Geochemistry and mineralization age of magnesian skarn-type iron deposits of the Janggun mine, Republic of Korea

The Janggun iron deposits, Republic of␣Korea, occur as lens-shaped magnesian skarn, magnetite and base-metal sulfide orebodies developed in the Cambrian Janggun Limestone Formation. Mineralization stage of the deposits can be divided into two separate events. The skarn stage (107 Ma) consists of magnetite, pyrrhotite, base-metal sulfides, carbonates and magnesian skarn minerals. The hydrothermal stage (70 Ma) consists of base-metal sulfides, native bismuth, bismuthinite, tetrahedrite, boulangerite, bournonite and stannite. Mineral assemblages, chemical compositions and thermodynamic considerations indicate that formation temperatures, −log fs₂ and −log fo₂ values of ore fluids from the skarn stage were 433 to 345 °C, 8.1 to 9.7 bar and 29.4 to 31.6 bar, and the hydrothermal stage was 245 to 315 °C, 10.4 to 13.2 bar and 33.6 to 35.4 bar, respectively. Thermochemical considerations indicate that the XCO₂ during magnesian skarnization ranged from 0.06 to 0.09, and the activity of H⁺ presumably decreased when the fluids equilibrated with host dolomitic limestone which resulted in a pH change from about 6.1 to 7.8, and decreases in fo₂ and fs₂. The δ³⁴S values of ore sulfides have a wide range from 3.2 to 11.6 ‰ (CDT). Calculated ³⁴SH_{2 S} values of ore fluids are 2.9 to 5.4 ‰ (skarn stage) and 8.7 to 13.5 ‰ (hydrothermal stage). These are interpreted to represent an initial deep-seated, igneous source of sulfur which gave way to influence of oxidized sedimentary sulfur to hydrothermal stage. The δ¹³C values of carbonates in ores range from −4.6 to −2.5 ‰ (PDB). It is likely that carbon in the ore fluids was a mixture of deep-seated magmatic carbon and dissolved carbon of dolomitic limestone. The δ¹⁸OH_{2 O} and δD values (SMOW) of water in the ore fluids were 14.7 to 1.8 and −85 to −73 ‰ during the skarn stage and 11.1 to −0.2 and −87 to −80 ‰ in the hydrothermal stage. Received: 5 March 1997 / Accepted: 28 August 1997