Porphyry Copper Assessment of Europe, Exclusive of the Fennoscandian Shield

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborated with
European geologists to assess resources in porphyry copper
deposits in Europe, exclusive of Scandinavia and Russia.
Porphyry copper deposits in Europe are Paleozoic and Late
Cretaceous to Miocene in age. A number of the 31 known
Phanerozoic deposits contain more than 1 million metric tons
of contained copper, including the Majdanpek deposit, Serbia;
Assarel, Bulgaria; Skouries, Greece; and Rosia Poeni, Romania. Five geographic areas were delineated as permissive tracts
for post-Paleozoic porphyry copper deposits. Two additional
tracts were delineated to show the extent of permissive igneous rocks associated with porphyry copper mineralization related to the Paleozoic Caledonian and Variscan orogenies.
The tracts are based on mapped and inferred subsurface distributions of igneous rocks of specific age ranges that define areas where the occurrence of porphyry copper deposits within
1 kilometer of the Earth’s surface is possible. These tracts
range in area from about 4,000 to 93,000 square kilometers.
Although maps at a variety of different scales were used in the
assessment, the final tract boundaries are intended for use at a
scale of 1:1,000,000