• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.167-178
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• 2019

Open-pit (OP) and underground (UG) mining are usually used to exploit shallow and deep ore deposits, respectively. When mine deposit starts from shallow subsurface and extends to a great depth, sequential use of OP and UG mining is an efficient and economical way to maintain mining productivity. However, a transition from OP to UG mining could induce significant rock movements that cause the slope instability of the open pit. Based on Yanqianshan Iron Mine, which was in the transition from OP to UG mining, a large-scale two-dimensional (2D) model test was built according to the similar theory. Thereafter, the UG mining was carried out to mimic the process of transition from OP to UG mining to disclose the triggered rock movement as well as to assess the associated slope instability. By jointly using three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning, distributed fiber optics, and digital photogrammetry measurement, the deformations, movements and strains of the rock slope during mining were monitored. The obtained data showed that the transition from OP to UG mining led to significant slope movements and deformations that can trigger catastrophic slope failure. The progressive movement of the slope could be divided into three stages: onset of micro-fracture, propagation of tensile cracks, and the overturning and/or sliding of slopes. The failure mode depended on the orientation of structural joints of the rock mass as well as the formation of tension cracks. This study also proved that these non-contact monitoring technologies were valid methods to acquire the interior strain and external deformation with high precision.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.250-262
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• 2008

In order to assess the feasibility of the dipole-dipole electric method to the investigation of metallic ore deposit, both field data simulation and inversion are carried out for several simplified ore deposit models. Our interest is in a vein-type model, because most of the ore deposits (more than 70%) exist in a vein type in Korea. Based on the fact that the width of the vein-type ore deposits ranges from tens of centimeters to 2m, we change the width and the material property of the vein, and we use 40m-electrode spacing for our test. For the vein-type model with too small width, the low resistivity zone is not detected, even though the resistivity of the vein amounts to 1/300 of that of the surrounding rock. Considering a wide electrode interval and cell size used in the inversion, it is natural that the size of the low resistivity zone is overestimated. We also perform field data simulation and inversion for a vein-type model with surrounding hydrothermal alteration zones, which is a typical structure in an epithermal ore deposits. In the model, the material properties are assumed on the basis of resistivity values directly observed in a mine originated from an epithermal ore deposits. From this simulation, we can also note that the high resistivity value of the vein does not affect the results when the width of the vein is narrow. This indicates that our main target should be surrounding hydrothermal alteration zones rather than veins in field survey. From these results, we can summarize that when the vein is placed at the deep part and the difference of resistivity values between the vein and the surrounding rock is not large enough, we cannot detect low resistivity zone and interpret the subsurface structures incorrectly using the electric method performed at the surface. Although this work is a little simple, it can be used as references for field survey design and field data Interpretation. If we perform field data simulation and inversion for a number of models and provide some references, they will be helpful in real field survey and interpretation.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.259-273
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• 1992

The Seongsan mine is one of the largest dickite deposits in the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula. The main constithent minerals of the ore are dickite and quartz with accessory alunite, kaolinite and sericite. The geology around the Seongsan mine consists mainly of the late Cretaceous felsic volcanic rocks. In the studied area, these rocks make a synclinal structure with an axis of E-W direction plunging to the east. Most of the felsic volcanic rocks have undergone extensive hydrothermal alteration. The hydrothermally altered rocks can be classified into the following zones: Dickite, Dickite-Quartz, Quartz, Sericite, Albite and Chlorite zones, from the center to the margin of the alteration mass. Such zonal arrangement of altered rocks suggests that the country rocks, most of which are upper part of the rhyolite and welded tuff, were altered by strongly acid hydrothermal solutions. It is reasonable to consider that initial gas and solution containing $H_2S$ and other compounds were oxidized near the surface, and formed hydrothermal sulfuric acid solutions. The mineralogical and chemical changes of the altered rocks were investigated using various methods, and chemical composition of fifty-six samples of the altered rocks were obtained by wet chemical analysis and X.R.F. methods. On the basis of these analyses, it was found that some components such as $SiO_2$, $Al_2O_3$, $Fe_2O_3$, CaO, MgO, $K_2O$, $Na_2O$ and $TiO_2$ were mobilized considerably from the original rocks. The formation temperature of the deposits was estimated as higher than $200^{\circ}C$ from fluid inclusion study of samples taken from the Quartz zone. On the basis of the chemical composition data on rocks and minerals and estimated temperatures, the hydrothermal solutions responsible for the formation of the Seongsan dickite deposits were estimated to have the composition: $m_{K^+}=0.003$, $m_{Na^+}=0.097$, $m_{SiO_2(aq.)}=0.008$ and pH=5.0, here "m" represents the molality (mole/kg $H_2O$).

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.590-595
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate form of pollution brought by residual of mine tailing in agricultural land, and get basic information need for environment restoration. Guundong mine was completely restored region by implementation the soil pollution prevention plan. The districts is soils in Guundong mine vicinity the Mahul-ri, Muan-myeon, Miryang city, Gyeongsangnam-do. The nature of soil studied is the Shinra series andesite and mineral deposits which contain brimstone and heavy metals such as gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. The residual mine tailing and around agricultural land of heavy metals analyzed with 0.1N HCI solubility. The chemical properties of surface soil in upper part around mining area were pH 4.3-4.4, organic matter 19-21 g $kg^{-1}$, available $P_2O_5$ 85 mg $kg^{-1}$, exchangeable Ca 0.21-0.25 $cmol_c\;kg^{-1}$, exchangeable Mg 0.04 $cmol_c\;kg^{-1}$. The pH, exchangeable Ca, and Mg were increased with soil depth. The contents of 0.1N HCl extractable Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr, and Ni in soil (siteI) which influenced by outflow water from mine tailing were 97, 0.6, 197, 0.28 및 0.12 mg $kg^{-1}$, respectively. The vertical distribution of heavy metals in soil varied considerably among the metals kind. In case of siteI, The content of Cu, Pb, and Cr in soil was highest at surface soil. However, the content of Cd, Zn, Ni, and Mn was high at middle part of soil profile.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.325-337
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• 2002

We examined the contamination of stream water and stream sediments by heavy metal elements with respect to distance from the abandoned Backun Au-Ag-Cu mine. High contents of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Mn, and Fe) and aluminum in the waters connected with mining and associated deposits (dumps, tailings) reduce water quality. In the mining area, Ca and SO$_4$ are predominant cation and anion. The mining water is Ca-SO$_4$ type and is enriched in heavy metals resulted from the weathering of sulfide minerals. This mine drainage water is weakly acid or neutral (pH; 6.5-7.1) because of neutralizing effect by other alkali and alkaline earth elements. The effluent from the mine adit is also weakly acid or neutral, and contains elevated concentrations of most elements due to reactions with ore and gangue minerals in the deposit. The concentration of ions in the Backun mining water is high in the mine adit drainage water and steeply decreased award to down stream. Buffering process can be reasonably considered as a partial natural control of pollution, since the ion concentration becomes lower and the pH value becomes neutralized. In order to evaluate mobility and bioavailability of metals, sequential extraction was used for stream sediments into five operationally defined groups: exchangeable, bound to carbonates, bound to FeMn oxide, bound to organic matter, and residual. The residual fraction was the most abundant pool for Cu(2l-92%), Zn(28-89%) and Pb(23-94%). Almost sediments are low concentrated with Cd(2.7-52.8 mg/kg) than any other elements. But Cd dominate with non stable fraction (68-97%). Upper stream sediments are contaminated with Pb, and down area sediments are enriched with Zn. It is indicate high mobility of Zn and Cd.

• 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.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.181-195
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• 1979

The Nambu orebodies of the Okbang tungsten mine are hosted in the Precambrian amphibolite and Weonnam formation. These orebodies can be classified into two types; The scheelite-bearing ore vein occurring in the amphibolite (the Nambu 1, 2 adits) and tungsten-bearing quartz vein along the contact between the amphibolite and the Weonnam formation (the Young-ho, -1, -2, -3 levels). The scheelite-bearing ore vein in the amphilbolite is discontinuous, narrow, and highly irregular in geometry, occurring only within the amphibolite with which of the vein is graduational. Based on these feature of the mode of occurrence, the origin of this ore type might be attributed to a potential segregation of tungsten ore fluid in situ from hornblenditic basic magma of the host rock. Tungsten-bearing quartz vein, however, is considered to have deposited along the N30-60E trending fractures as a later hypothermal vein after the hornblendite was emplaced. The principal ore mineral is scheelite with minor amount of wolframite, and the gangue minerals are quartz, and small amounts of fluorite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and calcite. Fluid inclusion study of minerals from the Nambu orebody reveals that the fluids in fluorite of the scheelite-bearning ore vein attained a temperature range of $208{\sim}256^{\circ}C$ and those in quartz from the tungsten-bearing quartz vein a temperature range of $220{\sim}357^{\circ}C$. The real formation temperatures can be somewhat higher than filling temperatures, if pressure correction is made. Chemical analysis of 8 amphibolitc samples on major and some trace elements indicate that the amphibolite is igneous origin. On a Niggli diagram (al-alk)versus c, the analytical values are plotted on an igneous field, and on a Niggli diagram mg versus c they follow a karroo igneous trend line. According to the Ba, Cr, and Ni versus Niggli mg plots suggested by Leake (1964), Okbang amphibolite fall outside a pelitic field and compare favorably with his plots form ortho-amphibolites. Analitical values of $MoO_3$ of 8 samples of scheelite minerals from the Nambu orebody indicate that the tungsten-bearing quartz vein (type n) of Nambu orebody shows a range from 1. 69% to 4.38% which is higher than 0.94%~3.25% $MoO_3$ for the scheelite-bearing ore vein (type I). This fact indicates that the type II was deposited in a lower $fO_2/higher$ $fO_2$ environment and under lower temperature than the type I. Analysis of major components $WO_3$, MnO, and FeO of 6 samples of wolframite from the type II veins revealed that they contain 73.35~76.2% $WO_3$, 7.94~11.63% MnO, and 10.53~14.82% FeO. MnO/FeO ratios of wolframite shows the range of 0.85~1.17 which suggests a slightly higher temperature type of deposits than other major tungsten deposits in the country.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.73-83
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• 2017

The surveyed mines are located in a polymetallic vein, replacement, and skarn mineral district in the central Andes of Peru. Iscaycruz, which includes underground and open pit mines that produce zinc and lead concentrates, was the largest mineral deposit of an important group of base metal deposits in the Andes of central Peru. The deposits are sub-vertical seams of polymetallic ores(Zn, Cu, and Pb). These seams are hosted by Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rock formation. The intrusion of igneous rocks in these formations originated metallic deposits of metasomatic and skarn types. The Raura mine is composed of polymetallic deposit of veins and replacement orebodies. The main sedimentary unit in the area is Cretaceous Machay Limestone. The Raura depression contains several orebodies each with different mineralization: predominantly Pb-Zn bearing Catuvo orebody; Ag-rich galena-bearing Lake Ninacocha orebody; Cu-Ag bearing Esperanza and Restauradora orebody. Huaron is a hydrothermal polymetallic deposit of silver, lead, zinc, and copper mineralization hosted within structures likely related to the intrusion of monzonite dikes, principally located within the Huaron anticline. Mineralization is encountered in veins parallel to the main fault systems, in replacement bodies known as "mantos" associated with the calcareous sections of the conglomerates and other favourable stratigraphic horizons, and as dissemination in the monzonitic intrusions at vein intersections.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.247-252
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• 2014

Gagok Mine, which is skarn deposits, includes sulfide minerals such as sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite. To explore these minerals, spectral induced polarization (SIP) is relatively effective compared to other geophysical exploration methods because there is a strong IP effect caused by electrode polarization. In the SIP, the chargeability related to sulfide mineral contents and the time constant related to the grain size of the minerals are obtained. For this reason, we aim to compare difference in the mineralized characteristics between two orebodies in the Gagok Mine by using the chargeability and the time constant. For this study, we sampled ores from the south of Wolgok orebody and the north of Sungok orebody. In order to recognize the mineralization characteristics, the metal content of the samples was measured by a potable XRF and the SIP data of the samples were acquired by using a laboratory SIP measurement system. As a result, the metals in the samples such as Pb, Zn, Cu, and Fe were detected by the portable XRF measurement. In particular, the Fe and Zn contents were far higher than the other metals. The Fe and the Zn were caused by the sphalerite and the pyrrhotite through microscopy. The Wolgok orebody had higher sulfide mineral contents than the Sungok orebody and the result corresponded with the chargeability result. However, we considered that the Sungok orebody had a larger sulfide mineral grain size than the Wolgok orebody because the time constant of the Sungok orebody was larger.