• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.194-201
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• 2021

Induced polarization (IP) effect is known to be caused by electrochemical phenomena at interface between minerals and pore water. Spectral induced polarization (SIP) method is an electrical survey to localize subsurface IP anomalies while injecting alternating currents of multiple frequencies into the ground. This method was effectively applied to mineral exploration of various ore deposits. Titanomagnetite ores were being produced by a mining company located in Gonamsan area, Gwanin-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Because the ores contain more than 0.4 w% vanadium, the ore deposit is called as Gwanin vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM) deposit. The vanadium is the most important of materials in production of vanadium redox flow batteries, which can be appropriately used for large-scale energy storage system. Systematic mineral exploration was conducted to identify presence of hidden VTM orebodies and estimate their potential resources. In geophysical exploration, laboratory geophysical measurement of rock samples is helpful to generate reliable property models from field survey data. Therefore, we performed laboratory SIP data of the rocks from the Gwanin VTM deposit to understand SIP characteristics between ores and host rocks and then demonstrate the applicability of this method for the mineral exploration. Both phase and resistivity spectra of the ores sampled from underground outcrop and drilling cores were different of those of the host rocks consisting of monzodiorite and quartz monzodiorite. Because the phase and resistivity at frequencies below 100 Hz are mainly dependent on the SIP characteristics of the rocks, we calculated mean values of the ores and the host rocks. The average phase values at 0.1 Hz were ores: -369 mrad and host rocks: -39 mrad. The average resistivity values at 0.1 Hz were ores: 16 Ωm and host rocks: 2,623 Ωm. Because the SIP characteristics of the ores were different of those of the host rocks, we considered that the SIP survey is effective for the mineral exploration in vanadiferous titanomagnetite deposits and the SIP characteristics are useful for interpreting field survey data.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.541-549
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• 2014

The annual borate production in Turkey is about 3 million tons, which occupies approximately 61 percent of total annual world production. Turkey has five boron deposits including Bigadic, Emet, Kestelek, Kirka, and Sultancayir. At present, Bigadic, Emet, and Kirka deposits are operating. Kirka boron deposit is distributed within volcanoclatic sedimentary group as mainly layered, rarely brecciated and massive types. Major borate is borax associated with colemanite and ulexite. They show a horizontal symmetrical zonation from Na borate (borax) in the center of deposit to Na-Ca borate (ulexite) and Ca-borate (colemanite) in margin. Bigadic boron deposit is known as the largest colemanite deposit in the world. This deposit occurs as two borate bearing horizons in Miocene volcanoclastic sedimentary group. Thickness ranges from several meters to 100 meter with a length of several hundreds meters. Borate ore bodies which are mainly composed of colemanite and ulexite are alternated with claystone, mudstone, tuff and layered limestone as lenticular shape. Sultancayir boron deposit is mainly distributed within gray limestone. Main borate minerals of this deposit are pandermite and ulexite. Pandermite and ulexite occur as colloform aggregate and small veinlet, respectively. Turkish boron deposits are evaporite deposit which were formed in Miocene playa-lake environment. Boron was supplied to the deposits by the volcanic and hydrothermal activities.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.29-50
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• 2003

Physicochemical Properties of acid mine water of the Chonam-ri Creek and the Sagok-ri Creek in the Kwangyang Au-Ag mine area were determined using geochemical approaches. Metal contamination (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) is more serious in the Chonam-ri Creek than in the Sagok-ri Creek. However, the contents of Al and Fe is higher in the Sagok-ri Creek. Such differences between the two creeks probably reflect the abundance and composition of ore minerals. The attenuation processes for acid mine water in both creeks were investigated. In the Chonam-ri Creek, a small retention pond which contains limestone plays an important role in the removal of heavy metals by adsorption or coprecipitation due to increase of pH. The capacity of metal scavenging in this pond depends on the seasonal variation of inflow volume. Reddish yellow precipitates sampled in the Chonam-ri Creek were analyzed by XRD, SEM-EDS, EPMA, and chemical decomposition. The precipitates mainly consist of goethite and are also enriched in Al, Mn, Cu and Zn. This inditates that precipitation of goethite is important for scavenging those trace elements, possibly due to adsorption or coprecipitation. In the Sagok-ri Creek, on the other hand, hydrologic mixing of uncontaminated tributaries results in removal of heavy metals with iron hydroxides precipitation due to the pH increase. The mechanisms proposed for metal attenuation at the confluence between contaminated mine water and uncontaminated tributary water are also explained by the property-property plots.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2004

Metallic deposits in Korea have a variety of genetic types such as hydrothermal veins, skarns, hydrothermal replacement and alaskite deposits and so on. Geological, mineralogical and geochemical features including host rock, wall-rock alteration, ore and gangue mineralogy, mineral texture and secondary mineralogy related to weathering process control the environmental signatures of mining areas. The environmental signatures of metallic deposits closed from early 1970s to late 1990s in Korea show complicate geochemistry and mineralogy due to step weathering of primary and secondary minerals such as oxidation-precipitation-remobilization. The potentiality of low pH and high heavy metal Concentration s from acid mine drainage is great in base-metal deposits associated with polymetallic mineralization, breccia-pipe type and Cretaceous hydrothermal Au veins with the amount of pyrite whereas skam, hydrothermal replacement, hydrothermal Cu and Au-Ag vein deposits are in low contamination possibility. The geoenvironmental models reflecting the various geologic features closely relate to disuibution of sulfides and carbonates and their ratios and finally effect on characteristics of environmental signatures such as heavy metal species and their concentrations in acid mine drainage.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.337-347
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• 1993

Mineralogical and geochemical studies on some pyrophyllite deposits in Milyang area, Kyeongnam Province (Milyang and Sungjin mine) were carried out in order to investigate dispersion patterns of chemical elements in altered volcanic wallrocks, and to interpret genetic environments of the pyrophyllite deposits. Cretaceous andesitic and tuffaceous rocks, and pyrophyllite ore specimens were collected from the dumps and drilling cores. Andesitic wallrocks were grouped as unaltered and altered rocks in the order of pyrophyllitization. Vertical dispersion patterns and relative mobilities of chemical elements in volcanic wallrocks were discussed. Geochemical environment in the Milyang area is characterized by the occurrence of boron minerals such as dumortierite coexisting with pyrophyllite ores, and tourmaline in granitic rocks. Unaltered andesitic rocks are mainly composed of plagioclase, pyroxene and hornblende, and were propylitized and saussuritized. Altered andesitic rocks are bleached and consist of quartz, sericite, pyrophyllite, kaolinite, chlorite and disseminated pyrite. Pyrophyllite ores are mainly composed of quartz, pyrophyllite, dumortierite, dissemianted pyrite and some diaspore. Enrichment of $SiO_2$, $Al_2O_3$, LOI (loss on ignition), As and Cr, and depletion of $K_2O$, $Na_2O$, CaO, MgO and total Fe are characteristic during alteration process. The REE patterns show that the pyrophyllite deposits could be originated from the continental margin volcanics. The $(La/Lu)_{cn}$ ratios of the pyrophyllite ores increase from 4.2~23.2 to 2.67~128.8 owing to strong acidic hydrothermal alteration. Vertical dispersion patterns of $Al_2O_3$, $K_2O$, $Na_2O$, CaO, MgO, $Fe_2O_3$ (total Fe), As, Au, Sb, Cr and Sr in the wallrocks show the location of orebodies. Particularly dispersion patterns of $Al_2O_3$ and Cr indicate the extension of orebodies. Anomalous distribution of Au, As and Sb in wallrocks shows potential for gold occurrence below the pyrophyllite deposits. Judging from the relative mobilities of elements in wallrocks, $Al_2O_3$ could be added from hydrothermal solution, and the silicified rone be formed from the excess of $SiO_2$.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.12-21
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• 2014

Nickel oxide ores are composed of two kinds of minerals; one is saprolite that is processed by smelting to obtain nickel products, and the other is limonite that is used in hydrometallugical processes. It is not efficient economically to process the mixture of limonite and saprolite, so the processes to saparate the ore mixture should be developed. In the present study, the mixture was separated by dry-classification after liberationg using grindability difference between limonite and saprolite. Consequently, it is possible to obtain the limonite with less than 10% of Mg+Si contents, which could be treated by hydrometallurgical processes, when the limonite contain less than 30% of saprolite.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.39 no.1 s.176
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• pp.75-82
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• 2006

Acid drainage occurs when sulfide minerals are exposed to an oxidizing environment. The objective of this study was to examine the optimum condition for creating a phosphate coating on standard pyrite surfaces for reduction of pyrite oxidation. The solution of $10^{-2}M\;KH_2PO_4,\;10^{-2}M\;H_2O_2$ was identified as the best phosphate coating agent for the reduction of pyrite oxidation. The formation of an iron phosphate coating on pyrite surfaces was confirmed with ore microscope and scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy. The temperature did not significantly affect the formation of phosphate coating on the surface of pyrite. However, the phosphate coating was less stable at higher temperature than at lower temperature. The phosphate coating was quitely stable at wide range of pH and $H_2O_2$ concentration. The less than $3.4\%$ of phosphate was dissolved at pH 2.79 and 10.64 and less than $1.0\%$ of phosphate was dissolved at 0.1M $H_2O_2$. On the basis of these results, the phosphate coating can effectively reduce the negative environmental impact of acid rock drainage.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.61-65
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• 1997

Cadmium occurs as a minor element in sphalerite ((Zn, Fe)S) from the Boseong-Jangheung gold-silver mine district. We analyzed the abundance of cadmium in sphalerite using an electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA) and discussed the natural sources of cadmium in terms of bedrock geochemistry, in order to preliminarily reconnoiter the potential cadmium contamination in mine districts. Cadmium contents of sphalerites from the Au-Ag mines (Bodeok, Mundeok, Jeonbo, Boknae, Keumsan) in the Boseong-Jangheung district are considerably high, compared with cadmium contents of sphalerites (average = 0.5 wt.% Cd, maximum = 4.4 wt.% Cd) in the world. Sphalerites from the Keumsan mine (average = 9.49 wt.% Cd, maximum=11.22 wt. Cd) are highly enriched in cadmium. Our data suggest that the Boseong-Jangheung area is an important potential site of cadmium contamination in Korea. Based on bedrock geochemistry, natural causes of cadmium enrichment in sphalerite from the mine district are thought to be the mixing of cadmium leached from organic-rich, metasedimentary rocks (including coal) and/or black shales. From this study, we propose that the pinpointing of potential sites of pollution by toxic heavy metals can be done effectively through detailed reconnaisance study on mineralogical compositions of ore minerals such as sphalerite from the mine area.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.163-176
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• 2009

The pyrophyllite deposits located in Jinhae area have been studied through field observations and laboratory works including the X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP). The pyrophyllite deposits consist of mainly illite, dickite, pyrophyllite, diaspore, chlorite, pyrite and copiapite. According to the mineral assemblages, geological occurrences and alteration modes, the altered rocks can be classified into four types: Type A; quartz with silicifictaion, Type B; quartz + illite with illitization, Type C; quartz + dickite + illite with kaolin alteration, Type D; pyrophyllite + illite + dickite + diaspore with pyrophyllite alteraion. Rocks in Type A, which is generated by silicifictaion, have high $SiO_2$ contents more than 90 wt% and distinctive equigranular textures with microcrtstalline quartz. The pyrophyllites from the study area belong to 2M polytype. The host rocks of the pyrophyllite ore in this mine are rhyolitic rock, andecitic tuff and volcanic breccia. The alteration products seem to be controlled by the different lithology of the host rocks. The hydrothermal solution formed the deposits would be inferred to the acidic and have relatively high ionic activity of hydrogen and silica judging from alteration mineral assemblage. Pyrophyllite alteraion zone is generated by highest temperature condition of all alteration zone.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.135-144
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• 2005

In the high-Ca limestone zone of the Pungchon Formation of the Lower Chosun Supergroup, cryptocrystalline alterations with reddish brown color occur as fissure-fillings or coatings, which was originated from the upper formation, i. e., the Hwajeol Formation. The precipitates result in degradation and contamination of the high-Ca limestone ore in grade and quality, showing characteristic occurrence and mineral composition typical of suggesting a supergene origin. Chalcedonic quartz, kaolinite, illite, goethite and hematite are constituting a characteristic authigenic mineral assemblage and, in places, smectite is less commonly included in the weathering product. In addition to these authigenic phases, some detrital minerals such as mica and orthoclase constituting relatively coarser grains are also rarely present in the supergene alterations. A rather complex clay facies consisting of kaolinite, illite and smectite in the alterations seems to correspond to the typical clay composition of the reported residual pedogenic soils by limestone weathering. The cryptocrystalline weathering product is partly altered to stilbite, a characteristic hydrothermal zeolite, in places, by the hydrothermal contact of late stage. The time of formation and infiltration of the supergene alterations seems to correspond to the stage just after the epithermal alteration of the Pungchon Limestone, i. e., an early Jurassic age. The supergene alteration, which may imply the stage of uplifting, weathering and erosion of the Chosun Supergroup, appears to have undergone at an oxygen-rich environment in descending water of meteoric origin by means of a chemical leaching and diffusion.