Physicochemical Study of the Wondong Fe-Pb-Zn Skarn Deposit, Korea

원동(院洞) Fe-Pb-Zn 스카른광상의 물리화학적(物理化學的) 특징(特徵)

The Wondong Fe-Pb-Zn deposit is located in endo and exoskarns formed along the contact between the Makkol limestone interbedding pelitic limestone of Ordovician age and quartz porphyry of Cretaceous age. At the Wondong mine, the endoskarn shows a discontinuous zonal arrangement from quartz porphyry to pelitic limestone as follows: unaltered quartz porphyry, weakly altered quartz porphyry zone, intensively altered pinkish quartz porphyry zone, garnet zone, and greyish white and fine-grained clinopyroxene zone developed at pelitic limestone side. In terms of chemical mass balance, intensively altered pinkish quartz porphyry relative to unaltered quartz porphyry shows substantial enrichments in $K_2O$, $Na_2O$, and HREE and depletions in MgO, CaO, total $Fe_2O_3$, and LREE. On the other hand, garnet zone of endoskarn is enriched in CaO, MnO, total $Fe_2O_3$, MgO and depleted in $K_2O$, $Na_2O$. $Al_2O_3$ seems to be determining inert component. Thus the behavior of elements indicates that the mobility of elements depends on the equilibration of hydrothermal fluid and minerals and affects on enrichments by fractionation from and depletions by partition to hydrothermal fluid, respectively. Traversing toward pelitic limestone from a central zone of exoskarn, the exoskarn also shows a zonal arrangement as follows: garnet zone, clinopyroxene zone, and decolored pelitic limestone. The arrangement of mineral assemblages in skarns of the Wondong mine is the result of an increase in CaO and $K_2O$ toward the pelitic limestone. Skarn and ore minerals were formed in the following sequence: early skarn, late skarn and magnetite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and molybdenite. On the basis of stabilities of mineral assemblages, physicochemical conditions of the late skarn and magnetite mineralization are estimated to be $350^{\circ}C{\leq}T{\leq}400^{\circ}C$ at 1 Kb, $-23{\leq}log\;fO_2{\leq}-18$, and $0.005{\leq}XCO_2{\leq}0.01$, while those of the early skarn to be $420^{\circ}C{\leq}T{\leq}550^{\circ}C$ at 1 Kb.