Overview of Epithermal Gold-Silver Mineralization, Korea:

The precious-meta] mineralization of epithermal type in the Korean Peninsula, which is spread over a broader range of ca. 110 to 60 Ma with a major population between 90 and 70 Ma, mainly occurred along the NE-trending major strike-slip fault systems (i.e., the Gongju and Gwangju ones) that commonly include volcano-tectonic depressions and calderas. The occurrence of epithermal mineralization during Late Cretaceous clearly indicates that the geologic setting of the Korean Peninsula changed to the favorable depth of ore formation with very shallow-crustal environments (〈1.0 kb) accompanied with gold-silver (-base-meta]) mineralization. Epithermal gold-silver deposits in Korea are primarily distinguished as sediment-dominant and volcanic-dominant basins by using criteria of varying alteration, ore and gangue mineralogy deposited by the interaction of different ore-forming fluids with host rocks and meteoric waters. These differences between the central and southern portions are causally linked to the tectonic evolution of the Peninsula during the Cretaceous time. In the Early Cretaceous, the sinistral strike-slip movements due to the oblique subduction of the Izanagi Plate resulted in the Gongju and Gwangju fault systems in the central portion of the Korean Peninsula, which was accompanied with a number of sediment-dominant basins formed along these faults. During the Late Cretaceous, the mode of convergence of the Izanagi Plate changed to northwesteward so that orthogonal convergence occurred with a calc-alkaline volcanism. As results, volcanic-dominant basins were developed in the southern portion of the Peninsula, accompanied with volcano-tectonic depressions and caldera-related fractures. The magmatism and related fractures during Late Cretaceous may play an important role in the formation of geothermal systems. Thus, such fault zones may be favorable environments for veining emplacement that is closely related to the precious-metal mineralization of epithermal type in the Korean Peninsula.