• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.237-252
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• 1989

The Inseong gold-silver mine is located 3Km northwest of Suanbo, Choongcheongbugdo, Republic of Korea. The mine occurs in the shear zone formed by tension fractures within the Hwanggangri Formation of the Ogcheon metamorphic belt. Ore minerals found in the gold-silver bearing hydrothermal quartz vein composed mainly of pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, galena and minor amount of chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, stannite, bismuthininte, native bismuth, chalcocite, electrum and tellurian canfieldite(?). The gangue minerals are quartz, calcite, chlorite and rhodochrocite. Wallrock alterations such as chloritization, silicitication, pyritization, carbonitization and sericitization can be observed in or around the quartz vein. According to the paragenetic sequence, quartz vein structure and mineral assemnlages, three different stages of ore formation can be recognized. The physico-chemical environment of ore formation in this deposit shows slight variation from stage to stage, but the condition of main ore deposition can be summarized as follows. Fluid inclusion, S-istope geothermometry and geothermometry based on mineral chemistry by use of arsenopyrite and chlorite show the ore was formed at temperature between 399 and $210^{\circ}C$ from fluids with salinities of 3.3-5.8 wt.% equivalent NaCl. It indicates that pressure during the mineralization is less than 0.6 Kb corresponding to a depth not greater than 1Km. S-isotope data suggests that thermal fluid may have magmatic origin wit some degree of mixing with meteoric water. In coclusion, the Inseong gold-silver deposit was formed at shallow depth and relatively high-temperature possibly with steep geothermal gradient under xenothermal condition.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.541-551
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• 1995

The Yeongdeog gold-silver deposits at Jipum, Gyeongsangbugdo, is of a middle Paleogene $(45.52{\pm}1.02Ma)$ vein type, and is hosted in shale and sandstone of Cretaceous age. Based on mineral paragenesis, vein structure and mineral assemblages, the ore mineralization can be divided into two distinct depositional stages. The early stage is associated with base-metals such as pyrite, arsenopyrite (27.99~30.99 at%), hematite, rutile, pyrrhotite, sphalerite (10.53~18.42 FeS mole%), chalcopyrite and galena with wallrock alteration such as chlorite, sericite and pyrite. The late stage is characterized by the Au-Ag mineralization such as electrum, Ag-bearing tetrahedrite, freibergite, pyrargyrite, unidentified mineral, pyrite, sphalerite (1.08~5.57 FeS mole%), chalcopyrite and galena. Fluid inclusion data indicate that fluid temperatures and salinities range from 343 to $227^{\circ}C$ and from 8.3 to 5.7 wt% eq. NaCl in early stage, respectively. Temperatures and salinities of NaCl eq. wt% range from 299 to $225^{\circ}C$ and from 12.9 to 4.3 in late stage, respectively. They suggest that complex cooling histories were occured by the mixing of the fluids. Sulfur fugacity $(-logfs_2)$ deduced by mineral assemblages and composition ranges from 8.3 to 14.7 atm. in early stage, and from 8.8 to 14.5 atm. in late stage. It suggests that the mineralization was related to decrease of temperature in early stage and fluctuations of $fS_2$ with decrease of temperature in late stage. Sulfur and oxygen isotope compositions are 4.48~5.60‰ and 9.25~10.8% in early stage, and late stage is 4.84~7.00‰ and 5.7‰, respectively. It indicated that hydrothermal fluids may be magmatic origin with some degree of mixing of another water during paragenetic time.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.443-453
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• 2010

The Samsung gold-silver deposit consists of quartz veins that fill along the fault zone within Cretaceous shale and sandstone. Mineralization is occurred within fault-breccia zones and can be divided into two stages. Stage I is main ore mineralization and stage II is barren. Stage I is associated with wall-rock alteration minerals(sericite, pyrite, chlorite, quartz), rutile, base-metal sulfides(pyrrhotite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena), and electrum. Stage II occur quartz, calcite and pyrite. Fluid inclusion data indicate that homogenization temperatures and salinities of stage I range from 145 to $309^{\circ}C$ and from 0.4 to 12.4 wt.% NaCl, respectively. It suggests that hydrothermal fluids were cooled and diluted with the mixing of meteoric water. The main deposition of base-metal sulfides and electrum occurred as a result of cooling and dilution at temperature between $200^{\circ}C$ and $300^{\circ}C$. Sulfur(9.3~10.8‰) isotope composition indicates that ore sulfur was mainly derived from a magmatic source as well as the host rocks. The calculated oxygen[-2.3~0.9‰(quartz: 0.3‰, 0.9‰, calcite: -2.3‰)] and hydrogen[-86~-76‰(quartz: -86‰, -82‰, calcite: -76‰)] isotope compositions indicate that hydrothermal fluids may be meteoric origin with some degree of mixing of another meteoric water for paragenetic time.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.445-454
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• 1999

The Sanjeon Au-Ag deposit consists of three subparallel hydrothermal quartz-calcite veins which filled fault-related fractures (generally $N20^{\circ}$ to 35"W-trending and $70^{\circ}$ to $80^{\circ}$ SW-dipping) within quartz porphyry. The vein mineralization shows an apparent variation of mineral assemblages with paragenetic time: (1) early, white quartz + pyrite + arsenopyrite + brown sphalerite, (2) middle, white (vein) to clear quartz (vug) + base-metal sulfides + electrum + argentite, (3) late, calcite + pyrite + native silver. Mineralogic and fluid inclusion data indicate that gold-silver minerals were deposited at temperatures from 2l $0^{\circ}$ to $250^{\circ}$ with salinities of 4 to 5 wt. % equiv. NaCl and log fS2 values from -14.0 to -12.2 atm. The linear relationship between homogenization temperature and salinity data indicates that gold-silver deposition was a result of meteoric water mixing. Ore mineralization occurred at pressure conditions of about 70 bars, which corresponds to the mineralization depths of about 260 m to 700 m. There is a remarkable decrease of the calculated 1)180 values of water from 1.3 to -9.7%0 in hydrothermal fluid with increasing paragenetic time. This indicates a progressive increase of meteoric water influx in the hydrothermal system at the Sanjeon deposit. Oxygen-hydrogen, sulfur, and carbon isotope values of hydrothermal fluids indicate that the ore mineralization was formed largely from meteoric waters with the contribution of sulfur and carbon from a deep igneous source.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.145-154
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• 1993

Gold-silver deposits in the Kwangyang-Seungju area are emplaced along $N4^{\circ}{\sim}10^{\circ}W$ to $N40^{\circ}{\sim}60^{\circ}W$ trending fissures and fault in Pre-cambrian Jirisan gneiss complex or Cretaceous diorite. Mineral constituents of the ore from above deposits are composed mainly of pyrite, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, magnetite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and minor amount of electrum, tetrahedrite, miargyrite, stannite, covellite and goethite. The gangue minerals are predominantly quartz and calcite. Gold minerals consist mostly of electrum with a 56.19~79.24 wt% Au and closely associated with pyrite, chalcopyrite, miargyrite and galena. K-Ar analysis of the altered sericite from the Beonjeong mine yielded a date of $94.2{\pm}2.4\;Ma$ (Lee, 1992). This indicates a likely genetic tie between ore mineralization and intrusion of the middle Cretaceous diorite ($108{\pm}4\;Ma$). The ${\delta}^{34}S$ values ranged from +1.0 to 8.3‰ with an average of +4.4‰ suggest that the sulfur in the sulfides may be magmatic origin. The temperatures of mineralization by the sulfur isotopic composition with coexisting pyrite-galena and pyrite-chalcopyrite from Beonjeong and Jeungheung mines were $343^{\circ}C$ and $375^{\circ}C$ respectively. This temperature is in reasonable agreement with the homogenization temperature of primary fluid inclusion quartz ($330^{\circ}C$ to $390^{\circ}C$; Park.1989). Four samples of quartz from ore veins have ${\delta}^{18}O$ values of +6.9~+10.6‰ (mean=8.9‰) and three whole rock samples have ${\delta}^{18}O$ values of +7.4~+10.2‰ with an average of 7.4‰. These values are similar with those of the Cretaceous Bulgugsa granite in South Korea (mean=8.3‰; Kim et al. 1991). The calculated ${\delta}^{18}O_{water}$ in the ore-forming fluid using fractionation factors of Bulgugsa et al. (1973) range from -1.3 to -2.3‰. These values suggest that the fluid was dominated by progressive meteoric water inundation through mineralization.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.423-435
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• 2001

The gold-silver vein deposits in the Mugeug mineralized area are emplaced in late Cretaceous biotite granite associated with the pull-apart type Cretaceous Eumseong basin. Mugeug mine in northern part is composed of multiple veins showing relatively high gold fineness and is characterized by sericitization, chloritization and epidotization. The ore-forming fluids were evolved by dilution and cooling mechanisms at relatively high temperature and salinity (=30$0^{\circ}C$,1~9 equiv. wt. % NaCl) and highly-evolved meteoric water ($\delta$$^{18}$ O;-1.2~3.7$\textperthousand$) and gold mineralization associated with sulfides tormed at temperatures between 260 and 22$0^{\circ}C$ and within sulfur fugacity range of 10$^{-11.5}$ ~ 10$^{-13.5}$ atm. In contrast, Geumwang, Geumbong and Taegueg mines show the low fineness values, in southern part are characterized by increasing tendency of simple and/or stockwork veins and by kaolinitization, silicificatitan, carbonatization and smectitization. These droposits formed at relatively low temperature and salinity (<23$0^{\circ}C$, <3 equiv. wt. % NaCl) from ore-forming fluids containing greater amounts of less-evolved meteoric waters ($\delta$$^{18}$ O;-5.5~4.0$\textperthousand$), and silver mineralization representing various gold-and/or silver-bearing minerals formed at temperatures between 200 and 15$0^{\circ}C$ and from sulfur fugacity range of 10$^{-15}$ ~10$^{-18}$ atm These results imply that mineralization in the Mugueg area formed at shallow-crustal level and categorize these deposits as low-sulfidation epithermal type. The genetic differences between the northern and southern parts reflect the evolution of the hydrothermal system due to a different physicochemical environment from heat source area (Mugeug mine) to marginal area (Taegeum mine) in a geothermal field.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.463-472
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• 1998

The survey was carried out in order to delineate the occurrence of ore deposits and the mineralized characteristics in the Estancia de la Virgen area through the 1:2,000 scaled geological mapping and topographic measuring surveys. Gold-silver mineralization is in the fault block developed between the San Agustin Fault and Cabanas Fault. It is associated with ore bearing quartz veins controlled by the fault structure. The contents of Au and Ag range from traces up to 72 g/t and 180 g/t respectively. According to traversing the outcrops, the quartz veins are traced by 0.5 Km trended to north and south. In those extended part, they continue for 1,000 m intermittently. Gold-silver mineralization could be divided into three stages. In the first stage, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite were formed with the primary silver and gold associated with galena and copper sulfides respectively. In the second stage, Cu-Bi-Au-Ag bearing sulfides such as chalcocite, covellite, and linarite are formed and usually deposited on the cataclastic fractures of galena and/or chalcopyrite. In the third stage, both the carbonation of galena and sphalerite and the sulphatization of galena, took place in the surface environment. And then primary silver was carried away off and was deposited on galena and/or copper sulfides during oxidation near the water table. Low partitionings of Fe in sphalerite assist that the minerals were formed at the relatively low temperature, which is coincided with previously reported homogenization temperature of fluid inclusions.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.299-316
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• 2002

The Samkwang gold-silver deposits consist of gold-silver-bearing hydrothermal massive quartz veins which filled the fractures along fault shear (NE, NW) zones within Precambrian banded or granitic gneiss of Gyeonggi massif. Ore mineralization of this deposits occurred within a single stage of quartz vein which was formed by multiple episodes of fracturing and healing. Based on vein mineralogy and paragenesis, massive quartz veins are divided into two main paragenetic stages which are separated by a major faulting event. Main ore mineralization occurred at stage I. Wall-rock alteration from this deposits occur as mainly sericitization, chloritization, silicification and minor amounts of pyritization, carbonitization, propylitization and argillitization. Ore minerals are composed mainly of arsenopyrite (29.21-32.24 As atomic %), pyrite, sphalerite (6.45-13.82 FeS mole %), chalcopyrite, galena with minor amounts of pyrrhotite, marcasite, electmm (39.98-66.82 Au atomic %) and argentite. Systematic studies of fluid inclusions in early quartz veins and microcracks indicate two contrasting physical-chemical conditions: 1). temperature (215-345$^{\circ}$C) and pressure (1296-2022 bar) event with $H_{2}O-CO_{2}-CH_{4}-NaCl$fluids (0.8-6.3 wt. %) related to the early sulfide deposition, 2). temperature (203-441$^{\circ}$C) and pressure (320 bar) event with $H2_{O}$-NaCI $\pm$ $CO_{2}$ fluids (5.7-8.8 wt. %) related to the late sulfide and electrum assemblage. The H20-NaCI $\pm$ $CO_{2}$ fluids represent fluids evolved through fluid unmixing of an $H_{2}O-CO_{2}-CH_{4}-NaCl$fluids due to decreases in fluid pressure and influenced of deepcirculated meteoric waters possibly related to uplift and unloading of the mineralizing suites. Calculated sulfur isotope compositions (${\delta}^{34}S_{fluid}$) of hydrothermal fluids (1.8-4.9$\textperthousand$) indicate that ore sulfur was derived from an igneous source. Measured and calculated oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions (${\delta}^{18}O_{I120}$, ${\delta}D$) of ore fluids (-5.9~10.9$\textperthousand$, -102~-87$\textperthousand$) indicate that mesothermal auriferous fluids at Samkwang gold-silver deposits were likely mixtures of $H_{2}O$-rich, isotopically less evolved meteoric water and magmatic fluids.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.19 no.spc
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• pp.103-112
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• 1986

The geology of the mine consists of Cretaceous lower andesitic breccia member, tuffaceous black shale, upper tuffaceous sandstone member and andesitic dike. Ore bodies are two parallel veins of breccia originated from hydrothermal activity of later acidic igneous intrusion. First two periods of mineralization, gold and silver, and copper, and later copper enrichment was identified. The first two might have been occurred during boiling of hydrothermal solution that formed breccia and copper enrichment was accomplished by enhancement of $CO_2$ fugacity from the organic material contained in the black shale. With all the geologic and mineralogic data and inferences attained from other investigators it was estimated that the optimum depth of the ore mineralization was between 500m and 300m below the surface of Kyong-Sang series.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.257-268
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• 1988

The Mugeug gold deposits is consisted of more than fourteen gold and silver-bearing quartz veins emplaced in Mesozoic granodiorite mass. In the Samhyungje vein, one of the representative vein in the mine, six stages of mineralizatidns are recognized: Stage I, deposition of base-metal sulfides and gray quartz; stage II, deposition of base-metal sulfides, electrum and white quartz with pinkish tint; stage m, deposition of base-metal sulfides and dark gray quartz; stage N, deposition of native silver, argentite, Ag-tetrahedrite, polybasite, arsenpolybasite and quartz; stage V, deposition of nearly barren quartz; stage VI, deposition of transparent quartz veinlets with minor pyrite. Ag contents of electrum increase steadily from stage II to stage N; 57.25-61.44 atom. % for stage II, 62.85-69.66 atom. % for stage m, 69.79-74.12 atom. % for stage N. Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions are as follows; stage II, from $194^{\circ}$ to $287^{\circ}C$; stage V, from $137^{\circ}$ to $171^{\circ}C$, stage VI, from $192^{\circ}$ to $232^{\circ}C$. Salinities of fluid inclusions range from 3.7 to 7.9 wt.% equivalent NaCl in stage II and from 0.8 to 4.3 wt.% equivalent Nael in stage V. Ore mineralogy suggest that temperature and sulfur fugacity declined steadily from $290^{\circ}$ to $150^{\circ}C$ and from $10^{-10.5}$ to $10^{-19.0}$atm. through stage II into stage N. Fluid pressure during stage II inferred from data of mineral assemblages and fluid inclusions is 370bar.