• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.9-20
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• 1991

Gusi pyrophyllite deposit is located in the Haenam volcanic field in the southwestern part of the Korea Peninsula. This area is known for the occurrences of pyrophyllite, alunite and dickite. This volcanic field is composed of andesite, rhyolite and pyroclastic rocks of late Cretaceous age The pyroclastic rocks are hydrothermally altered to pyrophyllite and kaolin minerals forming the Gusi deposits. The hydrothermally altered rock can be classified into the following zones on the basis of their mineral assemblages: quartz, pyrophyllite, dickite and illite-smectite zones, from the centre to the margins of the alteration mass. Such mineral assemblages indicate that the country rocks, most of which are the lower Jagguri Tuff, were altered by strongly acidic hydrothermal solutions with high aqueous silica and potassium activity and that the formation temperature of pyrophyllite is higher than $265^{\circ}C$. The mechanism of the hydrothermal alteration is considered to be related to felsic magmatism.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.41-50
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• 1992

Mineral assemblages, mineral chemistries and stable isotope compositions of altered rocks of the Ogmae, Seongsan, Haenam and Gusi mines near the Haenam volcanic field in the southwestern part of the Korea peninsula were studied. Characteristic hydrothermal alteration zones in these deposits occurring in the Cretaceous volcanics and volcanogenic sediments, acidic tuff, and rhyolite, were outlined. Genetic environment with particular reference to the spatial and temporal relationships for these deposits were considered. The alteration zones defined by a mineral assemblage in the Ogmae and Seongsan deposits can be classified as alunite, pyrophyllite, kaolinite or dickite, quartz, illite or illite/smectite. Alunite was not developed in the Gusi and Haenam deposits. Boundaries between the adjacent zones are always gradational except for vein-type alunite. Alteration zones are superimposed upon each other in some localities. These deposits formed $71.8{\pm}2.8{\sim}76.6{\pm}2.9$ Ma ago, which is the almost same age of later volcanic rocks $79.4{\pm}1.7{\sim}82.8{\pm}1.2$ Ma, the Haenam Group, corresponding to Campanian. It indicates that hydrothermal alteration of these deposits appeared to be related to felsic volcanism in the area. Consideration of the stability between kaolinite, alunite, pyrite and pyrophyllite, and the geothermometry based on the mineral chemistry of illite and chlorite suggests that the maximum formation temperature for alunite and pyrophyllite can be estimated at about $250^{\circ}C$ and $240{\sim}290^{\circ}C$, respectively. It also suggests that these deposits were formed by acidic sulfate solution with high aqueous silica and potassium activity in a shallow depth environment. Compositional variation of alunite also suggests that the physico-chemical conditions fluctulated considerably during alteration processes, indicating shallow depth environment. The Haenam deposit was formed at a relatively greater depth than the others. The sulfur isotope composition of alunite and pyrite indicates that sulfur probably had a magmatic source, and the oxygen isotope composition for kaolinite indicates that the magmatic hydrothermal solution was diluted by circulating meteoric water.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.325-333
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• 1994

Gold and/or silver mineralization in the southeast province, Korea, occurred in hydrothermal quartz vein that fills fracture zones in Cretaceous volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Gyeongsang basin or granites and Precambrian gneiss. Most of the gold-silver-bearing veins in the province occur in Hapcheon, Suncheon and Haman-Gunbuk area where they are associated with Cretaceous Bulgugsa granites. On the basis of the Ag/Au ratio on amounts produced and ore grades, mode of occurrence, and associated mineral assemblages, hydrothermal Au-Ag deposits in southeast province, Korea, can be classified as follows: pyrite-type gold deposit (Group IIB, Samjeong and Sangchon deposits), antimony-type gold-silver deposit (Group IV, Gisan and Geochang deposits), and antimony-type silver deposit (Group V, Sanggo, Seweon, Seongju and Gahoe deposits). All of the gold-silver deposits in the province are generally characteristics of the gold-silver or silver-dominant type deposit which contains more silver-bearing minerals than those deposits in central Korea. The gold-silver mineralization in the deposits consist of two generation; the early characterized by gold precipitation and the late represented by silver-rich (as silver-bearing sulfosalts minerals) mineralization. All but one deposit (Samjeong deposit) having relatively lower Au content in electrum values between ${\approx}20$ and ${\approx}50$ atomic %. The mineralogical data on electrum-sphalerite and/or arsenopyrite geothermometry and fluid inclusion data indicate that the gold and silver mineralizations were occurred at temperatures of $190{\sim}280^{\circ}C$ and $150{\sim}180^{\circ}C$, respectively. These suggest that the gold-silver mineralization in the province occurred in the lower temperature and pressure conditions as epithermal-type hydrothermal vein deposit.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.171-183
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• 1998

Early Tertiary volcanics, volcanoclastics and granodiorite occur in the Barton Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica. In the granodioritic stock and volcanic rocks, propylitic alteration characterized by actinolite, epidote, chlorite and calcite is widespread, and disseminations and veinlets of sulfide minerals such as pyrite, chalcopyrite and bornite are ubiquitious. The study on the hydrothermal alteration near granodioritic stock can be summarized as follows; (1) granodiorite intrusion is a small, high level stock associated with calc-alkaline volcanism, and have high copper content, (2) high temperature type of propylitic alteration and common occurrence of copper sulfides in and around granodiorite intrusion, (3) low ${\delta}^{34}S$ values of pyrites by oxidational conditions of sulfide deposition, (4) low ${\delta}^{34}S$ values of quartz and feldspar in the granodiorite, and isotopic non-equilibrium by hydrothermal alteration. It suggest that hyrothermal alteration and mineralization near granodioritc stock should be genetically related to granodiorite intrusion in the Barton Peninsula.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2010

The Yugeum deposit in Youngduk in Gyungsangbuk-do is emplaced in the Cretaceous granitoids located in the Northeastem Gyeongsang Basin. Gold-bearing quartz veins filling the fracture with a direction of $N19^{\circ}{\sim}38^{\circ}W$ are most abundantly distributed within the Younghae granodiorite body. The formation of quartz veins can be classified into three main stages: barren quartz stage, auriferous quartz vein stage, and finally the extensive sulfide mineralization stage. Various sulfide minerals such as pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, and arsenopyrite were precipitated during the hydrothermal gold mineralization process. Gold commonly occurs as fine-grained electrum in sulfides with high Au concentration (up to 93 wt%) compared to Ag. During the early gold mineralization stage, the temperature and pressure of the fluids are in the range of $220{\sim}250^{\circ}C$ and 730~1800 bar, and the oxygen fugacity is between $10^{-27}$ and $10^{-31.7}$ atm. On the other hand, the fluids of the late stage mineralization are characterized by temperature of $290{\sim}350^{\circ}C$ and pressure of 206~472 bar, and the oxygen fugacity is in the range of $10^{-26.3}{\sim}10^{-28.6}$ atm. The sulfur isotope compositions of sulfide minerals are in the range of $0.2{\sim}4.2^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$, while the ${\delta}^{34}SH_2S$ values range from 1.0 to $3.7^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$. The Ag/Au atomic ratios of electrum ranges from 0.15 to 1.10, and Au content is higher than Ag in most electrum. During the main gold mineralization stage at the relatively high temperature condition and with pH from 4.5 to 5.5, the stability of ${AuCl_2}^-$ increased while the stability of ${Au(HS)_2}^-$ decreased. Considering the pressure estimated in this deposit, the temperature of the ore fluid reached higher than $350^{\circ}C$ and ${AuCl_2}^-$ became an important species for the gold transportation. As mineralization proceeded with decreasing temperature and increasing pH and $f_{o2}$, the precipitation of sulfide minerals and accompanying electrum occurred.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.75-87
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• 2003

The Haman-Gunbuk mineralized area is located within the Cretaceous Gyeongsang Basin along the southeastern part of the Korean peninsula. Major ore minerals, magnetite, scheelite, molybdenite and chalcopyrite, together with base-metal sulfides and minor sulfosalts, occur in fissure-filling tourmaline, quartz and carbonates veins contained within Cretaceous sedimentary and volcanic rocks anu/or granodiorite (118{\pm}$3.0 Ma). The ore and gangue mineral paragenesis can be divided into three distinct stages: Stage 1, tourmaline+quartz+Fe-Cu ore mineralization; Stage II, quartz+sulfides+sulfosalts+carbonates; Stage 111, barren calcite. Earliest fluids are recorded in stage I and early por-tions of stage II veins as hypersaline (35~70 equiv. wt.% NaCl+KCl) and vapor-rich inclusions which homogenize from ~30$0^{\circ}C$ to $\geq$50$0^{\circ}C$. The high-salinity fluids are complex chloride brines with significant concentrations of sodium, potassium, iron, copper, and sulfur, though sulfide minerals are not associated with the early mineral assemblage produced by this fluid. Later solutions circulated through newly formed fractures and reopened veins, and are recorded as lower-salinity(less than ~20 equiv. wt.% NaCl) fluid inclusions which homogenize primarily from ~200 to 40$0^{\circ}C$. The oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of fluid in the Haman-Gunbuk hydrothermal system represents a progressive shift from magmatic-hydrothermal dominance during early mineralization stage toward meteoric-hydrothermal dominance during late mineralization stage. The earliest hydrothermal fiuids to circu-late within the granodiorite stock localiring the ore body at Haman-Gunbuk could have exsolved from the crystal-lizing magma and unmixed into hypersaline liquid and $H_2O$-NaCl vapor. As these magmatic fluids moved throughfractures, tourmaline and early Fe, W, Mo, Cu ore mineralization occurred without concomitant deposition of othersulfides and sulfosalts. Later solutions of dominantly meteoric origin progressively formed hypogene copper and base-metal sulfides, and sulfosalt mineralization.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.335-348
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• 2016

The fluvial Tamna Formation, consisting of conglomerate, sandstone and mudstone layers, is widely distributed in Jeiu Island. Various sizes of quartz crystals were identified from most of the Tamna Formation, including the mudstone layer. XRD analysis also shows that the mudstone layer is composed of various minerals, quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar, mica, magnetite, hematite, olivine, amphibole, gibbsite, calcite, analcime and clay minerals such as illite, kaolinite, vermiculite, smectite, chlorite, $10{\AA}$-halloysite. There is a tendency showing that the more amount of kaolinite, vermiculite, and chlorite is present where the more amount of quartz crystals is present. It is likely that the main source materials contributing to the Tamna Formation were from the parental rocks containing abundant quartz grains, suggesting that the Tamna Formation could not be related to Jeju volcanic rocks, but possibly to pre-existing basement rocks. Thus, we propose that the Tamna Formation was formed from the materials derived from both pre-existing basement rocks and Jeju volcanic rocks, which were subsequently affected by diagenesis, hydrothermal alteration and weathering process.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 1993

The clay minerals such as sericite, pyrophyllite, chlorite and smectite abundantly occur in the Bobae pottery stone mine in Pusan. In this study, the processes which are responsible for the formation of these minerals were studied by examing their occurrence and mineralogical properties. The so-called pottery stone of this mine is characterized by the predominance of sericite and quartz. The sericite of the pottery stone is mostly $2M-{1}$ type. And many of quartz particles are smaller than a few micron in diameter. The pottery stone also contained a small amount of pyrophyllite and muscovite. The pottery stone deposit occurs within the Cretaceous rhyodacite and is particularly well developed near the contact with the quartz porphyry which intrudes the rhyodacite. The fact implies that the pottery stone is the product of hydrothermal alteration of the rhyodacite by the intrusion of quartz porphyry. The pottery stone was formed by the alteration that accompanies the dissociation of feldspar and chlorite in parent rocks and subsequent formation of sericte and quartz. Smectite, laumontite and kaolinite occur locally within the altered rocks. These minerals were formed after formation of pottery stone. It is noteworthy that beidellite occurs as a pink-colored clay from the altered rocks in the mine.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.233-247
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• 2012

We have researched the distribution and characteristics of seafloor hydrothermal deposits for the development of economic mineral deposits in the Lau Basin, Tonga since 2009. In this study, we interpreted hydrothermal alteration around TA 26 seamounts of the Tofua volcanic arc using X-ray diffraction analysis for bulk sample and preferred-oriented specimen of clay fraction. We used 2 core samples and several surface samples. Plagioclase and quartz are dominant mineral in the basement rock, whereas kaolin mineral and smectite are superior in marine surface sediments. Especially sulfate and sulfide minerals such as gypsum, barite, sphalerite, and pyrite are predominant in the vent sediments. When we compare the mineral composition between basement rock and sea surface sediments, argillic alteration zone composed of kaolin mineral and smectite could be produced by hydrothermal fluids. Based on the downcore variation of mineral assemblages, most portion of MC08H-06 core could be interpreted as argillic alteration zone composed of kaolin mineral and smectite except top 2 cm area. Various sulfate or sulfide minerals and argillic alteration zone suggest a high probability of massive sulfide deposits in the seafloor of the TA 26 seamount.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.377-386
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• 2022

In addition to anthropogenic origins, fluorine (F) is naturally enriched in rocks due to geological events, such as magma dissemination, hydrothermal alteration, mineralization, and fault activities. Generally, it has been well known that F is chiefly enriched in the region of igneous and metamorphic rocks, and biotite granite was mostly distributed in the study area. The F enrichment mechanism was not sufficiently elucidated in the previous studies, and the study on a fault zone was conducted to reveal it more precisely. The mineral composition of the fault zone was identical to that of the Eulwangsan biotite granite (EBG), but they were quantitatively different between the two areas. Compared with the EBG, the fault zone showed relatively higher contents of quartz and F-bearing minerals (fluorite, sericite) but lower contents of plagioclase and alkali feldspar. This difference was likely due to hydrothermal mineral alterations. The results of microscopic observations supported this, and the generation of F-bearing minerals by hydrothermal alterations was recognized in most samples. Accordingly, it might be interpreted that the mineralogical and petrological differences observed in the same-age biotite granite widely distributed in the Yongyudo was caused by the hydrothermal alterations due to small-scale geological events.