Chemical Variations of Electrum from Gold and/or Silver Deposits in the Southeast Korea

한국 동남부지역 금·은 광상산 에렉트럼의 화학조성

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.