Mineralogy of gold-silver deposits in Chungcheong Province

충청도(忠淸道) 일원(一圓)의 금(金)·은(銀)광상(鑛床)에 대한 광물학적(鑛物學的) 연구(硏究)

A large number of gold and/or silver-bearing quartz veins occur in or near Mesozoic granite batholith elongated in a NE-SW direction within the Chungcheong Province. Precambrian schists and gneisses, and Jurassic and Cretaceous granitic rocks serve as hosts for gold and/or silver deposits. On the basis of Ag/Au total production and ore grade ratio, 15 mines may be divided into three major groups: gold-dominant deposits, gold-silver deposits, and silver-dominant deposits. The chemical composition of electrum from skarn deposit (Geodo mine), alaskite-type deposit (Geumjeong mine) and 15 vein deposits was summarized. It was found that the Au content of electrum for vein deposits ranging from 5.2 to 86.5 is lower than that for skarn and alaskite deposits. Among 15 vein deposits, the composition of electrum associated with pyrrhotite is relatively high and has a narrow range of 40.8 to 86.5 atomic % Au, but the Au content of electrum with pyrite is in range of 5.2 to 82.8 atomic %, and is clearly lower than that with pyrrhotite. The grouping of ages for these mines indicates that gold and/or silver mineralizations occurred during two periods in the Mesozoic. Daebo igneous activities are restricted to gold mineralization in the range of 158 to 133 Ma, whereas Bulgugsa igneous activities are related to gold and/or silver mineralization ranging from 108 to 71 Ma. Generally speaking, Jurassic gold-dominant veins have many common characteristics; notably prominent association with pegmatites, simply massive vein morphology, high fineness in the ore concentrates, rarity of silver minerals, and a distinctively simple mineralogy, including sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and/or pyrite. Although individual deposits exhibit widely differing diversity, Cretaceous gold-silver and silver-dominant veins are characterized by features such as complex vein, low to medium fineness in the ore concentrates and abundance of silver minerals including Ag sulfosalts, Ag sulfides, Ag tellurides and native silver.