• Title/Summary/Keyword: Ag-Au mineralization

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Genetic Environments of Au-Ag-bearing Geumhwa Hydrothermal Vein Deposit (함 금-은 금화 열수 맥상광상의 생성환경)

  • Lee, Sunjin;Choi, Sang-Hoon
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.54 no.1
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    • pp.49-60
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    • 2021
  • The Geumhwa Au-Ag deposit is located within the Cretaceous Gyeongsang basin. Mineral paragenesis can be divided into two stages (stage I and II) by major tectonic fracturing. Stage II is economically barren. Stage I, at which the precipitation of major ore minerals occurred, is further divided into three substages(early, middle and late) with paragenetic time based on minor fractures and discernible mineral assemblages: early substage, marked by deposition of pyrite with minor wolframite; middle substage, characterized by introduction of electrum and base-metal sulfides with Cu-As and/or Cu-Sb sulfosalts; late substage, marked by hematite and Bi-sulfosalts with secondary minerals. Changes in vein mineralogy reflect decreases in temperature and sulfur fugacity with a concomitant increase in oxygen fugacity. Fluid inclusion data indicate progressive decreases in temperature and salinity within each substage with increasing paragenetic time. During the early portion of stage I, high-temperature (≥410℃), high-salinity fluids (up to ≈44 equiv. wt. % NaCl) formed by condensation during decompression of a magmatic vapor phase. During waning of early substage, high-temperature, high-salinity fluids gave way to progressively cooler, more dilute fluids associated with main Au-Ag mineralization (middle) and finally to ≈180℃ and ≥0.7 equiv. wt. % NaCl fluids associated with hematite and sulfosalts (± secondary) mineralization (late substage). These trends are interpreted to indicate progressive mixing of high- and medium to low-salinity hydrothermal fluids with cooler, more dilute, oxidizing meteoric waters. The Geumhwa Au-Ag deposit may represent a vein-type system transitional between porphyry-type and epithermal-type.

Alteration and Mineralization in the Xiaoxinancha Porphyry Copper Deposit, Yianbin, China: Fluid Inclusion and Sulfur Isotope Study (중국 연변 쇼시난차 반암동 광상의 광화작용 및 변질작용: 유체포유물 및 황동위원소 연구)

  • Seong-Taek Yun;Chil-Sup So;Bai-Lu Jin;Chul-Ho Heo;Seung-Jun Youm
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.35 no.3
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    • pp.211-220
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    • 2002
  • The Xiaoxinancha Cu-Au deposit in the Jilin province, located in NNE 800 km of Beijing, is hosted by diorite. The ore mineralization of Xiaoxinancha Cu-Au deposit show a stockwork occurrence that is concentrated on the potassic and phyllic alteration zones. The Xiaoxinancha Cu-Au deposit in the south is being mined with its reserves grading 0.8% Cu, 3.64 g/t Au and 16.8 g/t Ag and in the north, grading 0.63% Cu, 3.80 g/t Au and 6.8 glt Ag. The alteration assemblage occurs as a supergene blanket over deposit. Hydrothermal alteration at the Xiaoxinancha Cu-Au deposit is centered about the stock and was extensively related to the emplacement of the stock. Early hydrothermal alteration was dominantly potassic and followed by propylitic alteration. Chalcocite, often associated with hematite, account for the ore-grade copper, while chalcopyrite, bornite, quartz, epidote, chlorite and calcite constitute the typical gangue assemblage. Other minor opaque phases include pyrite, marcasite, native gold, electrum, hessite, hedleyite, volynskite, galenobismutite, covellite and goethite. Fluid inclusion data indicate that the formation of this porphyry copper deposit is thought to be a result of cooling followed by mixing with dilute and cooler meteoric water with time. In stage II vein, early boiling occurred at 497$^{\circ}$C was succeeded by the occurrence of halite-bearing type III fluid inclusion with homogenization temperature as much as 100$^{\circ}$C lower. The salinities of type 1II fluid inclusion in stage II vein are 54.3 to 66.9 wt.% NaCI + KCI equiv. at 383$^{\circ}$ to 495$^{\circ}$C, indicating the formation depth less than 1 km. Type I cupriferous fluids in stage III vein have the homogenization temperatures and salinity of 168$^{\circ}$ to 365$^{\circ}$C and 1.1 to 9.0 wt.% NaCI equiv. These fluid inclusions in stage III veins were trapped in quartz veins containing highly fractured breccia, indicating the predominance of boiling evidence. This corresponds to hydrostatic pressure of 50 to 80 bars. The $\delta$$^{34}S$ value of sulfide minerals increase slightly with paragenetic time and yield calculated $\delta$$^{34}S_{H2S}$ values of 0.8 to 3.7$\textperthousand$. There is no mineralogical evidence that fugacity of oxygen decreased, and it is thought that the oxygen fugacity of the mineralizing fluids have been buffered through reaction with magnetite. We interpreted the range of the calculated $\delta$$^{34}S_{H2S}$ values for sulfides to represent the incorporation of sulfur from two sources into the Xiaoxinancha Cu-Au hydrothermal fluids: (1) an isotopically light source with a $\delta$$^{34}S$ value of I to 2$\textperthousand$, probably a Mesozoic granitoid related to the ore mineralization. We can infer from the fact that diorite as the host rock in the Xiaoxinancha Cu-Au deposit area intruded plagiogranite; (2) an isotopically heavier source with a $\delta$$^{34}S$ value of > 4.0$\textperthousand$, probably the local porphyry.

Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Ogkye Gold Deposits, Gangwondo Province (강원도 옥계 금광상에 관한 광물학적·지화학적 연구)

  • Choi, Seon-Gyu;Choi, Sang-Hoon;Lee, Hyun Koo
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.30 no.1
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    • pp.15-23
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    • 1997
  • Gold mineralization of the Ogkye gold mine was deposited mainly in quartz veins up to 150 cm wide which occupy fissures in Cambrian Pungchon limestone. Ore minerals are relatively simple as follows: pyrite, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, electrum and galena. On the basis of the Ag/Au ratio on ore grades, mode of occurrence and assoicated mineral assemblages, the Ogkye gold deposit can be classified as pyrite-type gold deposit (Group IIB). Fluid inclusion data indicate that ore minerals were deposited between $400^{\circ}$and $230^{\circ}C$ from relatively dilute fluids (0.2 to 7.3 wt.% eq. NaCl) containing $CO_2$. The ore mineralization resulted from a complex history of $CO_2$ effervescence and local concomitant boiling coupled with cooling and dilution of ore fluids. Gold deposition was likely a result of decrease of sulfur activity caused by sulfide deposition and/or $H_2S$ loss accompanying fluid unmixing. Sulfur isotope compositions of sulfide minerals (${\delta}^{34}S=3.5{\sim}5.9$‰) are consistent with ${\delta}^{34}S_{H_2S}$ value of 4.8 to 6.1‰, suggesting mainly an igneous source of sulfur partially mixed with wall-rock sulfur.

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Mode of Occurrences and Depositional Conditions of Sb, Bi Sulfosalt Minerals from South Ore Deposits, Dunjeon Gold Mine (둔전금광산(屯田金鑛山) 남광상(南鑛床)에서 산출(産出)되는 Sb, Bi 유염광물(硫鹽鑛物)의 산출상태(産出狀態)와 생성환경(生成環境))

  • Park, Hee-In;Lee, Chan Hee
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.17-25
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    • 1992
  • South ore deposits of the Dunjeon gold mine is a fissure-filling vein emplaced in the Cretaceous granodiorite, skarnized and/or hornfelsified Ordovician Dumudong Formation. Mineralization can be divided into three distinct depositional stages on the basis of vein structure and mineral assemblages. Sb, Bi sulfosalts minerals, such as tetrahedrite, bournonite, boulangerite, cosalite, lillianite, heyrovskyite, unknown Pb-Bi-Sb-S mineral, native Sb, native Bi and Au-Ag minerals are mainly deposited in stage II. The formation temperature and sulfur fugacties of Sb, Bi minerals in the stage II deduced from thermodynamic considerations are from $172^{\circ}$ to $378^{\circ}C$ and $10^{-10.6}$ to $10^{-19.4}$ atm. Those temperatures are good agreement with temperature data obtained by fluid inclusion study which has reported already.

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Fluid Inclusion and Sulfur Stable Isotope of Buckchang Deposit, Korea (북창광상의 유체포유물 및 황안정동위원소 연구)

  • Chung, Jae-Il;Kim, Seon-Young;Na, Choon-Ki;Lee, In-Sung;Ripley, E.M.
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.29 no.6
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    • pp.677-687
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    • 1996
  • The Buckchang deposits which is located in the Ockcheon metamorphic zone, are emplaced along $N20-30^{\circ}E$ trending fissure sets. So it is a sort of fissure-filling ore deposits. The results of mineral paragenetic studies suggest two stages of hydrothermal mineralization; stage I: base-metal sulfides stage, stage II: late base-metal sulfides, electrum and silver-bearing sulfosalts stage. The silver-bearing sulfosalts occured as the Buckchang mine are mainly argentite and, minor of canfieldite, tetrahedrite, etc. Au:Ag ratios of the electrums show a highly limited range of nearly 1:1 in atomic %. The temperature, salinity and pressure of the Buckchang deposits estimated from fluid inclusion and sulfur isotope studies are as follows; stage I: $174{\sim}250^{\circ}C$, 0.35~4.01 NaCl eq. wt.%, 0.40~1.00 Kbar, stage II: $138{\sim}222^{\circ}C$, 1.9~8.4 NaCl eq. wt.%, 0.22~0.53 Kbar. The estimated oxygen and sulfur fugacity during stage I mineralization, based on phase relation of associated minerals, range from $10^{-39.7}{\sim}10^{-44.7}$ atm. and $10^{-13.4}{\sim}10^{-18.1}$ atm., respectively. All these evidences suggest that the Buckchang deposits are polymetallic epithermal ore deposits.

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Ore minerals and Genetic Environments from the Baekun Gold-silver Deposit, Republic of Korea (백운 금-은광상에서 산출되는 광석광물과 생성환경)

  • Yoo, Bong-Chul;Lee, Hyun-Koo;Kim, Ki-Jung
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.39 no.1 s.176
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    • pp.9-25
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    • 2006
  • Baekun gold-silver deposit is an epithermal quartz vein that is filling the fault zone within Triassic or Jurassic foliated granodiorite. Mineralization is associated with fault-breccia zones and can be divided into two stages. Stage I which can be subdivided early and late depositional stages is main ore mineralization and stage II is barren. Early stage I is associated with wallrock alteration and the formation of sulfides such as arsenopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, marcasite, chalcopyrite, stannite, galena. Late stage I is characterized by Au-Ag mineralization such as electrum, Ag-bearing tetrahedrite, stephanite, boulangerite, pyrargrite, argentite, schirmerite, native silver, Ag-Te-Sn-S system, Ag-Cu-S system, pyrite, chalcopyrite and galena. Fluid inclusion data indicate that homogenization temperatures and salinity of stage I range from $171.6^{\circ}C\;to\;360.8^{\circ}C\;and\;from\;0.5\;to\;10.2\;wt.\%\;eq.$ NaCl, respectively. It suggest that ore forming fluids were cooled and diluted with the mixing of meteoric water. Also, Temperature (early stage I: $236\~>380^{\circ}C,\;$ late stage $I: <197\~272^{\circ}C$) and sulfur fugacity (early stage $I:\;10^{-7.8}$ a atm., late stage I: $10^{-14.2}\~10^{-l6}atm$.) deduced mineral assemblages from stage 1 decrease with paragenetic sequence. Sulfur ($2.4\~6.1\%_{\circ}$(early stage $I=3.4\~5.3\%_{\circ},\;late\;stage\;I=2.4\~6.1\%_{\circ}$)), oxygen ($4.5\~8.8\%_{\circ}$(quartz: early stage $I=6.3\~8.8\%_{\circ}$, late stage $I=4.5\~5.6\%_{\circ}$)), hydrogen ($-96\~-70\%_{\circ}$ (quartz: early stage $I=-96\~-70\%_{\circ},\;late\;stage\;f=-78\~-74\%_{\circ},\;calcite:\;late\;stage\;I=-87\~-76\%_{\circ}$)) and carbon ($-6.8\~-4.6\%_{\circ}$ (calcite: late stage I)) isotope compositions indicated that hydrothermal fluids may be magmaticorigin with some degree of mixing of another meteoric water for paragenetic time.

Gold and Silver Mineralization of the Soowang Ore Deposits in Muju, Korea (무주 수왕광상의 금-은 광화작용)

  • Park, Hee-In;Youn, Seok-Tai
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.25 no.6
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    • pp.484-494
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    • 2004
  • The Soowang Au-Ag deposits occur as quartz veins which filled fissures in middle Cretaceous porphyritic granite an/or gneiss of the Precambrian Sobaegsan gneiss complex. The paragenetic studies suggest that vein filling can be divided into four identifiable stages (I to IV). Stage I is the main sulfide stage, characterized by the deposition of base-metal sulfide and minor electrum. Stage II is the electrum stage, whereas stage III represents a period of the deposition of silver-bearing sulfosalts and minor electrum. Stage IV is the post ore stage. Mineralogical and fluid inclusion evidences suggest that mineralization of the Soowang deposits were deposited by the cooling of the fluids from initial high temperatures 300$^{\circ}C$ to later low temperatures 150$^{\circ}C$. The salinity of the fluids were moderate, ranging from 10.4wt.% equivalent NaCl in sphalerite to 3.1wt.% equivalent NaCl in barite. The gold-silver mineralization of the Soowang mine occurred at temperatures between 140 and 250$^{\circ}C$ from fluids with log $fs_2$ from -12 to -18 atm. A consideration of the pressure regime during ore deposition, based on the fluid inclusion evidence of boiling, suggests lithostatic pressure of less than 210 bars. This pressure condition indicates that vein system of the Soowang deposit formed at depth around 800 m below the surface at the time of gold-silver mineralization.

Geological Structure of the Moisan Epithermal Au-Ag Mineralized Zone, Haenam and its Tectonic Environment at the Time of the Mineralization (해남 모이산 천열수 금-은 광호대의 지질구조와 광화작용 당시의 지구조환경)

  • Kang, Ji-Hoon;Lee, Deok-Seon;Ryoo, Chung-Ryul;Koh, Sang-Mo;Chi, Se-Jung
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.44 no.5
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    • pp.413-431
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    • 2011
  • An Epithemal Au-Ag mineralized zone is developed in the Moisan area of Hwangsan-myeon, Haenam-gun, Jeol-lanam-do, Korea, which is located in the southwestern part of the Ogcheon metamorphic zone. It is hosted in the Hwangsan volcaniclastics of the Haenam Formation of the Late Cretaceous Yucheon Group. This research investigated the characteristics of bedding arrangement, fold, fault, fracture system, quartz vein and the time-relationship of the fracture system to understand the geological structure related to the formation of the mineralized zone. On the basis of this result, the tectonic environment at the time of the mineralization was considered. Beds mainly trend east-northeast and gently dip into north-northwest or south-southeast. Their poles have been rearranged by subhorizontal-upright open fold of (east)-northeast trend as well as dip-slip fault. Fracture system was formed through at least 6~7 different deformation events. D1 event; formation phase of the main fracture set of EW (D1-1) and NS (D1-2) trends with a good extensity, D2 event; that of the extension fracture of NW trend, and conjugate shear fracturing of the EW (dextral) and NS (sinistral) trends, D3 event; that of the extension fracture of NE trend, and conjugate shear refracturing of the EW (sinistral) and NS (dextral) trends, D4 event; that of the extension fracture of NS trend showing a poor extensity, D5 event; that of the extension fracture of NW trend, and conjugate shear refracturing of the EW (dextral) and NS (sinistral) trends, D6 event; that of the extension fracture of EW trend showing a poor extensity. Frequency distribution of fracture sets of each deformation event is D1-1 (19.73 %)> D1-2 (16.44 %)> D3=D5 (14.79 %)> D2 (13.70 %)> D4 (12.33 %)> D6 (8.22 %) in descending order. The average number of fracture sets within 1 meter at each deformation event is D6 (5.00)> D5 = D4 (4.67)> D2 (4.60)> D3 (4.13)> D1-1 (3.33)> D1-2 (2.83) in descending order. The average density of all fractures shows 4.20 fractures/1 m, that is, the average spacing of all fractures is more than 23.8 cm. The frequency distribution of quartz veins at each orientation is as follows: EW (52 %)> NW (28 %)> NS (12 %)> NE (8 %) trends in descending order. The average density of all quartz veins shows 4.14 veins/1 m, that is, the average spacing of all quartz veins is more than 24.2 cm. Microstructural data on the quartz veins indicate that the epithermal Au-Ag mineralization (ca. 77.9~73.1 Ma) in the Moisan area seems to occur mainly along the existing D1 fracture sets of EW and NS trends with a good extensity not under tectonic stress but non-deformational environment directly after epithermal rupture fracturing. The D1 fracturing is considered to occur under the unstable tectonic environment which alternates compression and tension of NS trend due to the oblique northward subduction of the Izanagi plate resulting in the igneous activity and deformation of the Yucheon Group and the Bulguksa igneous rocks during Late Cretaceous time.

Geochemical Data Analysis of the Granitic Rocks Potentially Related to Fluorite Mineralization in the Geumsan District (금산지역 형석광화작용과 관련된 화강암질암의 지구화학적 자료 해석)

  • Chin, Ho-Ill;Chon, Hyo-Taek;Min, Kyoung-Won
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.28 no.4
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    • pp.369-379
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    • 1995
  • About forty ore deposits of $CaF_2{\pm}Au{\pm}Ag{\pm}Cu{\pm}Pb{\pm}Zn$ are widely distributed in the Geumsan district and are believed to be genetically related to the Mesozoic Geumsan granitic rocks. Based on their petrogeochemistry and isotopic dating data, the granitic rocks in this district can be classified into two groups ; the Jurassic granitic rocks(equigranular leucocratic granite, porphyritic biotite granite, porphyritic pink-feldspar granite, seriate leucocratic granite) and the Cretaceous granitic rocks(seriate pink-feldspar granite, equigranular alkali-feldspar granite, equigranular pink-feldspar granite, miarolitic pink-feldspar granite, equigranular biotite granite). Spatial distribution of fluorite ore deposits, fluorine contents of granitic rocks and fracture patterns in this district suggest that three granitic rocks(equigranular biotite granite, equigranular pink-feldspar granite, miarolitic pink-feldspar granite) of the Cretaceous period be genetically related to the fluorite mineralization. In these fluorite-related granitic rocks, fluorine is most highly correlated with Cs(correlation coefficient(r)>0.9), and also highly with MnO, U, Sm, Yb, Lu, Zn, Y, Li(r>0.7). Statistically the variation of fluorine in the fluorite-related granitic rocks can be explained in terros of only three elements, such as Lu, CaO and Cs, and the fluorite-related granitic rocks can be discriminated from the fluorite-nonrelated granitic rocks by a linear functional equation of La, Ce, Cs and F($Z_{Ust}=-1.38341-0.00231F-0.19878Ce+0.38169La+0.54720Cs$). Also, equigranular alkali-feldspar granite is classified into the fluorite-related granitic rocks by means of the linear functional equation($Z_{Ust}$).

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Gold-Silver Mineralization of the Mujeong Mine, Korea (무정광산의 금-은 광화작용)

  • 김상중
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.237-245
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    • 1999
  • The Mujeong au-Ag hydrothermal vein type deposits occur within the Teriary igneous rocks of the Janggi basin. Ore minerals consist of pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalertite, chalcopyrite, galena, cosalite, lillianite, argentite and electrum, and associated with epidotization, sericitization and pyritization. Fluid inclusion studies reveal that ore fluids were low saline with a simple NaCl-$H_{2}O$ system. Fluid inclusion data indicate that homogenization temperatures and salinities of fluid are 150 to $340^{\circ}C$ and 1.0 to 6.5wt.% NaCl equivalent, respectively. Sulfur isotope compositions of sulfied minerals ( ${\delta}^{34}S$=6.2 to 9.6$\textperthousand$) indicate that the ${\delta}^{34}S_{H2S}$ value of ore fluids was about 10.4$\textperthousand$. This ${\delta}^{34}S_{H2S}$ value is likely consistent with and hydrothermal sulfur, whereas the fluids were highly influenced by mixing with meteoric water. Measured and calculated oxygen and hydrogen isotope values (${\delta}^{18}O_{H2O}$=-2.7 to 3.4 $\textperthousand$, ${\delta}D_{H2O}$ = -83.6 to -52.7 $\textperthousand$) of ore forming fluids suggest mixing with hydrothermal and meteoric water. Equilibrium thermodynamic interpretation by mineral assemblages and chemistry indicates that sulfur fugacities (-log $fs_2$) ore forming fluids range from 9.0 to 12.6 atm stage II.

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