Ore Genesis of the Yonchon Titaniferous Iron Ore Deposits, South Korea

연천 함티타늄 자철광상의 성인

Titanomagnetite ore bodies in the Yonchon iron mine are closely associated with alkali gabbroic rocks of middle Proterozoic age which intruded Precambrian metasedimentary rocks. The orebodies can be divided into massive ores in gabbroic rock, skarn ores in calcareous xenoliths and banded ores in gneissic gabbro. Gabbroic rocks from the Yonchon iron mine have unusually high content of $TiO_2$ with an average values of 3.46 wt%. Iron ores are ilmenite (42.25~51.56 wt% in $TiO_2$) and titanomagnetite (1.29~6.57 wt% in $TiO_2$) and the former is dominant Small amount of magnetite, hematite, sphene and sulfide minerals are included in the ores. Grandite garnet, titanoaugite and tschermakite are in iron skarn ores. Hornblendes from ores and gabbroic rocks have a relatively homogeneous isotopic composition with ${\delta}D$ between -110.0 and -133.9‰, and ${\delta}^{18}O$ of +4.5 to +6.5‰, and calculated to have formed in fluids with ${\delta}O_{H_2O}$ of + 6.7 to +8.7‰. and ${\delta}_{H_2O}$ of -87.9 to -111.8‰, which has a similar isotopic value of primary magmatic water. Based on intrusive age, occurrence, mineral chemistry and isotopic compositions of magnetite ores and gabroic rocks, it will be concluded that the gabbroic rocks are responsible for the titanomagnetite mineralization. The titaniferous magnetite melt was immiscibly separated from the high titaniferous gabbroic melts of Proterozoic age.