Abstract
The Yemi breccia developed and is distributed within the Paleozoic carbonate rock (Maggol Formation) in the central part of the Taebaeksan Basin, South Korea. Explanation for the genesis of the Yemi breccia has been controversial. We investigated the petrological and mineralogical properties of the breccia and the matrix materials at 60 outcrops. The Yemi breccia is divided into crackle, mosaic, and chaotic breccias based on morphology. In addition, these are divided into blackish, reddish, grayish, and white to pinkish matrix breccias according to the materials of the matrix. Quartz, calcite, pyrite, hematite (after pyrite), and minor epidote, chlorite, and opaque materials mainly comprise the matrix materials. The pyrite grains from the Yemi breccia can be divided into two types based on the mineral texture: diagenetic and hydrothermal. We analyzed the chemistry of pyrite and hematite (after pyrite) from the Yemi breccia with an electron probe X-ray microanalyzer (EPMA). Invisible gold was detected within the pyrite grains by EPMA and disseminated micron-sized isolated gold particles were discovered by backscattered electron (BSE) images. The texture of Au-bearing pyrite and gold particles in the Yemi breccia is especially well matched with pyrite and gold from the Shuiyindong Carlin-type hydrothermal gold deposits, China. Therefore, we suggest an important role of hydrothermal fluid in karstification within the Paleozoic carbonate rock.
Highlights
The carbonate Yemi breccia developed in the Taebaeksan Basin in the northeastern part of the southern Korean Peninsula (Figure 1)
The Yemi breccia within the Maggol Formation is controlled by bedding planes, and some of it is unrelated to stratigraphy
The Yemi breccia generally occurs as lenticular bodies interbedded with limestone or calcareous silt rocks, showing only one morphological type, some outcrops show more than one morphology with a gradual transition from one to the other
Summary
The carbonate Yemi breccia developed in the Taebaeksan Basin in the northeastern part of the southern Korean Peninsula (Figure 1). It is reported that some breccias can be formed by the introduction of hydrothermal fluid along bedding or strata boundaries in carbonate rocks [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. Breccias may have hydrothermal and hydraulic fracturing origin [15,16], formed by processes similar to typical karstification [6]. Previous studies did not consider the theory that brecciation originated by hydrothermal fluid. We suggest that hydrothermal fluid acted in the development of the Yemi breccia within carbonate rock. Study area shows tectonic imbrication, formations that are repeated by thrust faults, anticlines, and synclines
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