• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.323-336
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• 2023

We investigated the nickel potential and genesis of ultramafic rocks in the Yugu area to secure nickel resources in South Korea. The Yugu ultramafic rocks, located in the southwest of the Gyeonggi Massif, are characterized by spinel peridotite and exhibit strong serpentinization along their boundaries. The serpentinization is observed as olivine transformed to antigorite and chrysotile, while pentlandite, the nickel sulfide mineral, altered into millerite and awaruite. Serpentine displays distinct foliation, aligning subparallel to the ultramafic rock boundaries and foliation of Yugu gneiss. This suggests that the uplift of ultramafic rocks resulted in hydrothermal infiltration likely sourced from the Yugu gneiss metamorphism. The Yugu ultramafic rocks are residues after 5~18% partial melting of abyssal peridotite. Enriched light rare earth elements and Eu imply secondary metasomatism. Geochemistry suggests a link between the formation of Yugu ultramafic rock and the Triassic collision of the North and South China continents. The nickel content is around 0.17~0.21%, mainly contained in olivine and serpentine. Hence, in addition to the mineral processing study on the sulfide minerals, focused studies on oxide minerals for enhanced nickel recovery within the Yugu ultramafic rock are strongly suggested.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.253-261
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• 2024

Olivine, a major mineral in the upper mantle with strong intrinsic elastic anisotropy, plays a crucial role in seismic anisotropy in the mantle, primarily through its lattice preferred orientation (LPO). Despite this, the influence of the microstructure of mylonitic rocks on seismic anisotropy remains inadequately understood. Notably, there is a current research gap concerning seismic anisotropy directly inferred from mylonitic peridotite massifs in Korea. In this study, we introduce the deformation microstructure and LPO of olivine in the mantle shear zone. We calculate the characteristics of seismic anisotropy based on the degree of deformation (proto-mylonite, mylonite, ultra-mylonite) and establish correlations between these characteristics. Our findings reveal that the seismic anisotropy resulting from the olivine LPO in the ultra-mylonitic rock appears to be the weakest, whereas the seismic anisotropy resulting from the olivine LPO in the proto-mylonitic rock appears to be the strongest. The results demonstrate a gradual decrease in seismic anisotropy as the fabric strength (J-index) of olivine LPO diminishes, irrespective of the specific pattern of olivine's LPO. Moreover, all samples exhibit a polarization direction of the fast S-wave aligned subparallel to the lineation. This suggests that seismic anisotropy originating from olivine in mylonitic peridotites is primarily influenced by fabric strength rather than LPO type. Considering these distinctive characteristics of seismic anisotropy is expected to facilitate comparisons and interpretations of the internal mantle structure and seismic data in the Yugu area, Gyeonggi Massif.