Mineral Deposits of the Balkan Peninsula and Western Turkey

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Deposits".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 10753

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Mineralogical Institute, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University, Welfengarten 1, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
Interests: economic geology; technical mineralogy; applied sedimentology-geomorphology; archeo-metallurgy; pegmatites; placers; clay minerals; supergene alteration; actuo-geology; ore geology strategic elements
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Guest Editor
Department of Geology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, 700505 Iași, Romania
Interests: mineralogy; ore deposits; geochemistry; Raman and infrared spectroscopy; igneous petrology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The mineral deposits of the Balkan Peninsula and western Turkey are bound to modern fold belts such as the Carpathians, Dinarides, Balkanides, Hellenides, and Pontides separated by large intermountain basins, e.g., the Pannonian Basin and bordering small basement structures such as the Dobrudja Zone. In view of the vast outcrops of Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks, unsurprisingly, the majority of mineral deposits are found in Cretaceous, Paleogene, and Neogene rocks. This SE European mineral province is known for its porphyry-type and epithermal silver and gold deposits, e.g., Rosia Montana, Romania, Bor, Serbia, Chelopech, Bulgaria, and Kisladag, Turkey. The metallogenic districts are also host to Pb-Cu-Zn deposits. Additionally, Fe-Mn- and bauxite deposits are still mined. This Special Issue is open for new ideas and models created for these classical ore deposits. First and foremost it will be a forum for research on mineral deposits irrespective of their economic importance as a deposit under exploitation for quite a long period of time or as a newly discovered site in the state of a mining project, such as the lithium-boron mineralization in the Jadar Basin, Serbia. Even if some of the non-metallic mineral assemblages in sedimentary and igneous host rocks have not yet come under the spotlight of mining engineers and entrepreneurs they may be suitable targets for new genetic models and element concentrations hitherto not known from such lithologies. The following keywords should give an idea of the topics of interest for this Special Issue in view of the current and future technologies is given below:

  • Clay minerals,
  • Sand and placers,
  • REE-U-Th mineralization,
  • Nb-Ta- Ge-In-Ga-Se concentrations,
  • PGE mineralization.

Unconventional resources in uncommon environments should be the central theme of this volume. New ideas may be presented as a review or a research paper.

Prof. Dr. Harald G. Dill
Prof. Dr. Andrei Buzatu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Modern fold belts
  • Classical ore deposits
  • Industrial minerals
  • High-tech metals
  • Unconventional mineral resources
  • Uncommon depositional environments

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 24066 KiB  
Article
Re-Os Age and Stable Isotope (O-H-S-Cu) Geochemistry of North Eastern Turkey’s Kuroko-Type Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposits: An Example from Cerattepe-Artvin
by Ali Ucurum, Cigdem Sahin Demir, Nazmi Otlu, Mustafa Erturk, Taner Ekici, Jason Kirk, Joaquin Ruiz, Ryan Mathur and Greg B. Arehart
Minerals 2021, 11(2), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11020226 - 23 Feb 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4194
Abstract
The eastern Pontide tectonic belt (EPTB) contains greater than 350 identified Kuroko type volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits/mineralization/occurrences (VMSD). The deposits are associated with Late Cretaceous felsic volcanics consisting mainly of dacitic and rhyolitic lavas and pyroclastics that outcrop within a narrow zone running [...] Read more.
The eastern Pontide tectonic belt (EPTB) contains greater than 350 identified Kuroko type volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits/mineralization/occurrences (VMSD). The deposits are associated with Late Cretaceous felsic volcanics consisting mainly of dacitic and rhyolitic lavas and pyroclastics that outcrop within a narrow zone running parallel to the eastern Black Sea coast and represent the axial zone of a paleo-magmatic arc. The Cerattepe deposit is the second-largest and is a hybrid VMS system with some epithermal features. To date, no geochemical research constrains the origin and timing of mineralization in the Cerattepe VMS deposit. Here, we provide Cu, O, H and S, isotope analysis of ores and alteration minerals to understand the hydrothermal history of the deposit and date the massive ore with Re-Os geochronology. Secondary weathering mobilized and redistributed metals in the deposit. The copper isotope signatures of shallow ores in the gossan follow patterns resulting from oxidative weathering of copper minerals with gossan Fe oxides of δ65Cu = −2.59‰, enrichment zone copper sulfide of d65Cu = +2.23 and +1.73‰, and primary ores of δ65Cu = +0.71 and +0.41‰. At the boundary of the enrichment zone, further cycling and migration of enrichment zone copper are evidenced by two samples having larger ranges of the δ65Cu = +3.59‰, and −2.93‰. Evidence for a magmatic source for fluids and S are evidenced by the O and H isotope values from quartz veins (δ18O = +7.93‰ to +10.82‰, and δD = −78‰ and −68‰) and sulfides that possess δ34S ratios of –5 and 0‰ from drill core samples. 187Os/188Os–187Re/188Os ratios from drill core sulfide samples of Cerattepe VMS deposit yields a 62±3 Ma isochron age and a highly radiogenic Os initial ratio. This age is compatible with silicate alteration ages from a proximal deposit and clearly shows mineralization occurs at a much younger time than previously proposed for VMS mineralization in the eastern Pontides. The new Re-Os age and source of Os imply that mineralization in the area occurs at a distinctly younger interval in the back-arc basin and metals could be sourced from the surrounding host rocks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineral Deposits of the Balkan Peninsula and Western Turkey)
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16 pages, 5803 KiB  
Article
Mineralogical Analysis of the Kestel Mine: An Early Bronze Age Source of Tin Ore in the Taurus Mountains, Turkey
by Wayne Powell, Evren Yazgan, Michael Johnson, K. Aslıhan Yener and Ryan Mathur
Minerals 2021, 11(1), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11010091 - 19 Jan 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4757
Abstract
Since its discovery in 1987, the Early Bronze Kestel Mine has been a topic of archaeological and geological controversy. The initial interpretation of the extensive marble-hosted galleries as the oldest known tin mine was challenged due to the low tin grade in remaining [...] Read more.
Since its discovery in 1987, the Early Bronze Kestel Mine has been a topic of archaeological and geological controversy. The initial interpretation of the extensive marble-hosted galleries as the oldest known tin mine was challenged due to the low tin grade in remaining hematite-quartz veins, and it was suggested that Kestel was more likely mined for gold. Mineralogical analysis of the remaining mineralization was compared to a heavy mineral concentrate extracted from the soil preserved within the mine. The compositionally complex, arsenate-rich mineral assemblage from the mine sediment, contrasts with that of the remaining surface mineralization. Thus, the outcropping veins do not represent the nature of the extracted ore. Only one grain of gold was found in the heavy mineral concentrate, whereas cassiterite composed 1.5% of the sample. Cassiterite occurs in complex assemblages with arsenates, clays, hematite, quartz, and dolomite, bearing resemblance to hematite-arsenate tin mineralization that occurs near Kayseri, 60 km to the northeast. These findings indicate that although gold was a trace component of the Kestel ore, cassiterite was the mineral of interest to the Early Bronze Age miners, and that Kestel represents the earliest evidence thus far for an emerging pattern of local tin exploitation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineral Deposits of the Balkan Peninsula and Western Turkey)
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