Abstract

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 Concentrations 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 skarn, 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 distribution 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.

Keywords metallic deposit, geoenvironment, acid mine drainage, heavy metals, contamination