Controls on the characteristics, timing and distribution of epithermal gold deposits in western Turkey

Wedin, Francis 2013. Controls on the characteristics, timing and distribution of epithermal gold deposits in western Turkey. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

A study of epithermal gold mineralisation has been conducted across the Western Anatolian Volcanogenic and Extensional Zone (WAVE) in western Turkey. A Bulk Leach Extractable Gold stream sediment survey was undertaken, in addition to rockchip sampling and analysis of drill core, and mapping. Clay samples from the Simav Fault were dated, geophysical data over the study area analysed, and new GIS data was examined. Hitherto unknown epithermal gold deposits –including Akçapınar, Kőprűbaşı and Yaylabayır - have been discovered during the progress of this largely field based study, as well as a north-east striking gold deposit belt, named the Kozak Gold Corridor. Kőprűbaşı is among a number of jasperoid-hosted deposits which represent a new deposit analogue in WAVE, termed “Demirci-Type”. This research has produced a new geological model for the formation of epithermal gold deposits in the WAVE Zone. The model links a south-west migration of the subduction zone in WAVE during the Miocene with similar patterns of gold deposition, with the latter occurring in at least one distinct episode between 19 and 23Ma. Dacitic to rhyolitic volcanics acted as highly favourable host rocks for gold deposition, while ophiolitic mélange and Pan-African schist rocks are shown to provide a secondary crustal enrichment of gold, and the main structural controls are observed to be east-west P shears and north west-south east R1 shears. The Simav Fault is shown to be mineralised and a crucial deep conduit for gold deposits in its hangingwall. Tilting of graben and half-graben blocks in WAVE accounts for different degrees of uplift and erosion between deposits of similar age, such as Kızılçukur and Kızıltepe. Future gold exploration in the region should be focussed on targeting similar parameters to this model. The Kozak Gold Corridor and Sındırgı Gold Corridor are deemed prospective for further discoveries.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QE Geology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2023 01:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/46336

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