• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.122-143
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• 2010

The Shilla Stone Monument in Jungseongri was found during the road-construction in Pohang. It has approximately two hundreds of letters inscribed on the surface of one side, and it is estimated to be older than Shilla Stone Monument in Naengsuri which had been known for the oldest stele in Shilla Period. This monument is made of fine to medium-grained biotite granite, while the Shilla Stone Monument in Naengsuri is made of fine-grained granodioritic porphyry bearing feldspar and amphibole phenocrysts. Both rock types of the monuments are interpreted to be cognate with biotite granite in Shinkwangmyeon, and with granodioritic porphyry in Gigyemyeon. They are characterized by xenolith and miarolitic cavity. Damage aspects in both monuments are discoloring, cracking and breaking. These damages do not cause structural instability of the monuments, but attenuate aesthetic value. Black and brown discoloring contaminants on the surface of the Jungseongri Monument contain a high amount of manganese and iron. As a result of ultrasonic test, both monuments were evaluated to be medium-weathered (MW), although the velocity of the Shilla Monument in Jungseongri was slightly lower than the Shilla Monument in Naengsuri. This is because the Monument in Juengseongri had been exposed to outdoor environment for long time until the discovery. It is necessary for Shilla Monuments to be protected by appropriately environmental control and management.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.15 no.2 s.42
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• pp.169-184
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• 2005

Unagsan and Sogrisan granites are widely distributed in the northern Gyeonggi massif and middle Ogcheon belt, respectively, and they show different petrologic characteristics as follows. The former has compact textures and light grey colors, and the latter has spotted miarolitic textures and pink colors. Most of the samples selected for tests are fresh and coarse-grained. And bored core samples were prepared so that they are vertical to the rift plane. The results of modal analysis show that Unagsan granite has significantly higher quartz and plagioclase contents (Qz+Pl) than Sogrisan granite. In contrast, alkali feldspar content (Af) of Sogrisan granite is much higher than that of Unagsan granite. Therefore, it is believed that the light grey colors of Unagsan granite are due to relatively high Qz+Pl, and the pink colors of Sogrisan granite are caused by higher Af. Fractures in Sogrisan granite have strongly perpendicular strike patterns and more dip values close to vertical compared with the fractures in Unagsan granite. Results of the fracture pattern analysis suggest that the Sogrisan granite has better potential to produce dimension stones than the Unagsan granite. However, miarolitic textures often found in the Sogrisan granite may be one of the factors reducing the granite quality. The Unagsan and Sogrisan granites have similar specific gravity values of 2.60 and 2.57, respectively. Absorption ratios and porosity values of Sogrisan granite are higher than those of Unagsan granite, and they shows linearly positive correlations. Compressive and tensile strengths of the Unagsan granite are generally higher than those of Sogrisan granite. These differences and variation trends found in physical properties of Unagsan and Sogrisan granite can be explained by the differences in the textures of Unagsan and Sogrisan granites, namely compact and miarolitic textures respectively. For Unagsan granite, compressive and tensile strengths are negatively correlated with porosity but for Sogrisan granite no specific correlations are found. This is probably due to the irregular dispersion patterns of miarolitic textures formed during the later stages of magmatic processes. Contrary to the trends found in absorption ratios, both granites have similar values of abrasive hardness, which can be explained by higher Qz+Af of the Sogrisan granite than those of the Unagsan granite and that quartz and alkali feldspar have relatively larger hardness values. For Sogrisan granite, compressive strength shows slightly positive correlations with Qz+Af+Pl and negative correlations with biotite and accessory mineral contents (Bt+Ac).

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.101-109
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• 2022

The mobility and transport of radioactive cesium are crucial factors to consider for the safety assessment of high-level radioactive waste disposal sites in granite. The retardation of radionuclides in the fractured crystalline rock is mainly controlled by the hydrochemical condition of groundwater and surface reactions with minerals present in the fractures. This paper reports the experimental results of cesium sorption to the Wonju Granite, a typical Mesozoic granite in Korea, performed in an anaerobic chamber that mimics the anoxic environment of a deep disposal site. We measured the rates and amounts of cesium (¹³³Cs) removed by crushed granite samples in different electrolyte (NaCl, KCl, and CaCl₂) solutions and a synthetic groundwater solution, with variations in the initial cesium concentration (10^-5, 5×10^-6, 10^-6, 5×10^-7 M). The cesium sorption kinetic and isotherm data were successfully simulated by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (r²= 0.99) and the Freundlich isotherm model (r²= 0.99), respectively. The sorption distribution coefficient of granite increased almost linearly with increasing biotite content in granite samples, indicating that biotite is an effective cesium scavenger. The cesium removal was minimal in KCl solution compared to that in NaCl or CaCl₂ solution, regardless of the ionic strength and initial cesium concentration that we examined, showing that K⁺ is the most competitive ion against cesium in sorption to granite. Because it is the main source mineral of K⁺ in fracture fluids, biotite may also hinder the sorption of cesium, which warrants further research.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.643-659
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• 2012

The Chungju Fe-REE deposit is located in the Kyemyeongsan Formation of the Ogcheon Group. The Kyemyeongsan Formation includes meta-volcanic rocks and pegmatite hosted REE deposit which show different kind of REE-containing minerals. The meta-volcanic rocks hosted REE deposits' main REE minerals are allanite, zircon, apatite, and sphene, whereas the pegmatite hosted REE deposits is mainly composed of fergusonite, and karnasurtite, zircon, thorite. The meta-volcanic rock hosted major REE mineral is allanite as the form of aggregation and contains 23.89-29.19 wt% TREO (Total Rare Earth Oxide), 4.71-9.92 wt% $La_2O_3$, 11.30-14.33 wt% $Ce_2O_3$, 0.11-0.29 wt% $Y_2O_3$, 0.15-0.94 wt% $ThO_2$, as a formula of (Ca, Y, REE, Th)$_{2.095}$(Mg, Al, Ti, Mn, $Fe^{3+})_{2.770}(SiO_4)_{2.975}(OH)$. Accompanying REE in a coupled substitution for $Ca^{2+}$ (M1 site) and $Al^{3+}-Fe^{2+}$ (M2 site) leads to a large chemical variety. Due to the allanite's high contents of Fe, it belongs to Ferrialanite. The pegmatite hosted deposit's domi-nant REE mineral is fergusonite as prismatic or subhedral grains associated with zircon, fluorite and karnasurtite. Geochemical composition of the fergusonite($YNbO_4$) suggests substitution of Y-REE and Y-Th in A-site, and Nb-Ta-Ti in B-site, furthermore the proportion of $Y_2O_3$ and $Nb_2O_5$ is oddly 1:1.5 comparing to the ideal ratio 1:1 and Nb is higher than Y, also A-site Y actively substitutes with REE. Karnasurtite in pegmatite variously ranges 9.16-22.88 wt% $Ce_2O_3$, 2.15-9.16 wt% and $La_2O_3$, 0.44-10.8 wt% $ThO_2$, as a calculated formula (Y, REE, Th, K, Na, Ca)$_{1.478}(Ti, Nb)_{1.304}$(Mg, Al, Mn, $Fe^{3+})_{0.988}$(Si, P)$_{1.431}O_7(OH)_4{\cdot}3H_2O$. Firstly the 870-860 Ma is the initial age of the supercontinent Rhodinia dispersal and subsequent A-1 type volcanism, which contains Fe, REE, and HFS(High Field Strength elements; Nb, Zr, Y etc.) elements in Fe-rich meta-volcanic rocks dominant Kyemyeongsan Formation, might mineralized allanite. Another synthesis is that regional metamorphism at late Paleozoic 300-280 Ma(Cho et al., 2002) might cause allanite mineralization. Also pegmatite REE mineralization highly related to the granite intrusion over the Chungju area in Jurassic(190 Ma; Koh et al., 2012). Otherwise above all, A-1 type volcanism at the same time of the Kyemyeongsan Formation development, regional metamorphism and pegmatite, might have caused REE mineralization. Although REE ore bodies display a close spatial association, each ore bodies display temporal distinction, different mineral assemblage and environment of ore formation.