• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.297-305
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• 2009

Ores of the Jeonnam pyrophyllite province mainly consist of not only pyrophyllite but also kaolinite, and they usually contain minor amounts of muscovite and quartz. We usually call them as porcelaneous stones which usually show lower grade characteristics in the viewpoint of Korean nonmetallic industries. Mineralogical studies for the ores and their intimate formations revealed that another kind of clay minerals could have been produced from the volcanic sediments with similar ages and compositions. Corundum is commoner than the diaspore in the pyrophyllite deposits, and so diaspore can be regarded as one of temporary minerals from which corundum would be finally formed. Kaolinite deposits contain neither diaspore nor corundum, but alunites produced by an advanced argillic alteration are often observed in the upper portions of the kaolin ores. The lowest formation interbedded with pyrophyllite and/or kaolinite ores usually contain purple tuff bed on the uppermost part, and in ascending order, siliceous formation, fine ash tuff and lapillistone are found in the study areas. As ages are becoming younger, amounts of pyrophyllite and kaolinite are radically decreased, or disappeared completely. On the other hand, content of muscovite is slightly increased, and those of plagioclase feldspars and quartz are found to have been preserved from the original rocks during alteration process. Most of ore bodies show rather well bedded formations which are easily discernable in the outcrops, but more effective discremination is desirable where rather massive ores exist. Siliceous beds and purple tuff ones on the upper part of ore bodies would be useful as marker horizons or key beds which have distinct lithologies and extensions.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.249-256
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• 2018

Seokrog and Seokcheong are traditional pigments that have been used as green and blue pigments in Korean traditional coloring heritage. Natural minerals such as malachite and azurite are known as raw materials. Seokrog and Seokcheong are mainly imported from aborad, such as China and Japan, and some blue pigments are reported to have been produced domestically. However, considering the geologic environment where carbonate minerals are difficult to produce, the possibility is not high. Malachite and azurite ores were purchased and analyzed for their composition. The pigments were manufactured by traditional procedure and analyzed to characterize the pigments. The Seokrog pigments had an $L^*$ value of about 59-83, an $a^*$ value of less than -20, and a slightly higher saturation than commercial products. The oil absorption was 22-29 mL/100 g, showing excellent opacity of 99.2 % or more. In the case of Seokcheong pigment, the range of $L^*$ values was 35-65 and $b^*$ values were below -15, indicating relatively lower saturation than commercial products. The oil absorption was 21-26 mL/100 g, showing an excellent opacity of 99.1 % or more like the Seokrog pigment. Azurite ore contain impurities such as malachite and quartz in addition to azurite, and the impurities contained in the pigments derived from azurite ore likely influenced on the characteristics such as their color and oil absorption.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.363-379
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• 2014

The Haenam Pb-Zn skarn deposit is located at the Hwawon peninsula in the southwestern part of the Ogcheon Metamorphic Belt. The deposit is developed along the contact between limestone of the Ogcheon group and Cretaceous quartz porphyry. Petrography of ore samples, chemical composition of skarn and ore minerals, and geochemistry of the related igneous rocks were investigated to understand the characteristics of the skarn mineralization. Skarn zonation consists of garnet${\pm}$pyroxene${\pm}$calcite${\pm}$quartz zone, pyroxene+garnet+quartz${\pm}$calcite zone, calcite+pyroxene${\pm}$garnet zone, quartz+calcite${\pm}$pyroxene zone, and calcite${\pm}$chlorite zone in succession toward carbonate rock. Garnet commonly shows zonal texture comprised of andradite and grossular. Pyroxene varies from Mn-hedenbergite to diopside as away from the intrusive rock. Chalcopyrite occurs as major ore mineral near the intrusive rock, and sphalerite and galena tend to increase as going away. Electron probe microanalyses revealed that FeS contents of sphalerite become decreased from 5.17 mole % for garnet${\pm}$pyroxene${\pm}$calcite${\pm}$quartz zone to 2.93 mole %, and to 0.40 mole % for calcite+pyroxene${\pm}$garnet zone, gradually. Ag and Bi contents also decreased from 0.72 wt.% and 1.62 wt.% to <0.01 wt.% and 0.11 wt.%, respectively. Thus, the Haenam deposit shows systematic variation of species and chemical compositions of ore minerals with skarn zoned texture. The related intrusive rock, quartz porphyry, expresses more differentiated characteristics than Zn-skarn deposit of Meinert(1995), and has relatively high$SiO_2$ concentration of 72.76~75.38 wt.% and shows geochemical features classified as calc-alkaline, peraluminous igneous rock and volcanic arc tectonic setting.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.265-276
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• 1986

The Jangseong manganese deposits are supergene oxidation products of hydrothermal rhodochrosite. The manganese ore veins are developed in the Dongjeom Quartzite, and Dumudong Formation. The deposits consist of primary manganese carbonate ores in the deeper part and manganese oxide ores near the surface. The manganese carbonate ores are composed of rhodochrosite and small amounts of sulfides. The manganese oxide ores are composed of birnessite, nsutite, todorokite, chalcophanite, and pyrolusite. Microscopic, X-ray diffraction, infrared, thermal and EPMA analyses have been made for manganese oxide minerals and other associated minerals. The manganese minerals were formed in the following sequence. Rhodochrosite$\rightarrow$birnessite$\rightarrow$todorokite$\rightarrow$nsutite-pyrolusite. Thermochemical properties of chalcophanite were studied by methods of X-ray powder diffraction, infrared absorption spectroscopic analysis and dehydration experiments. Chalcophanite changes to $4.8{\AA}$ phase at $90{\sim}110^{\circ}C$. Chemical analyses show that the manganese oxide minerals generally have high concentration in Zn.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.129-138
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• 2008

The characteristics of beneficiating kaolin mineral by liberation (selective grinding) and air classification have been investigated, comparing the grinding rates of ball mill and impact mill. The ore was ground using a ball mill and a impact mill to evaluate the grindability of the two grinding methods based on the constant production amount of fine particles in size less than 325 mesh. Then, the fine product was further separated into two fractions using an air-classifier and each fraction was chemically analyzed to compare the beneficiation efficiency of the two grinding methods. The chemical grade of kaolin mineral decreased as increasing the grinding rate of both the mills. particularly in the case of ball mill because of overgrinding impurities such as quartz and feldspar. In the case of the ball milling, the fine fraction less than 325 mesh was air-classified at a cutting point of $43\;{\mu}m$. The production rate of the air-classified concentrate was found to be 66.2 wt%, removing 5.3% of $Fe_2O_3$ and 34.6% of CaO. Under the same conditions mentioned above with the impact mill, the production rate of the air-classified concentrate was 64.4 wt%, removing 34.2% of $Fe_2O_3$, 67.6% of CaO and 25.0% of $TiO_2$. Therefore, our results indicate that impact mill is superior to ball mill in terms of impurity removal.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.98-110
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• 1998

Hongcheon magnetite deposit is embedded, as a lens shape, in biotite banded gneiss belonging to the Gyeonggi metamorphic complex. It gradationally changes to the host quartz-feldspathic banded gneiss in the mineral composition. Magnetite ore bodies are composed of magnetite ores and magnetite banded gneiss which gradationally change each other in the amount of magnetite. They consist mainly of magnetite, quartz, plagioclase and chlorite accompanied with amphibole, biotite, muscovite, monazite, apatite, ankerite, siderite, rhodochrositic dolomite, calcite and rutile. Amphibole is subdivided into hornblende, richterite and magnesio-riebekite in magnetite ores, and magnesio-, ferro- or actinolitic hornblende in magnetite banded gneiss. The variation in chemical composition may be influenced by bulk composition and controlled mainly by glaucophane $Na(M4)Al_3^{VI}=CaMg$ and richterite Na(M4)Na(A)=Ca substitutions. Biotite in magnetite banded gneiss has an annite composition. Chlorite changes in chemical composition from pycnochlorite to diabantite in magnetite ores and belongs to pycnochlorite in magnetite banded gneiss. The mafic minerals and feldspar have been strongly altered by carbonate minerals which are secondarily formed by introduced hydrothermal solution. Fe-bearing carbonate minerals can be subdivided into ankerite, siderite and rhodochrositic dolomite according to the ratio of Fe-Mg-Mn component.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.85-95
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• 1987

The host rocks of titaniferous magnetite deposits in Gonamsan are alkaline gabbros, which are typical of undersaturated alkaline rocks in terms of the lack of normative quartz. According to field occurrences and petrographic features, these alkaline gabbros are divided into 3 rock types: coarse-grained and pegmatitic rock, medium-grained rock with equigranular texture, and layered cumulate rock. All these rocks mainly contain clinopyroxene(salite), plagioclase(An 43-66), pargasite, and ilmenite. The accessory minerals are apatite, sphene, quartz, and sometimes titaniferous magnetite. Pargasite, sphene, and quartz are considered to be secondary minerals formed by the reaction among clinopyroxene, plagioclase and Fe-Ti oxide at deuteric stage. Fe-Ti oxides generally occur as ilmenite in the alkaline rocks, and titaniferous magnetite in the ore deposits. Layered cumulate rocks are characterized by a recurrence of discontinuous thin mesolayer of clinopyroxene-pargasite within leucolayer mainly composed of plagioclase. Clinopyroxene is cumulus mineral whereas plagioclase, ilmenite and apatite occur as intercumulus minerals. According to the variation diagrams of oxide and trace element contents against the differentiation index, incompatible elements, such as Na, Ba and Sr, show positive correlations whereas compatible elements, such as Mg and Cr, show negative correlations. However some compatible elements, such as Co, Ni and V show irregular variations, reflecting relative cumulate status of cumulus and intercumulus minerals. On the de la Roche multicationic diagram, these alkaline gabbros are distributed along the differentiation curve of undersaturated alkaline series from alkaline basaltic composition through basanitic composition to tephritic composition. Layered cumulate rocks, which are distributed between basanitic composition and tephritic composition, reflect their cumulate character, slightly scattering away from the curve. The medium-grained rock shows higher contents in Ba, Sr and light rare earch elements than the coarse-grained and pegmatitic rock. The former shows two times higher contents of total rare earth elements than the latter, $while(La/Lu)_{cn}$ ratios maintain fairly constant values of 5.08~5.06 in these two rocks. This means that coarse-grained and pegmatitic rock, as compared with the medium-grained rock, was formed by the earlier differentiated magma but rare-earth element distribution pattern remained almost parallel during differentiation. From the data the above mentioned, these alkaline gabbros are considered to be comagmatic and to be formed by intrusions of differentiated magmas in its reservoir.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.611-631
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• 1999

Enviromental geochemisty and heary metal contamination at the Kongjueil mine creek were underaken on the basis of physicohemical properties and mineralogy for various kinds of water (surface, mine and ground water),soil, precipitate and sediment collected of April and December in 1998. Hydrgeochemical composition of the water samples are characterized by relatively significant enricant of Ca+Na, alkiali ions $NO_3$ and Cl inground and surfore water, wheras the mine waters are relatively eneripheral water of the mining creek have the characteristics of the (Ca+Mg)-$(HCO_3+SO_4)$type. The pH of the mine water is high acidity (3.24)and high EC (613$\mu$S/cm)compared with those of surface and ground water. The range of $\delta$D and $\delta^{18}O$ values (relative to SMOW) in the waters are shpwn in -50.2 to -61.6% and -7.0 to -8.6$\textperthousand$(d value=5.8 to 8.7). Using computer program, saturation index of albite, calcite, dolomite in mine water are nearly saturated. The gibbiste, kaolinite and smectite are superaturated in the surface and ground water, respectively. Calculated water-mineral reaction and stabilities suggest that weathing of silicate minerals may be stable kaolinite owing to the continuous water-rock reaction. Geochemical modeling showed that mostly toxic heavy metals may exist larfely in the from of metal-sulfate $(MSO_4\;^2)$and free metal $(M^{2+})$ in nmine water. These metals in the ground and surface water could be formed of $CO_3$ and OH complex ions. The average enrichment indices of water samples are 2.72 of the groundwater, 2.26 of the surface water and 14.15 of the acid mine water, normalizing by surface water composition at the non-mining creek, repectively. Characteristics of some major, minor and rate earth elements (Al/Na, K/Na, V/Ni, Cr/V, Ni/Co, La/Ce, Th/Yb, $La_N/Yb_N$, Co/Th, La/Sc and Sc/Th) in soil and sediment are revealed a narrow range and homogeneous compositions may be explained by acidic to intermediate igneous rocks. And these suggested that sediment source of host granitic gneiss colud be due to rocks of high grade metamorphism originated by sedimentary rocks. Maximum concentrations of environmentally toxic elements in sediment and soil are Fe=53.80 wt.% As=660, Cd=4, Cr=175, Cu=158, Mn=1010, Pb=2933, Sb=4 and Zn=3740 ppm, and extremely high concentrations are found are found in the subsurface soil near the ore dump and precipitates. Normalizing by composition of host granitic gneiss, the average enerichment indices are 3.72 of the sediments, 3.48 of the soils, 10.40 of the precipitates of acid mine drainage and 6.25 of the soils near the main adit. The level of enerichment was very severe in mining drainage sediments, while it was not so great in the soils. mineral composition of soil and sediment near the mining area were partly variable being composed of quartz, mica, feldspar, chlorite, vermiculite, bethierin and clay minerals. reddish variable being composed of quartz, mica, feldspar, chlorite, vermiculite, bethierin and clay minerals. Reddish brown precipitation mineral in the acid mine drainage identifies by schwertmanite. From the separated mineralgy, soil and sediment are composed of some pyrite, arsenopyite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, malachite, goethite and various kinds of hydroxied minerals.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.202-208
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• 2021

Induced polarization (IP) was first published in a Korean academic journal in 1973, and it was soon applied to coal and metal ore exploration. Then, in universities and research institutes, IP modeling studies using the finite element approach and experimental studies on IP responses for artificial samples were conducted. In the mid-1980s, the spectral IP (SIP) measurement module was introduced to Korea, and physical scale modeling and inversion approaches were developed. Due to the decline of the mineral resource industry, this method was not actively applied. However, the SIP method was not applied In the 1990s, IP exploration was applied in the investigation of hydrothermal deposits of sulfide minerals and bentonite mineralization zones, as well as to areas where the groundwater was contaminated by intruding seawater. In the 2000s, three-dimensional inversion of the IP approach was developed, and high-precision geophysical exploration was required to secure domestic and overseas mineral resources, so SIP experiments on rock samples and approaches for field exploration were developed. The SIP approach was proven useful for the exploration of metal deposits containing sulfide minerals by applying it to explore the mineralization zone of gold-silver deposits in the Haenam region. The IP method is considered to be effective in exploring critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, and nickel) in high-tech industries. It also is expected to be useful for environmental and geotechnical investigations.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.25-38
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• 2001

Contrasts in the style of the gold-silver mineralization in geologic and tectonic settings in Korea, together with radiometric age data, reflect the genetically different nature of hydrothermal activities, coinciding with the emplacement age and depth of Mesozoic magmatic activities. It represents a clear distinction between the plutonic settings of the Jurassic Daebo orogeny and the subvolcanic environments of the Cretaceous Bulgugsa igneous activities. During the Daebo igneous activities (about 200-130 Ma) coincident with orogenic time, gold mineralization took place between 197 and 127 Ma. The Jurassic deposits commonly show several characteristics: prominent association with pegmatites, low Ag/Au ratios in the ore-concentrating parts, massive vein morphology and a distinctively simple mineralogy including Fe-rich sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, Au-rich eIectrum. pyrrhotite and/or pyrite. During the Bulgugsa igneous activities (120-60 Ma), the precious-metal deposits are generally characterized by such features as complex vein morphology, medium to high AgiAu ratios in the ore concentrates, and abundance of ore minerals including base-metal sulfides, Ag sulfides, native silver, Ag sulfosalts and Ag tellurides. Vein morphology, mineralogical, fluid inclusion and stable isotope results indicate the diverse genetic natures of hydrothermal systems. The Jurassic Au-dominant deposits were formed at the relatively high temperature (about 300 to 450$^{\circ}$C) and deep-crustal level (>3.0 kb) from the hydrothermal fluids containing more amounts of magmatic waters (3180; 5-10 %0). It can be explained by the dominant ore-depositing mechanisms as CO2 boiling and sulfidation, suggestive of hypo/mesothermal environments. In contrast, mineralization of the Cretaceous Au-Ag type (108-71 Ma) and Agdominant type (98-71 Ma) occurred at relatively low temperature (about 200 to 350$^{\circ}$C) and shallow-crustal level «1.0 kb) from the ore-fonning fluids containing more amounts of less-evolved meteoric waters (15180; -10-5%0). These characteristics of the Cretaceous precious-metal deposits can be attributed to the complexities in the ore-precipitating mechanisms (mixing, boiling, cooling), suggestive of epilmesothermal environments. Therefore, the differences of the emplacement depth between the Daebo and the Bulgugsa igneous activities directly influence the unique temporal and spatial association of the deposit type.