• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2002

Manus Basin, located in the equatorial western Pacific, is a back arc basin formed by collision between the IndoAustralian and the Pacific Plates. The basin is host to numerous hydrothermal vent fields and ore deposits. The basement rocks of the Manus Basin consist primarily of dacite and basaltic andesite. Some of the minerals that form the hydrothermal chimneys that were dredged on the Manus basin include pyrite, chalcopyrite, marcasite, sphalerite and galena. The chimneys can be classified into chalcopyrite dominant Cu-rich type and sphalerite dominant Zn-rich type. The concentration of Zn shows good positive correlation with that of Sb, Cd and Ag. The content of Cu, on the other hand, positively correlates with that of Mo, Mn and Co. For samples that were taken from Zn-rich chimney, a strong positive correlation is found between Au and Zn contents. The chimney also shows enrichments of Cd, Mn and Sb. On the other hand, the samples from Cu-rich chimney exhibit strong correlation among Au, Zn and Pb, and are enriched in Mo and Co concentration. Average contents of Au in Cu-rich and Znrich chimneys were 15.9 ppm and 29.0 ppm, respectively. Because of high concentration of Au with Ag and Cu, the ore deposit have high economic potential. Homogenization temperatures and salinities of fluid inclusions in anhydrite and amorphous silica from Zn-rich chimney are estimated to be l74-220$^{\circ}$C and 2.7-3.6 equiv. wt. % NaCI, respectively. These value suggest that ore forming processes were occurred at around 200$^{\circ}$C and that the oxygen fugacity changed from 2: 10$^{-39.5}$bar to -s: 10$^{-40.8}$bar and the sulfur fugacity from -s: 10$^{-14.7}$bar to 10$^{-13.4}$bar during the process. It appears that the temperature at which the ores formed on Cu-rich chimney was higher than that on Zn-rich chimney.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 1970

Very few articles are available on geologic structure and genesis of Sangdong scheelite-deposits in spite of the fact that the mine is one of the leading tungsten producer in the world. Sangdong scheelite deposits, embedded in Myobong slate of Cambrian age at the southem limb of the Hambaek syncline which strikes $N70{\sim}80^{\circ}W$ and dips $15{\sim}30^{\circ}$ northeast, comprise six parallel veins in coincide with the bedding plane of Myobong formation, namely four footwall veins, a main vein, and a hangingwall vein. Four footwall veins are discontinuous and diminish both directions in short distance and were worked at near surface in old time. Hangingwall vein is emplaced in brecciated zone in contact plane of Myobong slate and overlying Pungchon limestone bed of Cambrian age and has not been worked until recent. The main vein, presently working, continues more than 1,500 m in both strike and dip sides and has a thickness varying 3.5 to 5 m. Characteristic is the distinct zonal arrangement of the main vein along strike side which gives a clue to the genesis of the deposits. The zones symmetrically arranged in both sides from center are, in order of center to both margins, muscovite-biotite-quartz zone, biotite-hornblende-quartz zone and garnet-diopside zone. The zones grade into each other with no boundary, and minable part of the vein streches in the former two zones extending roughly 1,000 m in strike side and over 1,100 m in dip side to which mining is underway at present. The quartz in both muscovite-biotite-quartz and biotite-hornblende-quartz zones is not network type of later intrusion, but the primary constituent of the special type of rock that forms the main vein. The minable zone has been enriched several times by numerous quartz veins along post-mineral fractures in the vein which carry scheelite, molybdenite, bismuthinite, fluorite and other sulfide minerals. These quartz veins varying from few centimeter to few tens of centimeter in width are roughly parallel to the main vein although few of them are diagonal, and distributed in rich zones not beyond the vein into both walls and garnet-diopside zone. Ore grade ranges from 1.5~2.5% $WO_3$ in center zone to less than 0.5% in garnet-diopside zone at margin, biotite-hornblende-quartz zone being inbetween in garde. The grade is, in general, proportional to the content of primary quartz. Judging from regional structure in mid-central parts of South Korea, Hambaek syncline was formed by the disturbance at the end of Triassic period with which bedding thrust and accompanied feather cracks in footwall side were created in Myobong slate and brecciated zone in contact plane between Myobong slate and Pungchon limestone. These fractures acted as a pathway of hot solution from interior which was in turn differentiated in situ to form deposit of the main vein with zonal arrangement. The footwall veins were developed along feather cracks accompanied with the main thrust by intrusion of biotite-hornblende-quartz vein and the hangingwall vein in shear zone along contact plane by replacement. The main vein thus formed was enriched at later stage by hydrothermal solutions now represented by quartz veins. The main mineralization and subsequent hydrothermal enrichments had probably taken place in post-Triassic to pre-Cretaceous periods. The veins were slightly displaced by post-mineral faults which cross diagonally the vein. This hypothesis differs from those done by previous workers who postulated that the deposits were formed by pyrometasomatic to contact replacement of the intercalated thin limestone bed in Myobong slate at the end of Cretaceous period.