Geochemistry of Stable Isotope and Mineralization Age of Magnetite Deposits from the Janggun Mine, Korea

장군광산(將軍鑛山) 자철광상(磁鐵鑛床)의 광화시기(鑛化時期) 및 안정동위원소(安定同位元素) 지화학(地化學)

  • Received : 1996.05.31
  • Published : 1996.08.30

Abstract

The Janggun magnetite deposits occur as the lens-shaped magnesian skarn, magnetite and base-metal sulfide orebodies developed in the Cambrian Janggun Limestone Formation. The K-Ar age of alteration sericite indicates that the mineralization took place during late Cretaceous age (107 to 70 Ma). The ore deposition is divided into two stages as a early skarn and late hydrothermal stage. Mineralogy of skara stage (107 Ma) consists of iron oxide, base-metal sulfides, Mg-Fe carbonates and some Mg- and Ca-skarn minerals, and those of the hydrothermal stage (70 Ma) is deposited base-metal sulfides, some Sb- and Sn-sulfosalts, and native bismuth. Based on mineral assemblages, chemical compositions and thermodynamic considerations, the formation temperature, $-logfs_2$, $-logfo_2$ and pH of ore fluids progressively decreased and/or increased with time from skarn stage (433 to $345^{\circ}C$, 8.8 to 9.9 atm, 29.4 to 31.6 atm, and 6.1 to 7.2) to hydrothermal stage (245 to $315^{\circ}C$, 11.2 to 12.3 atm, 33.6 to 35.4 atm, and 7.3 to 7.8). The ${\delta}^{34}S$ values of sulfides have a wide range between 3.2 to 11.6‰. The calculated ${\delta}^{34}S_{H_2S}$ values of ore fluids are relatively homo-geneous as 2.9 to 5.4‰ (skam stage) and 8.7 to 13.5‰ (hydrothermal stage), which are a deep-seated igneous source of sulfur indicates progressive increasing due to the mixing of oxidized sedimentary sulfur with increasing paragenetic time. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of carbonates in ores range from -4.6 to -2.5‰. Oxygen and hydrogen isotope data revealed that the ${\delta}^{38}O_{H_2O}$ and ${\delta}D$ values of ore fluids decreased gradually with time from 14.7 to 1.8‰ and -85 to -73‰ (skarn stage), and from 11.1 to -0.2‰ and -87 to -80‰ (hydrothermal stage), respectively. This indicates that magmatic water was dominant during the early skarn mineralization but was progressively replaced by meteoric water during the later hydrothermal replacement.

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Acknowledgement

Supported by : 한국과학재단