• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.665-676
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• 1996

Domestic metal mines have contributed to the national industrialization of Japan for over a century through their stable supply of raw materials. However, due to the changes which have taken place in the industries structure, mining industry has been shifted to downstream industries. At present, only three major mines are in production. In recent times, changing economic conditions have made it increasingly difficult to develop new base metal mines. Subsequently, the deposit type targeted has shifted from base metals to epithermal associated gold deposits which, if of sufficient grade and tonnage, can be economical. Accompanying the dramatic rise in the price of gold during the late 1970's, has been an increase in the geological information and our understanding of epithermal gold deposits around the Pacific rim region. In particular, the common acceptance of the plate tectonic theory and the correlation's between modem geothermal systems and fossil epithermal systems were most important developments. In 1988, the Mining Council authorized the domestic exploration of 19 districts, targeting epithermal gold mineralization. Since 1989 the Metal Mining Agency of Japan, semi-government organization, has been conducted gold exploration in such area. With new genetic concepts and new technologies, promising gold mineralization has been discovered. Two such areas which are at an advanced stage of exploration are Seta, in northern Hokkaido, and Noya, in central Kyushu.

• 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.