PETROLOGIC ANALYSIS AND ECONOMIC STUDY OF SKARNS IN THE KORAMAZ AREA, ÇELEBI, KIRIKKALE PROVINCE, CENTRAL TURKEY

Several Fe-skarn deposits have been found in the Ҫelebi district of central Turkey. Geologic mapping of the Koramaz area, Ҫelebi, Kirikkale Province, central Turkey indicates that the area has potential to host an Fe-skarn deposit. Analysis of the skarn minerals using SEM and optical techniques revealed andradite garnet, hedenbergite pyroxene, and magnetite occurrences that provided further support of this hypothesis. Chloro-potassic-ferri-magnesiotarmite, an amphibole, was identified within some of the exoskarns and reflects the composition of the hydrothermal fluid that contributed to the formation of skarns in the Koramaz area. This species is an accepted amphibole by the International Mineralogical Association but there is little reference in the literature to the nature of its occurrence. Native bismuth, identified in the same exoskarn samples, is not uncommon in Fe, Ag, Au, and Pb-Zn skarn deposits around the world though its occurrence in the Koramaz area skarns was not identified in earlier studies. The Ҫelebi granitoid samples are geochemically analogous to the primitive granitoids in the district. The low-Fe and high-K geochemistry bring into question whether the granitoid could produce Fe-skarn deposits. Exploration for Fe-skarn deposits should continue and focus on areas underlain by the garnet-epidote-quartz exoskarn, because other studies of the district have shown that this exoskarn can contain massive magnetite deposits. Definition of the boundaries of the intrusion and geochemical characterization of the pristine granitoid would contribute to the understanding of the skarn deposit potential in the Koramaz area.