• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.209-220
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• 2014

SHRIMP zircon U-Pb age dating is carried out for the Yeongju and Andong granite batholiths intruding the Precambrian metamorphic complex and Paleozoic sedimentary formations within the NE Yeongnam Massif, Korea. Dating of zircons from a hornblende-biotite tonalite and an equigranular biotite granodiorite in the Yeongju granite has yielded ages of ca. 187 Ma and ca. 186 Ma, respectively. Also, dating of zircons from a biotite granodiorite and a very coarse-grained biotite granite in the Andong granite has yielded ages of ca. 182Ma and ca. 186Ma, respectively. These data indicate that the main intrusions of the Yeongju and Andong granite batholiths occur almost at the same age. The oldest age of ca. 194 Ma has been determined on zircons from a hornblende gabbro in the Andong granite, and the youngest age of 175 Ma is obtained from the Chunyang granite pluton, mainly consisting of fine-grained two-mica granite, of the Yeongju batholith. These results indicate that Jurassic Daebo magmatism in the Yeongju-Andong area, NE Yeongnam massif, started early at the Early Jurassic with an intrusion of mafic magma, and followed by an emplacement voluminous granite magma during the middle of the Early Jurassic, and was finalized with the emplacement of relatively small amount of much evolved granite magma at the end of Early Jurassic.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.279-292
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• 2014

Nd isotopic compositions analyzed from the Phanerozoic granitoids of Korea are integrated and discussed. Variations in Nd isotopic compositions can be explained either by temporal trend or by regional differences. Among the three active periods, first two periods during the Permian-Triassic and Jurassic seem to show variations from rather high ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ values at the beginning to lower ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ values during the later stages. Such trends probably reflect melting of the subducting oceanic crust and producing magma with higher proportion of depleted mantle derived materials during the early stage of subduction process, and subsequent magmas with greater proportion of old continental crust with progress of subduction. However, the Cretaceous-Paleogene period of active magmatism displays higher ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ values during the advanced stage of the igneous activities, which is opposite to the previous active periods. The other explanation is that such differences in ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ reflect regional differences, based on the observations that such high-${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ granitoids distribute in the northeastern Gyeongbuk Province and Gyeongsang Basin. If this is the case, the regions with highr ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ values may have distinct crustal evolution histories, e.g. younger average age. The choice between the two hypothesis could be made through further studies.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.261-281
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• 2016

Our knowledge of the lithosphere beneath the Korean Peninsula has been improved through petrologic and geochemical studies of upper mantle xenoliths hosted by Quaternary intraplate alkali basalts from Jeju Island. The xenoliths are mostly spinel lherzolites, accompanied by subordinate harzburgite and pyroxenites. The mantle xenoliths represent residual mantle material showing textural and geochemical evidence for at least a three-stage evolution, fractional partial melting, recrystallization, and metasomatism. Their composition primarily controlled by early fractional melt extraction and porphyroclastic and mylonitic fabrics formed in a shear-dominated environment, which was subsequently modified by residual slab-derived fluids (or melts). Modal metasomatic products occur as both anhydrous phase(orthopyroxene) and hydrous phase (phlogopite). Late-stage orthopyroxene is more common than phlogopite. However, chemical equilibrium is evident between the primary and secondary orthopyroxene, implying that the duration of post-metasomatic high temperatures enabled complete resetting/reequilibration of the mineral compositions. The metasomatic enrichment pre-dates the host Jeju Quaternary magmatism, and a genetic relationship with the host magmas is considered unlikely. Following enrichment in the peridotite protolith in the mantle wedge, the upper mantle beneath proto-Jeju Island was transformed from a subarc environment to an intraplate environment. The Jeju peridotites, representing old subarc fragments, were subsequently transported to the surface, incorporated into ascending Quaternary intraplate alkali basalt. The result of this study implies that long term material transfer in the transformation of geotectonic setting from a subarc to intraplate may have played a significant role in the evolution of lithospheric mantle, resulting in the enriched mantle domains, such as EM I or EM II in the lithospheric mantle beneath East Asia.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.85-109
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• 2019

Various Mesozoic igneous rocks such as biotite granite, leucogranites, granodiorite, hornblende gabbros, quartz gabbros and tonalite are identified in the Dangjin area, the western Gyeonggi Massif, Korea. The major Mesozoic igneous activities in the Dangjin area are recognized as periods of ca. 227 Ma, ca. 190 Ma, ca. 185 Ma and ca. 175 Ma. Gabbroic rocks consist mainly of hornblende gabbros and quartz gabbros which are characterized by dominant hornblende and occur as small stocks. The gabbroic rocks have intrusion ages between 185 and 175 Ma. Triassic biotite granite ($225{\pm}2.3Ma$) is considered to be a post-collisional granite similar in geochemistry to the southern Haemi granite ($233{\pm}2Ma$, Choi et al., 2009). Although the main magma source of biotite granite appears to be a granitic continental crust, the biotite granite could have a small amount of mafic rocks as a magma source, or a small amount of mantle-derived melts (i.e., mafic melts) could have contributed to the formation of primitive granite magma in composition. Jurassic granitoids and gabbroic rocks in the Dangjin area are considered to be continental arc igneous rocks associated with the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate. It is presumed that the leucogranites are formed by crustal anatexis of granitic materials and the gabbroic rocks are formed by partial melting of enriched mantle.

• Proceedings of the Mineralogical Society of Korea Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.95-95
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• 2001

The Yeongdong basin is one of the pull-apart basins in the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula that has developed during Cretaceous sinistal fault movement. The bimodal igneous activities (basalts and rhyolites) in the basin appear to be closely associated with the basin development. Here, we discuss the origin of the igneous rocks using chemical and radiogenic isotope data. Basaltic (48.4-52.7 wt% SiO$_2$) and rhyolitic (70.3-70.8 wt% SiO$_2$) rocks are slightly alkalic in a total alkali-silica diagram. The rhyolitic rocks with have unusually high K$_2$O contents (5.2-6.0 wt%). The basaltic rocks show an overall pattern of within-plate basalt in a MORB-normalized spider diagram, but have distinct negative anomaly of Nb, which indicates a significant amount of crustal component in the magma. The basaltic rocks plot within the calc-alkaline basalt field in the Hf/3-Th-Ta and Y/l5-La/10-Nb/8 discrimination diagrams. The eNd(T) values of the basaltic rocks (-13.6 to 14.3) are slightly higher than those of the rhyolitic rocks (-14.1 to 15.2), and the initial Sr isotopic ratios of the former (0.7085-0.7093) are much lower than those of the latter (0.7140-0.7149). However, the initial Nd and Sr isotope ratios of the igneous rocks in the Yeongdong basin are similar to those of the nearby Cretaceous igneous rocks in the Okcheon belt. The Pb isotope ratios plot within the field of Mesozoic granitoids outside of the Gyeongsang basin in Pb-Pb correlation diagrams. Since a basaltic magma requires the mantle source, the enriched isotopic signatures and negative Nb anomaly of the basaltic rocks suggest two possibilities for their origin: enriched mantle lithospheric source, or depleted mantle source with significant amount of crustal contamination. However, we prefer the first possibility since it would be difficult for a basaltic magma to maintain its bulk composition when it is significantly contaminated with granitic crustal material. The slightly more enriched isotopic signatures of rhyolitic rocks also suggest two possibilities: differentiate of the basaltlc magma with some crustal contamination, or direct partial melting of the lower crust. Much larger exposed volume of the rhyolitic rocks, compared with the basaltic rocks, indicates the latter possibility more favorable.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.243-264
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• 1986

This work is a metallogeny on gold-silver deposits in South Korea based on the close examination of the author's own data and a broad review of existing literature available. The metallogenic epochs in Korea are temporarily connected with the history of tectonism and igneous activities, and are identified as the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Jurassic to early Cretaceous, late Cretaceous to early Tertiary, and Quaternary epochs, whereas the metallogenic provinces are spatially associated with some of the felsic to intermediate igneous rocks, lacking mineralization related to basic and ultrabasic rocks. The metallogeny on the gold-silver deposits is mostly related to the granitic rocks intrusives. Epigenetic gold-silver mineralization in South Korea ranges in metallogenic epochs from Precambrian through Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous to Eocene (?), in genetic types from hypothermal through mesothermal and epithermal quartz-sulfide veins to volcanogenic stockworks, with some disseminated types. Reporting on metallic association from gold without silver, gold-silver, silver-gold, silver without gold, and gold or silver as a by-product from other metallic ores. The most representative genetic types and metal associations of gold-silver deposits are hydrothermal quartz veins associated with the Daebo and Bulgugsa granitic magmatism. The most closely associated paragenetic metallic minerals in gold-silver hydrothermal quartz-sulfide vein type deposits are: copper, lead, zinc, pyrite and arsenopyrite. More than 560 gold-silver mines are plotted in the distribution map grouped within the 10 different metallogenic provinces of South Korea. Specific mineralizations with related mineral association in both sulfides and gangues observed selected from 18 Korean and 8 Japanese Au-Ag deposits. The 7 selected individual gold-silver mines representing specific mineralization types are described in this report.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.2 s.171
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• pp.113-127
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• 2005

Cretaceous intrusive and extrusive rocks are widely distributed in the southwestern part of the Korean peninsula, possibly the result of intensive magmatism which occurred in response to subduction of the western proto-Pacific plate beneath the north-eastern part of the Eurasian plate. Geochemical and petrological study on the Cretaceous granitic rocks were carried out in order to constrain the petrogenesis of the granitic magma and to establish the paleotectonic environment of the area. Whole rock chemical data of the granitic rocks from the study area indicate that the all the rocks have characteristics of calc-alkaline series in the subalkaline field. The overall geochemical features show systematic variations in each granitic body, but the source materials of each granitic body are thought to have been different in their chemical composition. Higher values of $Fe_2O_3/FeO$ of the granitic rocks in the western area suggest that the granitoids had been solidified under highly oxidizing environment. The granitic bodies in the eastern area also show higher contents of Li, Ni, Co, Sr, Cr, Sc and lower Rb and Nb compared to the those of the western area. Chondrite normalized REE patterns show generally enriched LREE and strong negative Eu anomalies in the western wet while slight to flat Eu anomalies in the east-ern area. The REE and $(La/Lu)_{CN}$ of the granites are $60{\~}499ppm$ and $8.9{\~}66$ correspond to the range of the continental margin granite. On the ANK vs. ACNK and tectonic discrimination diagrams, parental magma type of the granites corresponds to I-type, VAG and syn-collision granite. Interpretations of the chemical characteristics of the granitic rocks favor their emplacement in a compressional tectonic regime at continental margin during the subduction of proto-Pacific plate.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.39 no.3 s.178
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• pp.235-253
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• 2006

We interpreted marine seismic profiles in conjunction with swath bathymetric and magnetic data to investigate rifting to breakup processes at the Korean margin leading to the separation of the Japan Arc. The Korean margin is rimmed by fundamental elements of rift architecture comprizing a seaward succession of a rift basin and an uplifted rift flank passing into the slope, typical of a passive continental margin. In the northern part, rifting occurred in the Korea Plateau, a continental fragment extended and partially segmented from the Korean Peninsula, that provided a relatively broader zone of extension resulting in a number of rifts. Two distinguished rift basins (Onnuri and Bandal Basins) in the Korea Plateau we bounded by major synthetic and smaller antithetic faults, creating wide and symmetric profiles. The large-offset border fault zones of these basins have convex dip slopes and demonstrate a zig-zag arrangement along strike. In contrast, the southern margin is engraved along its length with a single narrow rift basin (Hupo Basin) that is an elongated asymmetric half-graben. Rifting at the Korean margin was primarily controlled by normal faulting resulting from extension in the west and southeast directions orthogonal to the inferred line of breakup along the base of the slope rather than strike-slip deformation. Although rifting involved no significant volcanism, the inception of sea floor spreading documents a pronounced volcanic phase which seems to reflect slab-induced asthenospheric upwelling as well as rift-induced convection particularly in the narrow southern margin. We suggest that structural and igneous evolution of the Korean margin can be explained by the processes occurring at the passive continental margin with magmatism intensified by asthenospheric upwelling in a back-arc setting.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.77-97
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• 1998

We analyzed geochemical and radiogenic isotope data to investigate the genesis and source characteristics of the Onjeongri granite in the northern part of the Gyeongsang Basin. Field observation and K-Ar ages confirm late Cretaceous intrusion (ca. 87 Ma) of the Onjeongri granite. The hornblende geobarometery gives less than 2 kbar for the emplacement pressure of the Onjeongri granite. Geochemical and isotopic compositions suggest that the Onjeongri granite was formed in a relatively immature arc system. $SiO_2$ contents show a negative linear relationship with initial $^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr$ ratios, and an apparent positive correlation with $^{207}Pb/^{204}Pb$ ratios, suggesting an incomplete mixing or assimilation. However, the isotopic data known for any exposed rocks of the study area do not fit as an endmember, implying that the contaminant might reside in the lower crust. A review of published isotopic ages, geochemical, and Sr and Nd isotopic data for the Cretaceous to Tertiary granites in the Gyeongsang Basin indicates the followings. 1) Granitic magmatism in the Gyeongsang Basin were episodic. 2) Granitic rocks in the basin were derived from young (< 0.9 Ga) lower crust, and their isotopic signatures reflect heterogeneous source region. Geochemical and isotopic signatures of granitic rocks in the basin are difficult to explain by upper crustal contamination. 3) Granites in the Gyeongsang Basin have closely related to those in the San in Belt of the Inner Zone of Southwest Japan in terms of age, petrography, and isotopic and geochemical composition. 4) Sr-Nd isotopic signatures of the Onjeongri granite are relatively primitive compared with granitic rocks in the other parts of the Gyeongsang Basin and in the Inner Zone of Southwest Japan.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.40 no.2 s.183
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• pp.223-236
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• 2007

The eastern extension of the Cordilleran-type orogenic belt continues from southeastern China to the Chukot Peninsula through the Korean Peninsula. The Gyeongsang basin, located in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula and the Inner Zone of southwest Japan are characterized by extensive distribution of Cretaceous to Tertiary I-type calc-alkaline series of intrusive rocks. These intrusive rocks are possibly the result of intensive magmatism which occurred in response to the subduction of the Izanagi Plate beneath the northeastern part of the Eurasian Plate. The Jindong granitoids within the Gyeongsang basin are reported to be adakites, whose signatures are high $SiO_2,\;Al_2O_3$, Sr, Sr/Y La/Yb and, low Y and Yb contents. The major and trace element contents of the Jindong granitoids fall well within the adakitic field, whereas other Cretaceous granites in the same basin are plotted in the island arc ADR area in discrimination diagrams. Chondrite normalized REE patterns show generally enriced LREEs (La/Yb)C = 3.6-13.8) and slight negative to flat Eu anomalies. The mean Rb-Sr whole rock isotopic age of the Jindong granitoids is $114.6{\pm}9.1$ Ma with an initial Sr isotope ratio of 0.70457. These values suggest that the magma has mantle signature and intruded into the area during Early Cretaceous. The Jindong granitoids have similar paleogeographical locations, paleotectonic environments and intrusion ages to those of the Shiraishino granodiorites of Kyushu Island and the Tamba granitoids of San'yo belt located on southwestern Japanese arc.