• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.171-186
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• 2013

A drilling project was undertaken to characterize the geochemical relationship and the occurrence of radioactive materials at a test site among public-use groundwaters previously known to have high occurrence of uranium and radon-222 in the Daejeon area. A borehole (121 m deep) was drilled and core rocks mainly consist of two-mica granite, and associated with pegmatite and dykes of intermediate composition. The groundwater samples collected at six different depths in the borehole by a double-packed system showed the pH values ranging from neutral to alkaline (7.10-9.3), and electrical conductivity ranging from 263 to 443 ${\mu}S/cm$. The chemical composition of the borehole groundwaters was of the $Ca-HCO_3(SO_4+Cl)$ type. The uranium and Rn-222 contents in the groundwater were 109-1,020 ppb and 9,190-32,800 pCi/L, respectively. These levels exceed the regulation guidelines of US EPA. The zone of the highest groundwater uranium content occurred at depths of 45 to 55m. The groundwater chemistry in this zone (alkaline, oxidated, and high in bicarbonate) is favorable for the dissolution of uranium into groundwater. The dominant uranium complex in groundwater is likely to be $(UO_2CO_3)^0$ or $(UO_2HCO_3)^+$. Radon-222 content in groundwater shows an increasing trend with depth. The uranium and thorium contents in the core were 0.372-47.42 ppm and 0.388-11.22 ppm, respectively. These levels are higher values than those previously been reported in Korea. Microscopic observations and electron microprobe analysis(EPMA) revealed that the minerals containing U and Th are monazite, apatite, epidote, and feldspar. U and Th in these minerals are likely to substitute for major elements in crystal lattice.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.115-127
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• 2019

The low-flow grouting injection technique, the target construction method for this study, is a method of pouring mortar into the ground by non-emission replacement principle, which can be expected to increase the density of the ground, and, in some cases, be used as a base file using the strength of the high injection solids, along with low noise, low pollution, and high durability. To verify that the dynamic characteristics of the ground are improved by the low-flow injection technique, the test work was conducted on the site and physical tests were performed, and the quality of the improvement formed in the ground was verified through the indoor test on the core and core recovery rate was analyzed. The density logs test layer calculated the volume density of the ground layer by using the Compton scattering of gamma-rays, and the sonic logs was tested on the ground around the drill hole using a detector consisting of sonar and receiver devices inside the drill hole. As a result of the measurement of the change in physical properties (density and sonic logs) before and after grouting, both properties were basically increased after infusion of grout agent. However, the variation in density increase was greater than the increase in speed after grouting, and the ground density measurement method was thought to be effective in measuring the fill effect of the filler. Strength and core recovery rates were measured from specimens taken after the age of 28 days, and the results of the test results of the diffusion and strength test of the improved products were verified to satisfy the design criteria, thereby satisfying the seismic performance reinforcement.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.113-121
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• 2012

The mechanical characteristics of a fault gouge from near Mt. Kumjung in Kumjung-Gu, Busan, were estimated from laboratory tests on different joint models. Fault gouge samples and joint samples in biotite granite were obtained from boreholes in the study area that had penetrated small faults associated with the Dongnae and Yangsan faults. XRD and SEM analyses revealed that for the fault gouge consists of several clay minerals with tabular structure (kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite, sericite), which could cause the considerable reduction of shear strength when wet. The shear strength of the fault gouge was obtained from direct shear tests of the fault gouge itself and from direct shear tests of several natural/artificial joint surfaces coated with fault gouge. The results indicate that the reduction of shear strength is more abrupt for the joint surfaces coated with fault gouge compared with uncoated joint surfaces, and that the friction angle of the fault gouge between joint surfaces is much lower than the internal friction angle of the fault gouge itself. Fault gouges in contact with rock, therefore, could have a stronger negative effect on the stability of structures in rock masses than the fault gouge itself.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.412-428
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• 2012

To achieve mine development, a large amount of data concerned with the geological structure and the ore body had to be investigated and collected through geological survey, drilling and geophysical explorations. In most previous cases, however, the data were usually analyzed two dimensionally and those results showed some limits because of their 2D presentation. Those 2D maps such as geological plane sections or longitudinal sections cause lots of difficulties in understanding the complex geological structure or the feature of ore body in a spatial way. In this study, research area was set on the abandoned Yangyang iron mine in Korea and the Sugaeng ore body within the mine was selected as the research target to design a mine haulage system for reopening. A 3D mine model of this area was tried to be constructed using a 3D modelling software, GEMS. An accurate 3D model including the ore body, the geological structure, the old underground mine drifts and the new mine drifts was constructed under the purpose of reopening of the abandoned iron mine. Especially, mine design for trackless haulage system was conducted. New inclines and drifts were planned and modelled 3 dimensionally considering the utilization of old drifts and shaft. In addition to the 3D modelling, geostatistical technique was adopted to generate a spatial distribution of the ore grade and the rock physical properties. 3D model would be able to contribute in solving problems such as evaluating ore reserves, planning the mine development and additional explorations and changing the development plans, etc.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.403-418
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• 2007

The objective of this research was to characterize the fate and transport of Cr(VI) contaminated groundwater in the Daejeon industrial area. Five subsidiary monitoring wells were newly installed and two existing wells were utilized for the investigation and the reduction process of Cr(VI) contaminated groundwater of the Daejeon(Mun-pyeong) national groundwater monitoring station. The Cr(VI) concentrations at the shallow aquifer well of the station were in the range of 3.2-4.5 mg/L indicating continuous contamination. However, Cr was not detected at the deep bedrock well and the other monitoring wells except MPH-1 and 3. The Cr(VI) concentrations of MPH-1 and MPH-3 were below the drinking water guideline value (0.05 mg/L). Therefore, the plume of the Cr(VI) contaminated groundwater was predicted to be confined within the narrow boundary around the station. The soluble/exchangeable Cr(VI) concentrations were below the detection limit in all core and slime samples taken from the five newly installed wells. Although the exact source of contamination was not directly detected in the study area, the spatial Cr(VI) distribution in groundwater and characteristics of the core samples indicated that the source and the dispersion range were confined within the 100 m area from the monitoring station. The contamination might be induced from the unlined landfill of industrial wastes which was observed during the installation of an subsidiary monitoring well. For the evaluation of the natural attenuation of Cr(VI), available reduction capacities of Cr(VI) with an initial concentration of 5 mg/L were measured in soil and aquifer materials. Dark-gray clay layer samples have high capacities of Cr(VI) reduction ranging from 58 to 64%, which is obviously related to organic carbon contents of the samples. The analysis of reduction capacities implied that the soil and aquifer materials controlled the dispersion of Cr(VI) contamination in this area. However, some possibilities of dispersion by the preferential flow cannot be excluded due to the limited numbers of monitoring wells. We suggest the removal of Cr(VI) contaminated groundwater by periodical pumping, and the continuous groundwater quality monitoring for evaluation of the Cr(VI) dispersion should be followed in the study area.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.37-55
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• 2000

Two-dimensional numerical experiments and field surveys have been conducted to clarify some environmental variations in the flow and sedimentation in the adjacent seas after the construction of a tidal embankment. Velocities of flow and water levels in the bay decreased after the construction of the barrage. When the freshwater was instantly released into the bay, the conditions of flow were unaltered, with the exception of a minor variation in velocities and tidal levels around the sluices at the ebb flow. The computational results showed that freshwater released at the low water reached the outside of the bay and then returned to the inside with the tidal currents at the high water. The front sea regions of the embankment had a variety of sedimentary phases such as a clayish silt, a silty clay and a sandy clayish silt. However, a clayish silt was prevalent in the middle of the bay. On the other hand, the skewness, which reflects the behaviour of sediments, was $\{pm}0.1$ at the front regions of the embankment while it was more than ±0.3 in the middle of the bay. Analytical results of drilling samples acquired from the front of the sluice gates showed that the lower part of the sediments consists of very fine silty or clayish grains. The upper surface layer consisted of shellfish, such as oyster or barnacle with a thickness of 40～50 cm. Therefore, it seemed that the lower part of the sediments would have been one of intertidal zones prior to the embankment construction while the upper shellfish layer would have been debris of shellfish farms formed in the adjacent seas after the construction of the embankment. This shows the difference of sedimentary phases reflected the influence of a tidal embankment construction.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.273-288
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• 2023

The Gubong Au-Ag deposit, which has been one of the largest deposits (Unsan, Daeyudong, Kwangyang) in Korea, consists of eight lens-shaped quartz veins (a mix of orogenic-type and intrusion-related types) that filled fractures along fault zones within Precambrian metasedimentary rock. Korea Mining Promotion Corporation found a quartz vein (referred to as the No. 6 vein with a grade of 27.9 g/t Au and a width of 0.9 m) at a depth of -728 ML by drilling (No. 90-12) conducted in 1989. Korea Mining Promotion Corporation conducted drilling (No. 04-1) in 2004 to investigate the redevelopment's possibility of the No. 6 vein. The author studied the occurrence and chemical composition of chlorite and white mica using wallrock, wallrock alteration and quartz vein samples collected from the No. 04-1 drilling core in 2004. The alteration of studied samples occurs chloritization, sericitization, silicification and pyritization. Chlorite and white mica from mineralized zone at a depth of -275 ML occur with quartz, K-feldspar, calcite, rutile and pyrite in wallrock alteration zone and quartz vein. Chlorite and white mica from ore vein (No. 6 vein) at a depth of -779 ML occur with quartz, calcite, apatite, zircon, rutile, ilmenite, pyrrhotite and pyrite in wallrock alteration zone and quartz vein. Chlorite from a depth of -779 ML has a higher content of Al and Mg elements and a lower content of Si and Fe elements than chlorite from a depth of -275 ML. Also, Chlorites from a depth of -275 ML and -779 ML have higher content of Si element than theoretical chlorite. Compositional variation in chlorite from a depth of -275 ML was mainly caused by phengitic or Tschermark substitution [Al^{3+,VI + Al3+,IV} <-> (Fe²⁺ or Mg²⁺)^VI + (Si⁴⁺)^IV], but compositional variation from a depth of -779 ML was mainly caused by octahedral Fe²⁺ <-> Mg²⁺ (Mn²⁺) substitution. The interlayer cation site occupancy (K+Na+Ca+Ba+Sr = 0.76~0.82 apfu, 0.72~0.91 apfu) of white mica from a depth of -275 ML and -779 ML have lower contents than theoretical dioctahedral micas, but octahedral site occupancy (Fe+Mg+Mn+Ti+Cr+V+Ni = 2.09~2.13 apfu, 2.06~2.14 apfu) have higher contents than theoretical dioctahedral micas. Compositional variation in white mica from a depth of -275 ML was caused by phengitic or Tschermark substitution [(Al³⁺)^VI + (Al³⁺)^IV <-> (Fe²⁺ or Mg²⁺)^VI + (Si⁴⁺)^IV], illitic substitution and direct (Fe³⁺)^VI <-> (Al³⁺)^VI substitution. But, compositional variation in white mica from a depth of -779 ML was caused by phengitic or Tschermark substitution [(Al³⁺)^VI + (Al³⁺)^IV <-> (Fe²⁺ or Mg²⁺)^VI + (Si⁴⁺)^IV] and direct (Fe³⁺)^VI <-> (Al³⁺)^VI substitution.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.499-508
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• 2019

Based on the preliminary surveys for the occurrences of the Muwellut chrome-nickel mineralized zone ($800km^2$) in northwestern Myanmar, Bophivum area was selected as the detailed exploration area after considering data source, geological potential, metallogenic province, necessity of resource development on target mineral, exploration activity, grade, ore deposit type, nearby operating mine, infrastructure and exploration prediction effect. From 2013 to 2016, KIGAM and DGSE carried out geological and geochemical survey with 1:1,000 scale, magnetic survey(areal extent, $1.672km^2$), trench survey(19 trench, total length 392 m), pitting survey(18 pit, total depth 42.6m), exploration drilling(6holes 600m, 2015; 13holes 617.4m). We analyzed Cr and Ni contents of 77 drill cores with specific gravity in Yangon DGSE analytical center. Considering surface geological survey, geochemical exploration, magnetic survey, trench survey and drilling data, we divided Bophivum area into 8 blocks. Resource estimation are divided into measured and indicated resources. Measured resource is about 9,790t and indicated resource is about 12,080t with the average grade of Cr 11.8% and Ni 0.34%. In case of Bophivum area, if we develop by tying up Webula chrome mineralized zone in the south, it will be possible to upgrade the medium-scale mine. Geologically, the ophiolite belt are distributed in the western and eastern part in Myanmar. So, the exploration technology obtained from exploation in Bophivum area will be helpful to discover the hidden chromitite ore body in Myanmar ophiolite belt in the future.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.351-363
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• 2012

In order to develop the evaluation techniques for the potential sulfide ore reserves, the relationships between the modal vol.%, grain sizes and textural characteristics of the constituent minerals (e.g., sulfides, oxides and skarn minerals) and the Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) phase differences are examined for the nine rock cores collected from the Gagok Pb-Zn skarn deposit. The Gagok Pb-Zn skarn deposit occurs mainly along the intrusive contact between the Cretaceous granitic rocks and Cambrian Myobong slate and Pungchon limestone. The nine rock cores have been grouped into three showing distinctive SIP phase differences: the highest (Group I), intermediate (Group II) and lowest (Group III). In relation with the modal vol.% of minerals, Group I is characterized by higher pyrrhotite (25-38 vol.%) and amphibole (40-55 vol.%); Group II by intermediate pyrrhotite (7-13 vol.%) and higher garnet (44-68 vol.%); and lower pyrrhotite (1-7 vol.%) and higher pyroxene (24-66 vol.%) stand for Group III. Furthermore, the grains of all the major constituent minerals become smaller from Group I (<5 mm) through Group II (<2.5 mm) to Group III (<1.6 mm). In particular, the pyrrhotite contents and their grain sizes show logarithmic correlation with the SIP phase differences, Although we present here the results solely from nine samples, the systematic interrelations especially for pyrrhotite indicate the potential ability of SIP measurements as a new mine-evaluation technique for the sulfide ore reservoir.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.180-189
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• 2013

Geophysical exploration is widely used to develop strategic mineral resources in the world because of its efficient method in detecting mineralized zones in the metallic ore deposit. It is important to understand the physical properties of the stratum so that geophysical data can be more accurately interpreted. This paper is to comprehend physical properties of the rock at the Gagok mine, a typical skarn deposit in Korea. Thus, laboratory tests were conducted on specimens of ore and host rocks which were collected from rock outcrops and drill cores at the Gagok mine. Using the measurement system of rock physical property, we investigated the density, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, and spectral induced polarization. According to the results, all physical properties of specimens had wide differences depending on contents of ore minerals, which are formed by skarnization. Especially, using the chargeability and time constant from the calculated spectral induced polarization data by the Cole-Cole inversion, we could estimate the volume contents as well as the grain size of the sulfide minerals. Therefore, the spectral induced polarization technique may be considered a useful method when exploring metallic ore deposit with sulfide minerals.