Gücer, Mehmet Ali; Çimen, Okay; Aktağ, Alican; Keskin, Serdar

The growing demand for critical minerals driven by the global energy transition and advanced technologies highlights the importance of unconventional metal reservoirs. This study investigates the Ni-, Co-, V-, and Pt-enriched Dilli manganese deposit (Kemaliye-Erzincan, Eastern Türkiye) to constrain the mineralogical, geochemical, and genetic controls on critical metal enrichment in Mn oxide mineralization. An integrated approach combining field observations, petrography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), whole-rock geochemistry, mineral chemistry, and stable C-O isotope analysis was applied to better understand the potential origin of critical mineral enrichments. The mineralization is dominated by Mn4+-bearing oxides, principally pyrolusite and hollandite, accompanied by minor rhodochrosite. High MnO (39-64 wt%) and very low Al2O3 and Fe2O3 contents indicate chemical precipitation with negligible detrital input. Discrimination diagrams and trace-element systematics consistently support a structurally controlled hydrothermal origin. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns display low total REE and very low Nd contents comparable to typical hydrothermal deposits, whereas neutral to slightly positive Ce anomalies and non-chondritic Y/Ho ratios suggest limited oxidative interaction with surface-derived fluids rather than primary marine hydrogenetic growth. Stable C–O isotope compositions of co-genetic calcite are inconsistent with a purely marine depositional environment and indicate precipitation from low-to moderate-temperature hydrothermal fluids. Mineral chemistry reveals strong phase-specific partitioning: hollandite preferentially incorporates V and Ba, whereas pyrolusite is enriched in Ni. Cobalt occurs in both phases, whereas Pt may also be present in both Mn oxide phases, suggesting that trace-element distribution is influenced by both crystallochemical and physicochemical controls. The enrichment of Ni, Co, and Pt is most plausibly linked to hydrothermal fluid circulation through ultramafic units, which likely acted as the primary metal source prior to precipitation. The Dilli deposit thus represents a structurally controlled hydrothermal Mn system enriched in critical metals, emphasizing the exploration relevance of Mn oxide mineral chemistry in identifying alternative sources of critical metals in Türkiye.

Çimen, Okay; Gücer, Mehmet Ali; Göncüoglu, Mehmet Cemal; Akal, Cuneyt; Arslan, Mehmet; Simonetti, Antonio; Karaoglan, Fatih

The & Idot;stanbul-Zonguldak Terrane is located in northwest Anatolia and includes several outcrops with pre-Cambrian basement units. The Karadere Basement Unit represents the easternmost basement of this terrane and is composed of paragneiss, quartzite, and orthogneiss. The paragneiss and quartzite are cut by orthogneisses and disconformably overlain by Lower Ordovician to Middle Devonian cover units. Its pre-Cambrian to Palaeozoic tectonic evolution remains poorly understood, and therefore, this study reports whole-rock trace element signatures, detrital zircon U-Pb, and muscovite Ar-Ar age data for samples of paragneiss, quartzite, amphibolite, and orthogneiss. The whole-rock geochemical data indicate that the protoliths of the paragneiss and quartzite samples investigated here could have been derived from arc-related felsic magmatic units located in an active continental margin. The protoliths of amphibolites and orthogneiss samples are gabbro and granite, respectively, and their geochemical signatures are akin to those from continental arc igneous suites. The detrital zircon U-Pb data are characterized by predominantly Mesoproterozoic (84%) and lesser amount of Palaeoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic ages and suggest an early Tonian (youngest peak age of 915 +/- 18 Ma) maximum depositional age. Moreover, zircon U-Pb dating analyses from an orthogneiss sample yielded an age of 603 +/- 2 Ma, indicating the occurrence of mid-Ediacaran arc magmatism. This represents one of the oldest Ediacaran ages obtained from the metamagmatic basement rocks of the & Idot;stanbul-Zonguldak Terrane. Ar-Ar dating of muscovite from ortho- and paragneiss samples yielded ages of 533 +/- 25 Ma and 530 +/- 9 Ma, respectively, which are interpreted as early Cambrian cooling ages. Overall, the combined results reported here reveal that the Karadere Basement Unit is markedly different from NE African basement units but displays similarities to the basement rocks of both Avalonian and Amazonian terranes. It may have been formed and metamorphosed in an Avalonian-Cadomian active continental margin during the mid- to late Neoproterozoic and early Cambrian.

Çimen, Okay; Gücer, Mehmet Ali; Simonetti, Antonio; Karaoglan, Fatih

The Dodurga Pluton is located within the Central Pontides (northern Turkiye), has a SW-NE elongation, and consists of granodiorite and dacite porphyry. Previous studies have suggested that this pluton is Triassic in age, and its whole-rock geochemical systematics is consistent with that from adakitic magmatic occurrences rather than the classic arc granitoid suite. This study reports for the first time in situ/whole-rock radiogenic isotopic (Sr, Nd, and Pb) and mica/amphibole Ar-Ar age data to evaluate better its petrogenetic/geodynamic evolution and the chemical nature of mantle source(s). Unlike previous data, combined new in situ zircon U-Pb yield Late Cretaceous crystallization ages of 84.2 +/- 0.9 Ma and 86.9 +/- 0.9 Ma, and the Ar-Ar age data along with apatite fission track measurements suggest magma cooling extending to 82.3 +/- 0.4 Ma and 85.4 +/- 0.4 Ma, respectively. The apatite fission track (AFT) dating results also reveal that this pluton was buried at a depth of 2.5-3 km following a fast-cooling period during the Late Cretaceous and cooled/exhumed over similar to 2 km during the Middle-Late Miocene (15-10 Ma) in a slow cooling phase. The overall data reported here suggest that the Dodurga Pluton represents melts derived from an enriched/metasomatized mantle source that interacted with lower crustal mafic rocks in an active continental margin as a result of northward subduction of the northern branch of the Neotethys Ocean.

Çimen, Okay; Gücer, Mehmet Ali; Güner, Abdulkadir Murat

Doğu Sakarya Zonu’ndaki (KD Türkiye) erken Senozoyik magmatizması, bölgesel tektonomagmatik gelişime dair önemli veriler sağlamaktadır. Bölgede, adakit veya adakitik intrüzif/ekstrüzif kayaçlar Geç Paleosen’den Pliyo-Kuvaterner döneme kadar yaygın olarak gözlenmektedir. Çalışma alanında, Erken Eosen adakitik andezitler, genellikle 10 km2’den küçük mostralar halinde gözlenmektedir. Adakitik bileşimli bu andezitler bol miktarda mikrogranüler anklav içermekte olup bu çalışmada petrografik/jeokimyasal özellikleri ve ana kayaç ile olan petrolojik ilişkileri irdelenmiştir. Ana kayaca kıyasla nispeten bazik bileşimli anklavlar, küreselden elipsoidala kadar değişen şekillerde ve birkaç cm ile 20 cm arasında değişen boyutlarda gözlenmektedir. Anklavlar mikrolitik yer yer porfirik dokulu olup başlıca plajiyoklas, hornblend, klinopiroksen, ortoklas ve opak minerallerden meydana gelmektedir. Gerek petrografik gerekse petrokimyasal özellikleri anklavların bazaltik andezit türünde olduğunu ve sub-alkalin bir magmadan türemiş olabileceğini göstermektedir. Ana ve iz element değişimleri, gelişimlerinde fraksiyonel kristallenmenin etkili olduğunu ve plajiyoklas, piroksen, hornblend, magnetit ve apatit ayrımlaşmasının büyük ölçüde rol oynadığını göstermiştir. Anklav ve ana kayaçların benzer iz element davranışları felsik ve mafik magmaların karışması esnasındaki etkileşim süreçlerini işaret edebilir. NTE dağılımları ise gelişimlerinde hornblend fraksiyonlaşmasının önemli rol oynadığını, buna karşılık plajiyoklas ayrımlaşmasının etkili olmadığını işaret etmektedir. Petrokimyasal veriler, anklavların ana magmasının, kuzey Neotetis Okyanusu’nun tamamen kapanmasından hemen sonra; genleşmeli tektonik rejimin başlangıç aşamalarında, amfibol-eklojit fasiyesi koşullarında okyanusal bazaltların kısmi erimesi ile üretildiğini göstermektedir.

Gücer, Mehmet Ali; Delimehmet, Zeynep; Çimen, Okay

Middle-Late Carboniferousgranitic rocks are widely observed in larger outcrops in the Eastern Pontide orogenic belt of the Eastern Sakarya Zone. This tectonic belt is an important part of the Anatolian plate in terms of containing igneous rocks with a wide age and composition range. This study presents new petrochemical-petrological data on Carboniferous granites in the G & uuml;neydere and surrounding area of Bayburt (NE Turkey). The granitic rocks, which include an area of approximately 5 km, represent the pre-Jurassic basement in the study area. Besides, they are unconformably overlain by Early- Middle Jurassic volcano-clastics units and Late Jurassic- Early Cretaceous limestones. They mainly consist ofgranite, granite porphyry and aplite, to a lesser extent granodiorite and quartz monzonite. Rocks have high SiO2 contents (60.43-75.51%) and high K calc-alkali to shoshonitic affinities and have been derived from an I-type source. The granitic rocks are metalumine-peralumine in character and are similar to postcollisional volcanic arc granitoids. Whole-rocks major and trace element trends show that plagioclase, hornblende, biotite, apatite, and Fe-Ti oxide mineral fractionations play an important role in the formation of the rocks. It has been revealed that fractional crystallization and assimilation+magma mixing processes play a role in the development of granites. Also, the saturation temperatures calculated from the whole-rock zircon values reflect lower initial magma temperatures. All results obtained indicate that parental magma of studied granitic rocks have evolved from lower/middle crust- derived melts as a result of partial melting and differentiated and emplaced in the continental magma chamber.

Sapancı, Özgür; Tokat, Gürkan; Eraslan, Nuh Kadri; Karakaya, Abdullah Onur; Gücer, Mehmet Ali; Çimen, Okay

The Guleman Ophiolite is located in the southeast of Turkey and mainly consists of harzburgites and dunites hosting economically viable chromitite bodies, and lesser amounts of cumulate and isotropic gabbro, diabase dykes, pyroxenite and locally plagiogranite. This study reports the combined whole-rock geochemical and radiogenic isotope (Sr and Nd) data for gabbro and diabase dykes, and in-situ zircon U-Pb geochronological data for plagiogranite and gabbro from the Guleman Ophiolite. Two different geochemical groups were determined based on immobile minor and trace elements, and radiogenic isotope characteristics of gabbro and diabase dykes investigated here. The first group is represented by boninites and displays highly depleted elemental patterns compared to NMORB, and spoon-shaped rare earth element profiles. Contrarily, the second group resembles back-arc basin basalts and is characterized by NMORB-like rare earth element patterns associated with negative Nb anomalies. The boninitic samples are characterized by less radiogenic 143Nd/144Nd(i) (0.51229 to 0.51267; ƐNd = −4.8 to +2.7) and more radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr(i) (0.70549 to 0.70758) isotope compositions compared to the back-arc basin basalt-like samples (143Nd/144Nd(i) = 0.51289 to 0.51296; ƐNd = +7.0 to +8.4; 87Sr/86Sr(i) = 0.70496 to 0.70629), indicating derivation from distinct and/or heterogeneous mantle source regions within a supra-subduction zone. The LA–ICP–MS zircon U-Pb analyses yielded concordant late Cretaceous ages for gabbro (82 ± 2.9 Ma) and plagiogranite (79.9 ± 0.8 Ma) samples. The overall geochemical, isotopic and geochronological data presented here suggest that the Guleman Ophiolite consists of forearc and initial back-arc spreading sections of oceanic crust, which may have been formed in an intra-oceanic subduction zone within the Berit Ocean (northern branch of the southern Neo-Tethyan ocean). Moreover, the generation of continental arc magmatism (i.e. Baskil and Esence Granitoids) was well-documented on the active margin of the Malatya-Keban Metamorphics to the north. Therefore the closure of this oceanic basin should have resulted in multiple coeval northward subduction events during the late Cretaceous.

Gücer, Mehmet Ali; Arslan, Mehmet; Çimen, Okay; Sherlock, Sarah C.

The Devrekani Massif in the northern part of the Central Pontides (Northern Turkey) provides important clues to the regional tectonics and geodynamic processes associated with Jurassic high grade metamorphic conditions. This study reports new paragenetic assemblages, mineral compositions, whole-rock geochemistry and 40Ar-39Ar geochronological data from the paragneisses in the massif, and, discusses the P–T conditions and geodynamic implications of the Jurassic metamorphism during continental extension in the Central Pontides. Upper amphibolite to lower granulite facies paragneisses form one of the main lithological units in the massif. Within these, there are five different mineral parageneses with diagnostic mineral assemblages of: quartz, K-feldspar (An0-1Ab4-26Or73-96), plagioclase (An18-35), biotite [XPhl: 0.28–0.57; Mg/(Mg + Fe2+): 0.33–0.61], sillimanite, cordierite [Mg/(Mg + Fe2+): 0.48–0.71] and garnet (Alm43-80Grs0-18Prp5-23And0-4Sps10-33) with minor hercynite. Based on Na-in-Crd thermometry and GASP barometry results, the peak metamorphic conditions are 775 ± 25 °C and 6 ± 1 kbar in the massif. The field relations, petrography and bulk chemical data suggest that the paragneisses, derived from shale-wackestone and pelitic sedimentary protoliths, are typical rock lithologies of an active continental margin. They display enrichments in LILE over HFSE, coupled with negative Nb and Ti anomalies, which are geochemical signatures of subduction-related sources. It is likely that the peak metamorphism took place during the Middle–Upper Jurassic period (ca. 174–156 Ma), suggesting that the metamorphic rocks cooled to 300–350 °C at ca. 156 Ma. The mineral assemblages reveal that the prograde history passed from sillimanite zone conditions up to the cordierite-garnet-K-feldspar zone. The petrological and geochronological data indicate that the protoliths are related to multiple sources such as volcano-sedimentary successions. We conclude that the Devrekani Massif represents the products of pre-Jurassic sedimentation, and Permo-Carboniferous continental arc magmatism, overprinted by Jurassic metamorphism.