Drill cores from the Bajo de La Alumbrera deposit, Catamarca, Argentina, as ex situ geoheritage elements

Abstract

Drill core samples from mineralized rock areas form, among other uses, the basis for preliminary analyses to determine the technical and economic feasibility of a potential mining operation. These samples, particularly in contexts where mining activities advanced to the point that no original source rocks remained, represent unique geological records from a scientific and historical perspective, acquiring significant value as movable geoheritage. This study analyzes the importance, as ex situ geoheritage, of the drill cores from the rock units of the Farallón Negro Volcanic Complex (9.0-6.8 Ma) and their associated mineralization in the Bajo de La Alumbrera area (Belén Department, Catamarca Province, Argentina). These samples contributed to defining the entire district as one of the most important copper-gold regions in Argentina within the so-called “Andean Porphyry Copper Metallogenic Belt.” For the heritage assessment of the drill cores in the collection, scientific, educational, and historical value criteria were considered.