• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.241-259
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• 2022

In general, the REE were produced by mining conventional deposits, such as the carbonatite or the clay-hosted REE deposits. However, because of the recent demand increase for REE in modern industries, unconventional REE deposits emerged as a necessary research topic. Among the unconventional REE recovery methods, the REE-bearing coal deposits are recently receiving attentions. R-types generally have detrital originations from the bauxite deposits, and show LREE enriched REE patterns. Tuffaceous-types are formed by syngenetic volcanic activities and following input of volcanic ash into the basin. This type shows specific occurrence of the detrital volcanic ash-driven minerals and the authigenic phosphorous minerals focused at narrow horizon between coal seams and tonstein layers. REE patterns of tuffaceous-types show flat shape in general. Hydrothermal-types can be formed by epigenetic inflow of REE originated from granitic intrusions. Occurrence of the authigenic halogen-bearing phosphorous minerals and the water-bearing minerals are the specific characteristics of this type. They generally show HREE enriched REE patterns. Each type of REE-bearing coal deposits may occur by independent genesis, but most of REE-bearing coal deposits with high REE concentrations have multiple genesis. For the case of the US, the rare earth oxides (REO) with high purity has been produced from REE-bearing coals and their byproducts in pilot plants from 2018. Their goal is to supply about 7% of national REE demand. For the coal deposits in Korea, lignite layers found in Gyungju-Yeongil coal fields shows coexistence of tuff layers and coal seams. They are also based in Tertiary basins, and low affection from compaction and coalification might resulted into high-REE tuffaceous-type coal deposits. Thus, detailed geologic researches and explorations for domestic coal deposits are required.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.235-247
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• 2012

Peridotite xenoliths hosted by alkali basalts from South Korea occur in Baengnyeong Island, Jeju Island, Boeun, Asan, Pyeongtaek and Ganseong areas. K-Ar whole-rock ages of the basaltic rocks range from 0.1 to 18.9 Ma. The peridotites are dominantly lherzolites and magnesian harzburgites, and the constituent minerals are Fo-rich olivine ($Fo_{88.4-92.0}$), En-rich orthopyroxene, Di-rich clinopyroxene, and Cr-rich spinel (Cr# = 7.8-53.6). Hydrous minerals, such as pargasite and phlogopite, or garnet have not been reported yet. The Korean peridotites are residues after variable degree of partial melting (up to 26%) and melt extraction from fertile MORB mantle. However, some samples (usually refractory harzburgites) exhibit metasomatic enrichment of the highly incompatible elements, such as LREE. Equilibration temperatures estimated using two-pyroxene geothermometry range from ca. 850 to $1050^{\circ}C$. Sr and Nd isotopic compositions in clinopyroxene separates from the Korean peridotites show trends between depleted MORB-like mantle (DMM) and bulk silicate earth (BSE), which can be explained by secondary metasomatic overprinting of a precursor time-integrated depleted mantle. The Korean peridotite clinopyroxenes define mixing trends between DMM and EM2 end members on Sr-Pb and Nd-Pb isotopic correlation diagrams, without any corresponding changes in the basement. This is contrary to what we observe in late Cenozoic intraplate volcanism in East Asia which shows two distinct mantle sources such as a DMM-EM1 array for NE China including Baengnyeong Island and a DMM-EM2 array for Southeast Asia including Jeju Island. This observation suggests the existence of large-scale two distinct mantle domains in the shallow asthenosphere beneath East Asia. The Re-Os model ages on Korean peridotites indicate that they have been isolated from convecting mantle between ca. 1.8 and 1.9 Ga.