• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.545-554
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• 2017

Birnessite is one of the dominant Mn (oxyhydr)oxide phases commonly found in soil and deep ocean environments. It typically occurs as nano-sized and poorly crystalline aggregates in the natural environment. It is well known that birnessite participates in a wide variety of bio/geochemical reactions as a reactive mineral phase with structural defects, cation vacancies, and mixed valences of structural Mn. These various bio/geochemical reactions control not only the fate and transport of inorganic and organic substances in the environment, but also the formation of diverse Mn (oxyhydr)oxides through birnessite transformation. This review assessed and discussed about the phase transformation of birnessite under a wide range of environmental conditions and about the potential geochemical factors controlling the corresponding reactions in the literature. Birnessite transformation to other types of Mn (oxyhydr)oxides were affected by dissolved Mn(II), dissolved oxygen, solution pH, and co-existing cation (i.e., $Mg^{2+}$). However, there still have been many issues to be unraveled on the complex bio/geochemical processes involved in the phase transformation of birnessite. Future work on the detail mechanisms of birnessite transformation should be further investigated.

• KOREAN POULTRY JOURNAL
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• v.24 no.9 s.275
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• pp.163-165
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• 1992

어떤 관점에서 유황은 산소와 비슷한 화학적 성질을 가진다. 만일 태고의 지구상의 대기에 산소가 축적되기 전에 어떤 종류의 혐기성 생물이 존재하였다면 유황은 매우 중요한 역할을 담당하였을 것으로 생각된다. 오늘날 존재하는 소위'유황박테리아'는 아마도 유화수소($H{_2}S$)가 풍부했던 태고의 대기에서 존재했던 생물체의 초기 형태일지도 모른다. 뿐만아니라 오늘날의 고등 동식물에서도 각종 유황을 함유하는 화합물들(특히-SH기를 함유하는 화합물)은 각종 산화-환원 반응에 조효소로서 중요한 기능을 수행하고 있다.

• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.183-193
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• 1998

This study was designed, firstly, to determine the mineralogical and chemical characteristics of some rock aggregates, secondly, to offer interrelationships between those and mechanical properties, and thirdly, to evaluate their suitability for concrete aggregates. Mineralogical, chemical, physical and mechanical characteristics of the studied rock aggregates indicate that granite from BJ quarry and banded gneisses from KB. HI and SK quarry, and quartzite from the Hongcheon riverside are not proper to cement concrete aggregates because of quartz's potential possibility of alkali-silica reaction, and limestone in SY quarry is proper to asphalt concrete aggregates owing to dolomite causing alkali-carbonate reaction. Augen gneiss and diorite from KB and SA quarry, respectively, are to be not suitable for concrete aggregates because of biotite contents, but augen gneiss in HI quarry and gneisses in Hongcheon riverside are proper to concrete aggregates because of mineralogical and mechanical characteristics.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-139
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• 2010

Behavior of heavy metals and arsenic in the tailings of Songcheon Au-Ag mine was characterized via both mineralogical and geochemical methods. Mineral composition of the tailings was investigated by X-ray diffractometry, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA) and total concentrations of heavy metals and arsenic and their chemical forms were analyzed by total digestion of aqua regia and sequential extraction method, respectively. The results of mineralogical study indicate that the tailings included mineral particles of resinous shape mainly consisting of galena, sphalerite, pyrite, quartz, and scorodite, and specifically socordite was identified in the form of matrix. EPMA quantitative analyses were performed to evaluate the weatherability of each mineral, and the results suggest that it decreased in the sequence of arsenopyrite > galena > sphalerite > pyrite. The weathering pattern of galena was observed to show distinctive zonal structure consisting of secondary minerals such as anglesite and beudantite. In addition, almost all of arsenopyrite has been altered to scorodite existing asmatrix and galena, sphalerite, and pyrite which have lower weatherability than arsenopyrite were identified within the matrix of scorodite. During the process of alteration of arsenopyrite into scorodite, it is likely that a portion of arsenic was lixiviated and caused a great deal of detrimental effects to surrounding environment. The results of EPMA quantitative analyses verify that the stability of scorodite was relatively high and this stable scorodite has restrained the weathering of other primary minerals within tailings as a result of its coating of mineral surfaces. For this reason, Songcheon tailings show the characteristics of the first weathering stage, although they have been exposed to the surface environment for a long time. Based on the overall results of mineralogical and geochemical studies undertaken in this research, if the tailings are kept to be exposed to the surface environment and the weathering process is continuous, not only hazardous heavy metals, such as lead and arsenic seem to be significantly leached out because their larger portions are being partitioned in weakly-bound (highly-mobile) fractions, but the potential of arsenic leaching is likely to be high as the stability of scorodite is gradually decreased. Consequently, it is speculated that the environmental hazard of Songcheon mine is significantly high.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 1979

A literature review is made on the physical and chemical characteristics of clay minerals in acidic solutions from the mineralogical and hydrometallurgical viewpoints. Some of the important characteristics of clays are their ability to cation exchange, swelling, and incongruent dissolution in acidic solutions. Various clay minerals can take up metallic ions from solution via cation exchange mechanism. Generally, cation exchange capacity increases in the following order : kaolinite, halloysite, illite, vermiculite, and montmorillonite. In acidic solutions, the cation uptake such as copper by clay minerals is strongly inhibited by hydrogen and aluminum ions and thus is not economically significant factor for recovery of metals such as uranium and copper. In acidic solutions, the cation uptake is substial. Swelling is minimal at lower pH, possibly due to lattice collapse. Swelling may be controllable with montmorillonite type clays by exchanging interlayer sodium with lithium and/or hydroxylated aluminum species. The effect of add on clay minerals are : 1. Division of aggregates into smaller plates with increase in surface area and porosity. 2. Clay-acid reactions occur in the following order: (i) $H^+$ replacement of interlayer cations, (ii) removal of octahedral cations, such as Al, Fe, and Mg, and (iii) removal of tetrahedral Al ions. Acid attack initiates, around the edges of the clay particles and continued inward, leaving hydrated silica gel residue around the edges. 3. Reaction rates of (ii) and (iii) are pseudo-1st order and proportional to acid concentration. Rate doubles for every temperature increment of $10^{\circ}C$. Implications in in-situ leaching of copper or uranium with acid are : 1. Over the life span of the operation for a year or more, clays attacked by acid will leave silica gel. If such gel covers the surface of valuable mineral surfaces being leached, recovery could be substantially delayed. 2. For a copper deposit containing 0.5% each of clay minerals and recoverable copper, the added cost due to clay-acid reaction is about 1.5c/lb of copper (or 0.93 lbs of $H_2SO_4/1b$ of copper). This acid consumption by clay may be a factor for economic evaluation of in-situ leaching of an oxide copper deposit.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.71.2-71.2
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• 2018

태양계 질량의 대부분은 플라즈마, 기체, 또는 액체 상태로 존재하며, 극히 일부만이 고체 즉 암석과 광물로 존재한다. 하지만, 반응 특히 혼합(mixing)이 일어나는 속도가 매우 느린 고체의 특성상 태양계의 탄생과 진화 과정의 기록은 고체태양계 물질에 더 잘 보관되어 있다. 지구를 제외한 고체 태양계 물질을 확보하기 위해서는 지구로 낙하한 암석인 운석(meteorites)을 발견하거나, 우주로 나가 시료를 가져와야 한다. 아폴로 미션(Apollo mission)에 의한 월석(lunar rocks) 채취(Papike et al., 1998), 하야부사 미션(Hayabusa mission)에 의한 소행성(asteroid) 시료 채취(Nakamura et al., 2011), 스타더스트 미션(Stardust mission)에 의한 혜성 시료 채취(Zolensky et al., 2006) 등이 후자에 속한다. 능동적으로 가져온 시료는 아직까지는 그 종류와 양에서 운석에 비해 매우 부족하므로 현재까지 우리가 알고 있는 고체 태양계에 관한 대부분은 운석 연구를 통해 얻어졌다. 운석은 크게 미분화운석 즉 콘드라이트(chondrites)와 분화운석(differentiated meteorites)으로 구분한다. 분화운석 중 일부는 달운석(lunar meteorites) 또는 화성운석(martian meteorites)이며, 나머지 분화운석과 콘드라이트는 암석-지구화학적 특징과 성인적 연관성에 의해 다양한 그룹으로 세분되는데 각 그룹은 하나의, 또는 둘 이상의 매우 유사한, 소행성에서 유래한 것으로 해석된다(Krot et al., 2014; 최변각 2009). 다양한 종류의 운석과 구성 광물에 포함된 기록으로는 (1) 태양계 이전 존재한 항성의 대기에서 생성된 광물, 즉 선태양계 광물(presolar grains), (2) 태양계 성운 탄생과 각 진화 단계의 정확한 시기, (3) 태양계 성운의 화학조성-동위원소 조성, 온도-압력 조건 등을 포함한 물리-화학적 특징, (4) 가스-먼지로부터 미행성, 소행성, 행성으로의 진화 과정, (5) 행성 진화의 열원, (6) 소행성 핵의 생성 과정 등이 있다. 강연에서는 이들을 간략히 살펴보고자 한다. 운석연구 등을 통해 태양계 생성과 진화과정에 관한 다양한 정보가 축적되었지만, 앞으로 연구할 것들이 더 많다. 또한 태양계 물질 중에는 운석의 형태로 지구로 들어왔거나 앞으로 들어올 수 있는 것도 있지만 그렇지 않은 것도 있다. 가스나 기체의 경우가 그러할 것이며, 고체지만 결합이 약해 일부라도 원형을 유지한 채 대기권을 통과 할 수 없는 것도 있을 것이다. 또 공전궤도나 중력 등 물리적 이유로 지구권 진입이 불가능한 것도 있다. 이러한 태양계 구성원에는 우리가 아직까지 얻지 못한 정보들이 다량 보존되어 있을 것이다. 미래의 태양계탐사가 기대되는 이유 중 하나이다.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2013

Diagenetic black chert nodules occur in the Paleozoic dolostone in Susan, Jecheon, Korea. They reacted with dolomite to form alteration rim around the nodules during the contact metamorphism probably related to the intrusion of biotite granite. In the earlier stage of alteration, talc and calcite replaced both the chert and dolomite, which were subsequently replaced by tremolite. Significant mass of tremolite occurs along the horizon enriched with chert nodules. Scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy of the tremolite specimens revealed the elongated morphology of diverse aspect ratios coexisting in several mm scale. Non-asbestiform tremolite columns were also common as well as asbestiform fibrous bundles. Quantitative estimation of asbestos should be more cautious for naturally occurring materials because all the tremolite particles in the outcrop are not asbestiform. The occurrence of asbestiform tremolite in the Susan area indicates that a combination of chert-bearing dolostone, heat source, and aqueous fluids is one of the geological environments for the formation of asbestiform tremolite.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.507-522
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• 2001

At the Tongyeong mine, quartz, rhodochrosite (kutnahorite), muscovite, illite, pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite. sphalerite, acanthite, and hessite are the principal vein minerals. They were deposited under epithermal conditions in two stages. Ore mineral assemblages and associated gangue phases in stage can be clearly divided into two general associations: an early cycle (band) that appeared with introduction of most of the sulfides and electrum, and a later cycle in which base metal and carbonate-bearing assemblages (mostly rhodochrosite) became dominant. Tellurides and some electrum occur as small rounded grains within subhedral-to euhedral pyrite or anhedral galena in stageII. Sulfide mineralization is zoned from pyrite to galena and sphalerite. We have used computer modeling to simulate formation of four stages of vein genesis. The reaction of a single fluid with andesite host rock at 28$0^{\circ}C$, isobaric cooling of a single fluid from 26$0^{\circ}C$ to 12$0^{\circ}C$, and boiling and mixing of a fluid with both decreasing pressure and temperature were studied using the CHILLER program. Calculations show that the precipitation of alteration minerals is due to fluid-andesite interaction as temperature drops. Speciation calculations confirm that the hydrothermal fluids with moderately high salinities and pH 5.7 (acid), were capable of transporting significant quantities of base metals. The abundance of gold in fluid depends critically on the ratio of total base metals and iron to sulfide in the aqueous phase because gold is transported as an Au(HS)$_2$- complex, which is sensitive to sulfide activity. Modeling results for Tongyeong mineralization show strong influence of shallow hydrogenic processes such as boiling and fluid mixing. The variable handing in stageII mineralization is best explained by maltiple boilings of hydrothermal fluid followed by lateral mixing of the fluid with overlying diluted, steam-heated ground water. The degree of similarity of calculated mineral assemblages and observed electrum composition and field relationships shows the utility of the numerical simulation method in identifying chemical processes that accompany boiling and mixing in Te-bearing Au-Ag system. This has been applied in models to narrow the search area for epithermal ores.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.67-76
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• 2024

In light of the development of modern high-tech industries, where human sustainability is becoming increasingly important, anorthosite needs to be reevaluated not only for its potential as a new source of aluminum, but also as a primary resource with a wide range of industrial applications. In particular, a relatively simple chemical composition with a high CaO content and Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ratio, along with its relatively low impurity levels and chemically stable nature offers significant advantages in industrial processes. Thus, anorthosite is considered as an important industrial resource in the age of energy transition. In this review, we examine the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of anorthosite that determines their stability and reactivity. Based on their characteristics, we propose the potential use of utilizing the anorthosite as an alternative to the Bayer process which has the limitations. We also explore its application as the eco-friendly geo-synthetic materials, and as the new materials for carbon dioxide storage and utilization. As the demand for aluminum applications accelerates, anorthosite is gaining their importance in the geological industry and clean energy field. Therefore, advanced and extensive research on anorthosite complex occurring in the Hadong and Sancheong regions of Korea is critical to obtain opportunities to enhance economic advantages through efficient utilization of national resources and to lead to sustainable development.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.114-121
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• 2002

Buffer capacities for two Bo horizon soils or Andisols developed from different parent materials have been investigated. The titration curves from column leaching experiment show that buffering occurred at pH 4.0 and 6.0. The buffer intensity or soil developed from pyroclastic materials (P-soil) is higher than that from basalts (B-soil). From batch test we have found that proto-imogolite and/or imogolite may control Al solubility as well as $Al(OH) _3$in the moderate acid condition. The buffer intensities ($\beta$) of P-soils were plotted on the theoretical buffering curve of $Al(OH)_3$, while $\beta$ of B-soils approached to that of proto-imogolite, which shows the solubility of short-range-order materials in P-soil control the buffer capacity. Buffering at pH 6.0 is thought to be the result of dissolution of some silicate clays and exchange reactions between $H^{+ }$and base-forming cations. Considering the amount of annual acid precipitation, aluminum solubility of Andisols, and the low BS (Base Saturation percentage), it can be predicted that prolonged acid precipitation will reduce the buffer capacity of soils and lead to soil acidification.