oeste gold deposits were

LA QUINUA is located in the western portion of the Yanacocha
gold district in the Cajamarca province of northern Peru (Fig.
1). The deposit lies along the Andean continental divide at an
elevation of 3,700 m above sea level, 18 km north of the city
of Cajamarca, and 600 km north of Lima.
The Yanacocha gold district is well known for volcanic-hosted,
high-sulfidation epithermal gold deposits (Turner, 1997; Harvey
et al., 1999; Myers and Williams, 2000; Teal et al., 2002) and is
currently the largest gold producer in South America. Like
other large Yanacocha district gold deposits, La Quinua is world
class with premining reserves plus resources of 10.2 million oz
(Moz) of gold. Unlike the classic volcanic-hosted Yanacocha-
style deposits, however, La Quinua is erosionally derived and
hosted by relatively young unconsolidated gravel.
During 1996, Newmont and MYSRL (Minera Yanacocha
SRL) geologists initiated an exploration program to evaluate
bedrock-hosted gold targets beneath gravel cover in the La
Quinua basin. Alteration and mineralization southwest of the
mapped and traced to their termination by the basin-bound-
ing La Quinua fault. A two-hole drill program was designed as
an initial test for a blind deposit on the downthrown side of
the La Quinua fault. These holes penetrated 130 to 160 m of
gravel and encountered weakly to moderately altered bedrock
that was barren of gold. Overlying gravel, however, returned
gold values of 0.5 to 1.0 g/t. Two additional holes were drilled
to complete the target test, and again insignificant gold was
encountered in bedrock while significant gold was present in
the gravel. At this time, exploration emphasis switched from
bedrock targets to evaluating gravel-hosted gold mineraliza-
tion. Exploration proceeded rapidly during 1997; by the end
of that year 149 drill holes had been completed, a second
gravel-hosted gold deposit—La Quinua Norte—had been
discovered, and Newmont/MYSRL announced a reserve and
resource of 3.0 and 3.9 Moz of gold, respectively. Continued
development drilling during 1998 to 2000 brought the re-
serves plus resources to 10.2 Moz of gold. Mining began at La
Quinua Central in mid-2001.

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 LA QUINUA Au DEPOSIT, YANACOCHA DISTRICT, PERU 303

80° 75° 70° Geologic Setting

0°
La Quinua is located in the western portion of the Yana-
ECUADOR COLOMBIA cocha district immediately west of, and downslope from, the
volcanic-hosted gold deposits of Yanacocha Sur and Yana-
cocha Oeste (Fig. 2). Gravel shed from highlands in the Yana-
cocha Sur and Yanacocha Oeste areas was transported downs-
lope and filled two depositional basins separated by the
5° locally east-west trending Andean continental divide. South
of the continental divide, in the La Quinua basin, gravel fill is
YA NACOCHA up to 320 m thick. This sequence of gold-bearing coarse clas-
tic sediments hosts the La Quinua Central and La Quinua Sur
CAJAMARCA BRAZIL gold deposits. The La Pajuela basin occurs immediately north
of the continental divide where gravel fill is up to 350 m thick.
PA

Gold-bearing gravel of marginally economic grade is localized

in uppermost stratigraphic units; these units host the La
CIF

10°
PERU Quinua Norte deposit.
IC

Both the La Quinua and La Pajuela basins are bounded on

their northeast sides by the northwest-trending La Quinua
LIMA fault (Fig. 3). Tectonism appears to have been episodic and
has continued until recent times. The La Quinua fault is
marked by a 1- to 3-m scarp in the present-day topography.
The scarp is developed in gravel and bedrock, indicating re-
O

cent displacement. The northwest-trending El Tapado high is

CE

a positive bedrock feature that bisects the La Quinua basin.

AN

This feature, and northwest- and northeast-trending base-

ment faults, interpreted from drill data, dissect and separate
the larger basin into smaller internal basins.
0 200 400 600
Km
Coarse siliciclastic sediments that comprise La Quinua
CHILE Central and Sur were derived from bedrock in the Yanacocha
Sur and/or Yanacocha Oeste areas and issued primarily from
FIG. 1. Yanacocha district location map. a point source located at or near present-day Quebrada

9230000 N
LEGEND
Yanacocha Tertiary volcanic
Norte-Sur-Oeste rocks

Norte Quaternary gravel

deposits

La Quinua Volcanic - hosted

gold deposits
Central
Gravel - hosted
La Quinua
gold deposits
Sur
Fault
770000 E

780000 E

5 km
9220000 N

FIG. 2. Simplified geologic map of the Yanacocha district, showing the location of La Quinua gold deposits. UTM grid
corresponds to Provisional South America 1956 projection.

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304 MALLETTE ET AL.

774000 E
770000 E

772000 E
37
59
YANACOCHA

La
NORTE

Q
ui
nu
a
YANACOCHA

Fa
ul
OESTE

t
9228000 N

Quebrada
La Pajuel a

3 5 97

A’
a al
rad rr
u eb a Co
Q inu
Qu
54°

YANACOCHA
SUR 9226000 N

37 59

A
354

39
3

7 5

Legend
Au > 0.35 g/t 9224000 N

Au > 1 g/t
Au > 1.5 g/t

38 1
1 km

3
Fault

3 651

FIG. 3. Grade contours of gold-bearing gravel filling the La Pajuela and La Quinua basins. Gold source deposits at Yana-
cocha Sur and Yanacocha Oeste are shown east of the La Quinua fault. Primary sediment and gold transport paths coincide
with Quebradas La Pajuela and Quinua Corral. Line of section in Figure 5 shown by A-A'.

Quinua Corral. Coarse sediments in the La Pajuela basin,
which hosts La Quinua Norte, were sourced from the Yana-
cocha Oeste area and were primarily transported along a
pathway coinciding with present-day Quebrada La Pajuela.
Minor net deposition occurred east of the La Quinua fault.
Gravel fill thickens abruptly immediately west of the La
Quinua fault, owing to tectonic accommodation. Gravel of La
Quinua Central and Sur displays a modified fan-shaped mor-
phology; the deposit is rhombohedral as a result of basin-
bounding faults and is stretched down gradient. La Quinua
Norte displays a classic fan-shaped morphology.
Deposit morphology and lithofacies indicate deposition in
an alpine periglacial setting. Glacial striae are etched on
bedrock exposed near Yanacocha Sur and a small cirque is
present at the head of Quebrada Quinua Corral. Alpine
glacial processes influenced sediment production and may
have played a role in sediment transport as well; at certain
times, deposition may have occurred in a periglacial fan
environment. Sediment transport and deposition in proximal
regions of the La Quinua fans were the result of episodic and
possibly catastrophic debris flows, resulting in chaotic non-
sorted, nongraded, and poorly stratified deposits (Fig. 4A).
High rates of sediment input to the proximal fan would have
led to oversteepened slopes while sediment saturation would
have allowed slope failure by slumping and sliding as debris
flows. Boulders within proximal facies gravels are commonly
well rounded with polished and striated surfaces (Fig. 4B).
The short transport distance from source area to depositional
basin would argue against rounding and polishing by alluvial
processes; these features are more likely the result of glacial
processes and/or tumbling action during transport within vis-
cous debris flows and subsequent creep. Little winnowing
and reworking took place in proximal facies during or after
deposition as indicated by a general lack of channel struc-
tures, size sorting, or clast imbrication. Sediment sorting and
stratification increase progressively downslope into distal

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