ABSTRACT

Isotopic composition is determined for ore sulfur from seventeen Au-Ag, six W-Mo and one fluorite deposits in the southern Korean Peninsula. The age of ore formation ranges from pre-Cambrian to Cretaceous. Together with the data available in the literature, the following characteristics are recognized: 1) most δ³⁴S values fall in the narrow range of +2 to +7‰, 2) no systematic variations are observed among the deposits of different geologic environments and with different workable metals, and 3) exceptional negative δ³⁴S values are observed in some deposits located in and near the Taebaegsan area. Predominance of ore sulfur with positive δ³⁴S values suggests the biogenic sulfur-poor nature of constituent sedimentary rocks in the Korean continental crust.