• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.397-416
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• 1992

In the present study, three clay deposits, named the Seongsan, Ogmaesan and Haenam deposits, were investigated. The altered zones are recognized in the hydrothermally altered rocks of the clay deposits from the center of the alteration to the margin: Kaolin, Kaolin-Quartz, Quartz, Sericite and Chlorite zones in the Seongsan deposits; Quartz zone, Alunite zone, Kaolin zone, Sericite zone and Chlorite zone in the Ogmaesan deposits; Quartz zone, Pyrophyllite zone, Sericite zone and Chlorite zone in the Haenam deposits. These zones can be grouped into two types of alteration: Acidic alteration such as Pyrophyllite zone, Alunite zone, Quartz zone, Kaolin zone, Kaolin-Quartz zone and a part of Sericite zone; Propylitic alteration such as Chlorite zone and a part of Sericite zone. All clay deposits belong to high-sulfidation (acid-sulfate) system. The rocks of the acidic alterations are composed of pyrophyllite, alunite, kaolin minerals, sericite, quartz and pyrite. On the basis of bulk chemical compositions, it was found that some components such as $SiO_2$, $TiO_2$, $Fe_2O_3$, FeO, MgO, CaO, $K_2O$ and $Na_2O$ were mobilized considerably from the original rocks. The mobility of these major elements is related to, and controls, mineral assemblages in each altered zone. Polytypes of sericite are determined as $2M_1$ and 1M by X-ray diffraction method. The amount of $2M_1$ is nearly equal to that of 1M in the Seongsan deposits whereas $2M_1$ is less and higher than that of 1M in the Ogmaesan and the Haenam deposits. These facts indicate that formation temperature of sericite is relatively high in the Haenam deposits, moderate in the Seongsan deposits, and low in the Ogmaesan deposits. The ratios of Na/(K+Na) for alunite in the Ogmaesan deposits determined by electron microprobe analyzer (EPMA) are higher than those in the Seongsan deposits. Thus, the alunite of the Ogmaesan deposits must have been formed from the solutions with relatively high aqueous Na/(K+Na) ratios and low pH at a high temperature rather than that of the Seongsan deposits. From all data, it is clarified that alunite is hypogene in origin, and has been formed by oxidation of hydrogen sulfide in the steam-heated environment, and that alunite has been produced by the spectacular solfataric alteration observed at the surface of some present-day hydrothermal systems.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.327-335
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• 1993

Phase relations in the system Pd-Sb-Te were investigated at $1000^{\circ}$, $800^{\circ}$, and $600^{\circ}C$, using the sealed-capsule technique; the quenched products were studied by reflected light microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron microprobe analysis. At $1000^{\circ}C$, the solid phases Pd, $Pd_{20}Sb_7$, $Pd_8Sb_3$, $Pd_{31}Sb_{12}$, and $Pd_5Sb_2$ are stable with a liquid phase that occupies most of the isothermal diagram. Additional solid phases at $800^{\circ}C$ are $Pd_5Sb_3$, PdSb, $Pd_8Te_3$, $Pd_7Te_3$, and a continuous $Pd_{20}Te_7-Pd_{20}Sb_7$ solid solution becomes stable. At $600^{\circ}$, $PdSb_2$, $Pd_{17}Te_4$, $Pd_9Te_4$, PdTe, $PdTe_2$, $Sb_2Te_3$, and Sb and continuous PdSb-PdTe and $PdTe-PdTe_2$ solid solutions are stable. All the solid phases exhibit solid solution, mainly by substitution between Sb and Te to an extent that varies with temperature of formation. The maximum substitution (at.%) of Te for Sb in the Pd-Sb phases is: 44.3 in $Pd_8Sb_3$, 52.0 in $Pd_{31}Sb_{12}$, 46.2 in $Pd_5Sb_2$ at $800^{\circ}C$; 15.3 in $Pd_5Sb_3$, 68.3 in $PdSb_2$ at $600^{\circ}C$. The maximum substitution (at.%) of Sb for Te in the Pd-Te phases is 34.5 in $Pd_5Sb_3$ at $800^{\circ}C$, and 41.6 in $Pd_7Te_3$, 5.2 in $Pd_{17}T_4$, 12.4 in $Pd_9Te_4$, and 19.1 in $PdTe_2$ at $600^{\circ}C$. Physical properties and X-ray data of the synthetic $Pd_9Te_4$, PdTe, $PdTe_2$, $Pd_8Sb_3$, PdSb, and $Sb_2Te_3$ correspond very well with those of telluropalladinite, kotulskite, merenskyite, mertieite II, sudburyite, and tellurantimony, respectively. Because X-ray powder diffraction data consistently reveal a 310 peak ($2.035{\AA}$), the $PdSb_2$ phase is most probably of cubic structure with space group $P2_13$. The X-ray powder pattern of a phase with PdSbTe composition, synthesized at $600^{\circ}C$, compares well with that of testibipalladite. Therefore, testibiopalladite may be a member of the $PdSb_2-Pd(Sb_{0.32}Te_{0.68})$ solid solution series which is cubic and $P2_13$ in symmetry. Thus the ideal fonnula for testibiopalladite, presently PdSbTe, must be revised to PdTe(Sb, Te). Borovskite($pd_3SbTe_4$) has not been found in the synthetic system in the temperature range $1000^{\circ}-600^{\circ}C$.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.95-111
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• 2012

This study investigated the relationship between the geochemical environment and the occurrence of natural radioactive materials (uranium and Rn-222) in borehole groundwater at an Icheon site. The drill core recovered from the study site consists mainly of biotite granite with basic dykes. The groundwater samples were collected at four different depths in the borehole using the double-packed system. The pH range of the groundwater was 6.5~8.6, and the chemical type was Ca-$HCO_3$. The ranges of uranium and Rn-222 concentrations in the groundwater were 8.81~1,101 ppb and 5,990~11,970 pCi/L, respectively, and concentrations varied greatly with depth and collection time. The ranges of uranium and thorium contents in drill core were 0.53~18.3 ppm and 6.66~17.5 ppm, respectively. Microscope observations and electron microprobe analyses revealed the presence of U and Th as substituted elements for major composition of monazite, ilmenite, and apatite within K-feldspar and biotite. Although the concentration of uranium and thorium in the drill core was not high, the groundwater contained a high level of natural radioactive materials. This finding indicates that physical factors, such as the degree of fracturing of an aquifer and the groundwater flow rate, have a greater influence on the dissolution of radioactive materials than does the geochemical condition of the groundwater and rock. The origin of Rn-222 can be determined indirectly, using an interrelationship diagram of noble gas isotopes ($^3He/^4He$ and $^4He/^{20}Ne$).