• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.193-202
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• 2012

There were three cycles of igneous activities from the late Paleozoic to early Cenozoic; Permian to Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous to Paleogene. After the beginning of each igneous activity cycle, igneous activity became more frequent until its climax. It is noteworthy that A-type magmatisms are reported from near the ends of the all three igneous activity cycles. In addition, adakitic magmatisms occurred at the beginning of both the Permian-Triassic and the Cretaceous-Paleogene cycles. Most of the igneous activities during the late Paleozoic to early Cenozoic period were subduction-related. Therefore, transitions among beginning, proceeding, and closing of the igneous activity cycles would be intimately related with changes in directions of plate movements. In this context, I suggest following hypotheses. The closing of the Permian-Triassic igneous cycle was possibly a consequence of radical adjustment of plate motion occurred due to continental collision between north and south China blocks. Considering that no appreciable tectonic activities were recognized from the east Asian continent at the closing of the Jurassic igneous cycle, it seems that one of the strong events related with Gondwanaland-breakup and subsequent birth of the new oceans, which might cause sudden adjustments of plate motions. The closing of the Cretaceous-Paleogene igneous cycle seems to be caused as a consequence of the collision between India and Asia continents. Meanwhile, adakitic igneous bodies emplaced at the beginnings of the Permian-Triassic and Cretaceous-Paleogene cycles could be products of slab-melting during the early stages of the subduction.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.23-39
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• 1985

The northeastern part of Ogcheon zone which consisted mainly of Cambro-Ordovician arenaceous, argillaceous and calcareous formations and Carboni-Triassic arenaceous and argillaceous formations is delineated as the eastern mass of a thrust fault along Choongju-Moongyong-Cheongsan in the middle of the zone. The present study proposes a geotectonic line, Imgye-Samchog fault(see, figure 1) which divides the northeastern part into two blocks, Hambacksan block in the west and East coast block in the east. The igneous rocks in the Hambacksan block ranging from granite to gabbro are distributed in a symmetrical zones parallel to general direction of Ogcheon zone as follows (Fig. 2 and Table 2). Southeast igneous rock zone: it aligns Jurassic granites in its south and Precambrian leucocratic granites in its north. Central igneous rock zone: it aligns Cretaceous granites in its south and Jurassic granites, and some of diorite and gabbro in its north. Northwest igneous rock zone: aligns Jurassic granites in its south and huge batholithic granodiorite in its north. The distribution of the igneous rocks in the East coast block shows an entirely different features from those of Hanbacksan block. In the southern part of the block they assemble in a narrow area ranging in age from Early Proterozoic, through Middle to Late Proterozoic, Devonian, Jurassic, Cretaceous to Tertiary, whereas, the igneous rocks in the northern part of the block gathered to a restricted area, in ages of Middle Proterozoic and Cretaceous. The assemblage of the igneous rocks in the studied area shows a compositionally restricted, mixed S-type and I-type granites, $^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr$ > 0.706, rare volcanics and shortening with upright folding. These lithologic and structural features suggest that the igneous activity in this part related intimately to Hercynotype Orogeny of Pitcher(1979). Chronological episodes of igneous activity from Early Proterozoic to Early Tertiary in the northeastern part are figured.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.329-335
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• 2013

Based on mineral assemblages, field occurrences, the volcanic rocks distributed in the Geumdang Island area are divided into three types: rhyolite, porphyritic rhyolite and intermediated dyke rock. In a diagram of [TAS (total alkali-silica)], rhyolites and porphyritic rhyolites belong to the rhyolite-dacite field and rhyolite field, respectively. As to the times when the rhyolite and porphyritic rhyolite rocks were formed a whole rock K-Ar age was obtained. These absolute age determinations have revealed that the former (rhyolite) has an age of 76-78 Ma and belongs to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) and the latter (porphyritic rhyolite) is 71-72 Ma in age and thus belongs to the boundary between the Campanian and Maastrichtian. These geological ages are associated with the igneous activity of the Yuchon Group which occurred vigorously in the southern part of the Korean peninsula during the Late Cretaceous. The various geological ages of volcanic rocks distributed in the southwestern part of the peninsula and of igneous rocks found in the Cretaceous formation which contain a wide variety of minerals indicate that in this area, volcanic activities continued vigorously as a result of the collision of the Eurasian and Pacific Plates between 108-71 Ma.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.323-336
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• 2019

The Mesozoic activity on the Korean Peninsula is mainly represented by the Triassic post-collisional, Jurassic orogenic, and Cretaceous post-orogenic igneous activities. The diversity of mineralization by each geological period came from various geothermal systems derived from the geochemical characteristics of magma with different emplacement depth. The Cretaceous metallic mineralization has been carried out over a wide range of time periods from ca. 115 to 45 Ma (main stage; ca. 100 to 60 Ma) related to post-orogenic igneous activity, and spatial distribution patterns of most metal deposits are concentrated along small granitic stocks. The late Cretaceous metal deposits in the Gyeonggi and Yeongnam massifs are generally distributed along the boundary among the Gongju-Eumseong fault system and the Yeongdong-Gwangju fault system and the Gyeongsang Basin, most of them are in the form of a distal epithermal~mesothermal Au-Ag vein or a transitional mesothermal Zn-Pb-Cu vein. On the other hand, diverse metal commodities in the Taebaeg Basin, the Okcheon metamorphic belt and the Gyeongsang Basin are produced from various deposit types such as skarn, carbonate-replacement, vein, porphyry, breccia pipe, and Carlin type. In the late Cretaceous metallic mineralization, various mineral deposits and commodities were induced not only by the pathway of the hydrothermal solution, but also by the diversity of precipitation environment in the proximity difference of the granitic rocks. The diversity of these types of Cretaceous deposits is fundamentally dependent on the geochemical characteristics such as degree of differentiation and oxidation state of related igneous rocks, and ore-forming fluids generally exhibit the evolutionary characteristics of intermediate- to low-sulfur hydrothermal fluids.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.123-154
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• 1982

Petrochemical, K-Ar dating, Sand Rb/Sr isotopes, metallogenic zoning, paleomagnetic and geotectonic studies of the Gyongsang basin were carried out to examine applicability of plate tectonics to the post-late Cretaceous igneous activity and metallogeny in the southeastern part of Korean Peninsula. The results obtained are as follows: 1. Bulgugsa granitic rocks range from granite to adamellite, whose Q-Ab-Or triangular diagram indicates that the depth and pressure at which the magma consolidated increase from coast to inland varying from 6 km, 0.5-3.3 kb in the coastal area to 17 km, 0.5-10 kb in the inland area. 2. The volcanic rocks in Gyongsang basin range from andesitic to basaltic rocks, and the basaltic rocks are generally tholeiitic in the coastal area and alkali basalt in the inland area. 3. The volcanic rocks of the area have the initial ratio of Sr^{87}/Sr^{86} varying from 0.706 to 0.707 which suggests a continental origin; the ratio of Rb/Sr changing from 0.079-0.157 in the coastal area to 0.021-0.034 in the inland area suggests that the volcanism is getting younger toward coastal side, which may indicate a retreat in stage of differentiation if they were derived from a same magma. The K_2O/SiO_2 (60%) increases from about 1.0 in the coastal area to about 3.0 in the inland area, which may suggest an increase indepth of the Benioff zone, if existed, toward inland side. 4. The K-Ar ages of volcanic rocks were measured to be 79.4 m.y. near Daegu, and 61.7 m.y. near Busan indicating a southeastward decrease in age. The ages of plutonic rocks also decrease toward the same direction with 73 m.y. near Daegu, and 58 m.y. near Busan, so that the volcanism predated the plutonism by 6 m.y. in the continental interior and 4 m.y. along the coast. Such igneous activities provide a positive evidence for an applicability of plate tectonics to this area. 5. Sulfur isotope analyses of sulfide minerals from 8 mines revealed that these deposits were genetically connected with the spacially associated ingeous rocks showing relatively narrow range of ${\delta}^{34}S$ values (-0.9‰ to +7.5‰ except for +13.3 from Mulgum Mine). A sequence of metallogenic zones from the coast to the inland is delineated to be in the order of Fe-Cu zone, Cu-Pb-Zn zone, and W-Mo zone. A few porphyry type copper deposits are found in the Fe-Cu zone. These two facts enable the sequence to be comparable with that of Andean type in South America. 6. The VGP's of Cretaceous and post Cretaceous rocks from Korea are located near the ones($71^{\circ}N$, $180^{\circ}E$ and $90^{\circ}N$, $110^{\circ}E$) obtained from continents of northern hemisphere. This suggests that the Korean peninsula has been stable tectonically since Cretaceous, belonging to the Eurasian continent. 7. Different polar wandering path between Korean peninsula and Japanese islands delineates that there has been some relative movement between them. 8. The variational feature of declination of NRM toward northwestern inland side from southeastern extremity of Korean peninsula suggests that the age of rocks becomes older toward inland side. 9. The geological structure(mainly faults) and trends of lineaments interpreted from the Landsat imagery reveal that NNE-, NWW- and NEE-trends are predominant in the decreasing order of intensity. 10. The NNE-trending structures were originated by tensional and/or compressional forces, the directions of which were parallel and perpendicular respectively to the subduction boundary of the Kula plate during about 90 m.y. B.P. The NWW-trending structures were originated as shear fractures by the same compressional forces. The NEE-trending structures are considered to be priginated as tension fractures parallel to the subduction boundary of the Kula plate during about 70 m.y. B.P. when Japanese islands had drifted toward southeast leaving the Sea of Japan behind. It was clearly demonstrated by many authors that the drifting of Japanese islands was accompanied with a rotational movement of a clock-wise direction, so that it is inferred that subduction boundary had changed from NNE- to NEE-direction. A number of facts and features mentioned above provide a suite of positive evidences enabling application of plate tectonics to the late Cretaceous-early Tertiary igneous activity and metallogeny in the area. Synthesizing these facts, an arc-trench system of continental margin-type is adopted by reconstructing paleogeographic models for the evolution of Korean peninsula and Japan islands. The models involve an extention mechanism behind the are(proto-Japan), by which proto-Japan as of northeastern continuation of Gyongsang zone has been drifted rotationally toward southeast. The zone of igneous activity has also been migrated from the inland in late-Cretaceous to the peninsula margin and southwestern Japan in Tertiary.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.74-83
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• 1990

The similarity in Mesozoic geology between the Antarctic Peninsula and South America indicates the possibility that they had situated along the same tectonics line before the separation of southwestern Gondwanaland. The igneous activity around the Antarctic Peninsula, including the South Shetland islands, can be correlated with the South American Cordillera Orogeny due to the subduction of Farallon/Phoenix plate until late Mesozoic. However igneous activity in Tertiary correlates with the tectonics movement accompanying the formations of Drake passage and Scotian sea. The south Shetland islands form a Jurassic-Quaternary miasmatic island arc on the sialic basement of schist and deformed sedimentary rocks. Forming of the South Shetland Islands arc began during the latest Jurassic or earliest Cretaceous from the southwestern part of the archipelago. The igneous activity migrated northeasterly and continued in most areas until late Tertiary. The entire arc-forming period, between late Jurassic and late tertiary times, was characterized by emplacement and eruption of magmas of intermediate between island-arc tholeiite and calc-alkaline types. However, Quaternary volcanic rocks show strong alkaline affinities which corresponds to the switch from compressional to intra: plate tensional tectonics. The rocks of late Cretaceous to Tertiary, mainly found in King George Island, consist of lava of basalt to andesite and intercalated pyroclastic rocks. Some of the volcanic rocks, which ofter called quartz-pyrite lodes'are severely altered and include much content of calcite,silica and pyrite.The stratographic succession of King George Island can be divided into two formation:Fields formation and Hennequin formation.The Fildes formation crops out at the west side of Admiralty Bay n King George Island,while the Hennequin formation at the east side of the bay.These two formtions are thought to be formed contempiranceously.The Fildes formation consists of altered olivine-basalt and basaltic andestie, whereas the Hennequin formation consists of fine-grained hypersthene-augite-andesite.Both formations interclate pyroclastic rocks.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.19 no.spc
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• pp.193-206
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• 1986

A number of auriferous veins occur in the Precambrian metamorphic terrain from Chungju to Mugeug district. These gold (-silver) deposits consist mainly of the fissure-filling quartz veins intruding the Precambrian gneiss or schist and Jurassic or Cretaceous granite. These gold (-silver) deposits can be 'divided into two mineralization epochs, (a) gold-rich veins related to Daebo igneous activity, and (b) gold-silver veins related to Bulgugsa igneous activity. These two groups of ore deposits with different generation can be characterized by the mode of occurrence of ore vein and the ore mineral associations. The auriferous quartz veins of Taechang and Boryeon mines associated with late Jurassic igneous activity are massive in character, and show the simple mineral assemblages and low Ag/Au ratio in the ores, representing a single mineralization system. The ore minerals are predominantly quartz containing minor or trace amonts of pyrrhotite, sphalerite, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite and electrum. Electrum is closely associated with pyrrhotite and has chemical compositions from 61.4 to 78.5 atomic % Au. Fluid inclusion data suggest that ore minerals were deposited at temperatures between 238 and $390^{\circ}C$ from $CO_2$-rich fluids. The gold and/or silver-bearing quartz veins of Geumwang mine related to middle Cretaceous igneous activity are characterized by the multistage history, diverse mineral assemblages with high Ag/Au ratio in the ores. The ores of Geumwang mine have two contrasting mineral assemblages (1) pyrite+galena+sphalerite+arsenopyrite+electrum+argentite, representing the higher gold mineralization, and (2) pyrite+chalcopyrite+ galena +sphalerite+ arsenopyrite+silver sulfosalts+ electrum+ native silver+argentite, representing the higher silver mineralization. Electrum is closely associated with pyrite and has chemical compositions from 11.2 to 49.9 atomic % Au. The depositional environment during the higher gold mineralization can be estimated as the range of both temperature and sulfur fugacity, T= $200{\sim}300^{\circ}C$, log f ($S_2$) = $10^{-10}{\sim}10^{-15}$. The higher silver mineralization may be interpreted to have formed a range of falling temperature ($150{\sim}200^{\circ}C$) and low sulfur fugacity($10^{-10}{\sim}10^{-15}$). These temperature data are consistent with homogenization temperatures of fluId inclusions in quartz. Thus, the gold veins related to the Daebo igneous activity may be formed by the environment of higher temperature and pressure than the gold-silver veins associated with the Bulgugsa igneous activity.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.343-352
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• 1990

The Cretaceous granites are widely distributed in the studied area, Mungyeong-Sangju, which belongs to the southwestern part of the Ogcheon Folded Belt. The granites are characterized by medium-coarse grained, spotted miaroles, partly flow textures of biotite, aplitic dykes and pegmatitic pockets with druse. From the major compositions, the granites indicate peraluminous, calc-alkaline, salic and late stage products of differentiation. In the view of normative compositions of Qz-Ab-Or and perthitic alkali feldspar, they were formed under 1-4kb and $426^{\circ}-456^{\circ}C$ in acqueous conditions. The K/ Ar biotite age shows $72{\pm}1$ Ma for this grante, corresponding to the igneous activity of the Bulgugsa Disturbance periods in the area. The above results represent that these granite bodies are differentiated from a single magma.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.561-573
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• 1996

The igneous rocks in the Goseong area, the southwestern part of the Gyeongsang basin, are composed of the volcanic rocks, Bulgugsa granites and intrusive andesites. The volcanic rocks are andesitic lapilli tuff, dacite and rhyolite. The granites are mainly of hornblende-biotite granite and intruded into the sedimentary basement and the volcanic rocks. The intrusion of andesitic dyke is thought to be the latest igneous activity in the area. In the variation diagrams of the major oxides, the three igneous rock types show different variational trends, indicating that they were from the different magmatic pulses. K-Ar radiometric ages suggest that the igneous activity in the Goseong area had occurred during late Cretaceous period. The ages of the volcanic rocks seem likely to have become younger due to the thermal effect by the granitic intrusion. The major element compositoinal variation of the granites from the Goseong area are compared with those from the Jindong, Geoje and Masan areas. By the comparison, it is easily understood that the Jindong granites are fairly different from the other three granites. On the other hand, the Goseong, Geoje and Masan granites generally show similar variational trends with each other, suggesting that they are of similar genetic origin. Combining the similarity of the geochemical features and the difference of the intruding ages between the Goseong and Masan granites, it seems like that the magma generation from the same source materials had occurred at a temporal interval.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.587-597
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• 1995

Two distinct precious-metal mineralizations actively occur at central and southeastern Korea which display consistent relationships among geologic, geochemical and genetic environments. A large number of preciousmetal vein deposits in the central Korea occur in or near Mesozoic granite batholiths elongated in a NE-SW direction. Whereas, gold and/or silver deposits in the southeastern Korea occur within Cretaceous volcanic and sedimentary rocks. However, most of the precious-metal deposits in the southeastern Korea show characteristics of the silver-rich deposits than the gold-rich deposits in the central Korea. Two epochs of main igneous activities are recognized: a) Jurassic Daebo igneous activity between 121 and 183 Ma, and b) Cretaceous Bulgugsa igneous activity between 60 and 110 Ma. Precious-metal mineralization took place between 158 and 71 Ma, coinciding with portions of the two magmatic activities. Contrasts in the style of mineralization, together with radiometric age data and differences in geologic settings reflect the genetically variable natures of hydrothermal activities from middle Jurassic to late Cretaceous time. The compilation and re-evaluation of these data suggest that the genetic types of hydrothermal precious-metal vein deposits in the central and southeastern Korea varied with time. The Jurassic and early Cretaceous mineralizations are characterized by the Au-dominant type, but tend to change to the Au-Ag and/or Ag-dominant types at late Cretaceous. The Jurassic Au-dominant deposits commonly show several characteristics; prominent associations with pegmatites, simple massive vein morphologies, high fmeness values in ore-concentrating parts, and a distinctively simple ore mineralogy such as Fe-rich sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, Au-rich electrum, pyrrhotite and/or pyrite. The Cretaceous precious-metal deposits are generally characterized by some- features such as complex vein morphologies, low to medium fmeness values in the ore concentrates, and abundance of ore minerals including Ag sulfosalts, Ag sulfides, Ag tellurides and native silver. Mineralogical and fluid inclusion studies indicate that the Jurassic Au-dominant deposits in the central area were formed at the high temperature (about $300^{\circ}$ to $500^{\circ}C$) and pressure (about 4 to 5 kbars), whereas mineralizations of the Cretaceous Au-Ag and Ag-dominant deposits were occurred at the low temperature (about $200^{\circ}$ to $350^{\circ}C$) and pressure (<0.5 kbars) from the ore fluids containing more amounts of less-evolved meteoric waters.