Geological and Mineralogical Investigation of Kılıçören (Gümüşhane) Pb-Zn-Cu±Au±Ag Mineralization

The study area is located in Madenin Sırtı region of Kılıçören village of Gümüşhane. The mineralization found in the study area is developed within andesitic rocks of Early-Mid Jurassic Şenköy Formation. The ratios of Nb/Y and Zr/TiO2 of volcanic rocks in the area indicated these rocks are andesite and andesite/basalt according to the chemical analyzes. It is determined that the volcanics have calc-alkaline character based on the AFM, SiO2 versus K2O and SiO2 versus ThCo diagram. The mineralization is observed as a vein situated in the NW-SE trending fractures developed in andesites belonging to Early-Middle Jurassic Şenköy Formation. The veins observed in the field have the thicknesses ranging from a few centimeters to several meters and length continues for several meters. The silicified ridge pointing to an epithermal system is about 5 meters in thickness and 50 meters long, having a bearing of N25°W. In the field, besides to silicification, the alteration types such as hematitization, limonitization, chloritization and sulfurization have been identified in the rocks around the mine. The pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, fahlerz and quartz form the paragenesis of mineralization. In the mineralization, which is developed in two different phases, the replacement, separation, inclusion and cataclastic textures are the most important texture types observed. Especially, the observation of space filling and comb textures in quartz-containing samples, suggests that the mineralization in the field may have developed in the epithermal system.