Exploration Indices and Mineral Potential Map of the Kuroko Deposits in Northeast Japan

Abstract. Recent discoveries of seafloor hydrothermal mineralization in submarine volcanic centers of felsic magma in western Pacific island arcs are regarded as modern analogues of Kuroko type deposits. Studies of these deposits and their surrounding geology raised question whether the exploration activity for the Kuroko deposits on land which peaked in the 1960's was adequate or not. However, such an evaluation is not easy because the exploration data are about to be lost as a result of the closure of all the Kuroko mines in the area since 1994.
The Metal Mining Agency of Japan (MMAJ), therefore, decided to compile existing data on about 180 Kuroko deposits and related mineral occurrences in northeast Japan as a new Kuroko database.
This study extends a concept called "exploration indices" which was developed based on a case study of the thoroughly surveyed Hokuroku district to draw a potential map of the Kuroko occurrences for the entire northeast Japan quantitatively with a Geographical Information System (GIS). Effective exploration indices include: 1) distribution of dacitic-rhy-olitic submarine volcanic rocks of the Nishikurosawa and Onnagawa stages, 2) distribution of intrusive rocks of pre- and post-Kuroko horizon, 3) low aeromagnetic anomaly caused by hydrothermal alteration of magnetite, 4) low gravity anomaly which suggests depressions in the basement rocks such as a tectonic basin and/or caldera, and 5) nearby existence of vein type deposits. It is concluded that about 33 % of known Kuroko deposits fall within the high potential zone (score=4 and 5) that occupies only 4 % of the entire northeast Japan arc. The Kuroko potential map is, therefore, useful for limiting the target area for Kuroko type deposits in an island arc setting.     

Trace Fossils and Sulfur Isotopes in Mudstones around the Kuroko Deposits in the Hokuroku Basin, Northeast Japan: An Attempt to Delineate the Depositional Environment

Abstract. A comprehensive investigation was carried out on the distribution of both trace fossils and sulfur isotopes in mud-stones in the Hokuroku district, northeast Japan, in the hope of delineating the depositional environment of the mudstones in which the Kuroko deposits are embedded. The mudstones are generally massive in structure and usually contain large trace fossils, being indicative of an aerobic biofacies. On the other hand, some mudstones in and above the Kuroko ore horizon are partly laminated and usually contain smaller trace fossils, being assignable to an anaerobic or dysaerobic biofacies. The δ³⁴S values of sulfides in the mudstones above and below the ore horizon range from -40 to -12 %o, indicating mostly oxic depositional conditions in equilibrium with the inferred aerobic biofacies. In the mudstones in the ore horizon, the δ³⁴S values exhibit regionally discriminated variations: -44 to -12 %o in areas far (>1 km) from the known Kuroko deposits and -24 to +6 %o in areas closer to them. The latter high δ³⁴S group implies the temporal occurrence of local anoxic basins in the vicinity of the known Kuroko deposits. At the time of late Nishikurosawa Stage (i.e. the currently assumed Kuroko metallogenic epoch), an intense oceanic stagnation is suggested to have taken place to form the local anoxic basins responsible for the formation and preservation of Kuroko deposits. This oceanic environmental event is considered to be most likely due to increasing biological productivity primarily triggered and enhanced by upwelling of NADW in the paleo-Sea of Japan at that time.     

Pin‐supported walls for enhancing the seismic performance of building structures

An application of a pin‐supported wall‐frame system in retrofitting an eleven‐story steel reinforced concrete frame is introduced. The retrofit aims at enhancing integrity and avoiding weak story failure in an existing moment‐resisting frame. Seismic performance of the building before and after the retrofit is assessed through nonlinear dynamic analysis. The results show that the pin‐supported walls are effective in controlling the deformation pattern of the ductile frame and hence in avoiding weak story failure. With the well‐controlled deformation pattern, carefully arranged energy dissipating devices are able to concentrate energy dissipations so that damage to the rest of the structure can be significantly reduced. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.