We appreciate the comments on our paper on the Post-Betze sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposit which indicate that clarification is required. Ilchik suggests alternative interpretations of our findings with regard to two main issues: the nature of the sill that we have described as "postore," and the absolute age of Post-Betze mineralization in the context of the overall spread in the dates presented in our paper. We address these issues in turn.

The postore sill, which we also loosely originally termed "dike," is important in that it brackets the timing of gold mineralization. Although Ilchik suggests that this intrusion predates mineralization, the weight of evidence is to the contrary. Whereas the postore sill is composition-ally similar to preore Goldstrike stock-equivalent rocks, it is texturally quite distinct. In fact, it was distinctive enough for us to map it out in the subsurface from drill core, something which we were unable to do for any of the other sills. Comparatively, the rock is little altered and it is the only one in the ore zone that retains primary bio-tite. Assays shown in figure 5 of Arehart et al. (1993) are the original assays done on 5-ft intervals before the core was logged; in some samples mineralized inclusions are present within the sample interval. More detailed analysis of this rock type, when clear of any inclusions of mineralized sedimentary rock, yields very low values for gold. This is true of samples from several core holes. In sharp contrast, the preore dikes and sills are all significantly altered and mineralized (i.e., well above background in areas of sedimentary rock mineralization), although they are generally of lower grade than the surrounding sedimentary rocks. We are well aware of the erratic nature of and lithologic control on gold mineralization in sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits that are also seen at Post-Betze. Even taking this into consideration, it is clear that there is effectively no gold in the postore sill in comparison to significant gold in preore dikes and sills.

The Roberts Mountains of north-central Nevada are comprised of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks that host several gold deposits and subeconomic gold resources (Fig. 1). These gold occurrences are within a regional alignment of precious and base metal deposits in north-central Nevada termed the Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral belt (Roberts, 1966). Field relations and radiometric ages in three areas of the Roberts Mountains (Maher et al., 1990) allow assignment of minimum and probable maximum ages for gold mineralization. New radiometric age data from the Roberts Mountains and other precious and base metal deposits within the Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral belt are combined in this report with previously published geologic data to construct a metallo-genic framework for gold and other metallic deposits in north-central Nevada.

The Post-Betze deposit of Nevada is the largest sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposit presently known, both dimensionally and in terms of contained metal. Ore occurs primarily as submicron-sized gold that is disseminated in altered sedimentary rocks of the Lower Paleozoic Roberts Mountains Formation. However, significant portions of the ore are present in altered monzonite of the Goldstrike stock. Alteration and mineralization were controlled by both structure and stratigraphy. Alteration began with early decarbonatization and was followed by silicification and, finally, argillization. Phyllosilicate mineral zoning grades from proximal kaolinite to kaolinite + sericite to unaltered rock.

A granodiorite stock intrudes complexly folded and thrust-faulted Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the Osgood Mountains of eastern Humboldt County, Nevada. Within the metamorphic aureole surrounding the pluton, the sedimentary rocks are converted to cordierite hornfels and marble; tungsten-bearing tactites developed along the contacts of the granodiorite. Cutting the granodiorite and sedimentary rocks is the Getchell fault, along which the disseminated gold ore bodies of the Getchell mine are localized. K-Ar ages of the granodiorite, andesite porphyry, tungsten-bearing tactites, and altered granodiorite from the Getchell mine indicate that emplacement, alteration, and mineralization are all part of a magmatic-thermal episode which took place approximately 90 m.y. ago.

Erdenetiin Ovoo, the largest porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit in Mongolia (1.78 Gt @ 0.62% Cu, 0.025% Mo), is exploited by the Erdenet mine. It is located within the Orkhon-Selenge volcano-sedimentary trough which was developed on an active continental margin. The geodynamic evolution of the trough involves an early intra-continental stage, comprising rifting of a shallow continental shelf, accompanied by the emplacement of sub-aerial Permian mafic and felsic, and Triassic mafic volcanics. The Permian volcanics are predominantly alkali-rich trachyandesites, occurring as interlay ered flows and pyroclastics of the Khanui Group, overlying a Vendian (late Neoproterozoic) to early Cambrian basement with Palaeozoic (Devonian) granitoid intrusions, and Carboniferous sediments. Plutons, ranging in composition from diorite to granodiorite, quartz syenite and leucogranite intrude the Permian volcanic succession and exhibit similar compositional trends as the host volcanics. This suggests the intrusions are related to, and possibly coeval with, the volcanic rocks. The Triassic Mogod Formation volcanics, which are largely composed of trachyte flows, trachyandesite and basaltiotrachyandesite, directly overlie the Permian sequence. Early Mesozoic porphyritic subvolcanic and hypabyssal intrusions, which are genetically associated with the trachyandesite volcanics, are related to a continental collisional setting. These include syn-mineral granodiorite-porphyry intrusions which form shallow bodies, occurring as elongated dykes or small, shallow stocks. These porphyries vary from quartz diorite through granodiorite to granite in composition. They are characterised by porphyritic textures (up to 40% phenocrysts) with plagioclase phenocrysts set in a fine-grained groundmass of K feldspar, and are found in the core of the hydrothermal systems, where they are associated with high-grade ore.

The Almalyk porphyry Cu-Au system of eastern Uzbekistan encompasses the giant ore deposits at Kal'makyr (2.5 Gt @ 0.38% Cu, 0.5 g/t Au) and Dalnee (2.8 Gt @ 0.36% Cu, 0.35 g/t Au). The Sarycheku orebody (200 Mt @ 0.5% Cu, 0.1 g/t Au) is part of the Saukbulak porphyry Cu-Au system, some 18 km to the south. Both systems are associated with the second, Middle- to Late-Carboniferous, pulse of magmatic activity within the Devono-Carboniferous Valerianov-Bertau-Kurama volcano-plutonic belt that is the main element of the Middle Tien Shan terrane in Central Asia. Previous K-Ar dating of the ore-related porphyry intrusive and the mineralisation has returned ages in the range of 310 to 290 Ma, whereas recent U-Pb zircon dating reported for the intrusive sequence in the Almalyk district partially overlaps in the range of 320 to 305 Ma, with ore-related porphyries 315 to 319 Ma.

Mineralisation at both Kal'makyr and Dalnee is predominantly in the form of stockworks with lesser disseminations, and is associated with Late Carboniferous quartz monzonite porphyry plugs intruding earlier dioritic and monzonitic intrusive rocks of the same magmatic complex. The orebodies take the form of a cap like shell developed above and draped over the flanks of the related quartz monzonite porphyry stock. The dominant hosts to ore are the monzonite and diorite wall rocks, with the quartz monzonite porphyry only containing ore in its outer margins, surrounding and/or overlying a barren core. The focus of stockwork development is fracturing related to both the intrusive contact of the porphyry stock and to crosscutting faulting. Alteration comprises an early K-silicate phase followed by albite-actinolite and peripheral epidote-chlorite-carbonate-pyrite propylites, overprinted by an abundant phyllic episode which is closely related to the final distribution of the ore. Associated mineralisation commenced with barren quartz-hematite veining, followed by quartz-magnetite, quartz-pyrite-molybdenite-chalcopyrite with the bulk of the contained gold, quartz-carbonate-polysulphide with lesser gold, then by zeolite-anhydrite, and finally carbonate and barite veining. Subsequent oxidation and uplift developed a layer of oxide ore, a limited leached cap and supergene sulphide enrichment, largely in zones of fault related fracturing.

Major porphyry Cu-Au and Cu-Mo deposits (e.g. Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia - >2.3 Gt @ 1.16% Cu, 0.35 g/t Au and Kal'makyr-Dalnee in Uzbekistan - >5 Gt @ 0.5% Cu, 0.4 g/t Au) are distributed over an interval of almost 5000 km across central Eurasia, from the Urals Mountains in Russia in the west, to Inner Mongolia in north-eastern China, to the east. These deposits were formed during a range of magmatic episodes from the Ordovician to the Jurassic. They are associated with magmatic arcs within the extensive subduction-accretion complex of the Altaid andTransbaikal-Mongolian Orogenic Collages that developed from the late Neoproterozoic, through the Palaeozoic to the Jurassic intra-cratonic extension, predominantly on the palaeo-Tethys Ocean margin of the proto- Asian continent, but also associated with the closure of two rifted back-arc basins behind that ocean facing margin. The complex now comprises collages of fragments of sedimentary basins, island arcs, accretionary wedges and tectonically bounded terranes composed of Neoproterozoic to Cenozoic rocks.

The approximately 1000 Mt @ 0.6% Cu, 0.3-0.4 g/t Au Majdanpek porphyry copper is the most northerly deposit within the Timok Magmatic Complex (TMC) which also hosts the exploited Bor and producing Veliki Krivelj deposits. Slightly older, but similar magmatic rocks southeast of the region host the significant porphyry-high sulphidation mineralisation at Elatsite and Chelopech in neighbouring Bulgaria. Similar porphyry deposits are also known in Romania, across the Danube river to the north of Majdanpek. The TMC igneous rocks show clear evidence of crustal contamination and thus likely relate to an eastward dipping subduction zone beneath a continental margin located to the west. Mineralisation is related to sparse and narrow north-south trending andesitic dykes dated at 83 Ma. These dykes intrude along a north-south trending fracture zone cutting Proterozoic and Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks, and Jurassic limestones. Extrusive facies of the TMC are rare at Majdanpek, although they are common farther to the south of the region. Mineralisation is typicaly developed as stockworks, the bulk of which are actually within the metamorphic aureole of the andesitic dykes. There are also numerous skarns and replacement bodies flanking the intrusives, while more distal replacement bodies are found in the Jurassic limestones. The highest copper grades relate to K-silicate alteration and zones of strong silicification. Mo grades are very low throughout the deposit, while the Cu%;Au g/t ratio is approximately 2:1. PGEs occur as minor phases accompanying the copper mineralisation and are recovered at the smelter. Significant supergene upgrading is recorded in an oxidation blanket that was 25 m thick in the north and covered the deposit.

 Three of the major copper provinces of the Tethyan metallogenic belt lie within Iran. Two of these, the southeastern and north western provinces, contain the major Sar-Cheshmeh (1.2 Gt @ 0.7% Cu, 0.03% Mo) and Sungun (500 Mt @ 0.75% Cu, 0.01% Mo) porphyry copper deposits respectively. The copper mineralisation of these provinces bears a direct relationship to the evolution and closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and the collision of the Iranian and Afro-Arabian plates. All of the significant porphyry type copper deposits in Iran are associated with granitoids of the subduction-related, Eocene to Miocene age, volcanism and plutonism in the northwest-southeast oriented Central Iranian Volcano-Plutonic Belt (better known as the Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Arc). The peak of mineralisation was during the Miocene. The Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Arc developed in parallel with the collisional Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt to the southwest, and the intervening Sanandaj-Sirjan Metamorphic Zone. Although many examples of porphyry copper mineralisation are known within these provinces, potential still remains for large discoveries in several prospective districts through further studies and systematic exploration.

Two Himalayan porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold belts have been developed in the eastern part of the Himalayan-Tibet orogenic zone related to the collision between the Indian and Asian Plates. Both were accompanied by the emplacement of high-level intracontinental, alkali-rich, potassic felsic magmas which produced a huge Cenozoic belt of potassic igneous rock. The emplacement of these magmas was controlled by large-scale strike-slip fault systems, orientated roughly orthogonal to the of the Indo-Asian continental convergence, which adjusted the collisional strain. The Jomda-Markam-Xiangyun copper-molybdenum belt is the western of the two, developed along a narrow zone following the Nanqian thrust, the Jinshajiang fault system, and the Red River shear zone, whereas the eastern, the Zhongdian-Yanyuan-Yao'an porphyry copper-gold-silver belt, was developed along the western margin of the Yangtze Craton. The ore-bearing porphyries have compositions which include granite, monzogranite, and monzonite, with a small amount of quartz-syenite porphyry. They are distinguished from barren porphyries by their higher Si02 (>63 wt %), lower Y (<20 ppm) and their adakitic magma affinity. All alkali-rich porphyries are relatively enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (K, Rb and Ba) and depleted in high-field strength elements (Nb, Ta, Ti and P) with a wide range of Nb/Y ratios.