Research Information System
CHEMIE DER ERDE / GEOCHEMISTRY INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL FOR CHEMICAL PROBLEMS OF THE GEOSCIENCES AND GEOECOLOGY, vol.85, no.1, pp.1-20, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The Pirejman region Zn-Pb-Ba mineralizations are located north of Diyarbakır, south of the Bitlis-Zagros Suture
Zone, within Upper Cretaceous and Eocene aged units. These mineralizations can be classified into two main
groups based on the lithologies and ages of the rock hosting them. Each group is further subdivided into subgroups
based on ore type and mineral paragenesis.
The first group developed within the Middle Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous limestone blocks embedded in the
Upper Cretaceous aged Ophiolitic Melange. These mineralizations include the Pirejman Main -Zn-Pb deposit, the
Sülfür Ocak deposit, and the Mezarlık Tepe deposits. The Pirejman deposit consists of sulfide and oxide‑carbonate
Zn-Pb zones. The sulfide zones contain galena, sphalerite, and pyrite, while oxide‑carbonate zones primarily
composed of smithsonite, hemimorphite, sericite, and iron oxides. The oxide‑carbonate ore formed as
replacements in the adjacent rock and as karst fillings alongside the sulfide ore zone.
The second group of mineralizations developed within the carbonate rocks of Eocene-Oligocene-aged Midyat
Group and is further divided into subgroups as barite and Pb-Zn-bearing barite mineralizations. These mineralizations
generally occur in vein structures along N30–50◦E and vertical fracture zones. They mainly consist of
barite, with occasionally occurrences of galena and sphalerite.
The trace element contents of the mineralizations within the melange and Eocene-aged carbonates exhibit
significant similarities. Moreover, the stable sulphur isotope values (δ34SV-CDT) of barite and galena from both
groups fall within a narrow range of 18–24 ‰ and resembling the isotopic values of MVT Pb-Zn deposits rather
than those of SEDEX deposits in similar geological settings.
Field observations and analytical data suggest that the primary mineralization likely formed in the Middle
Jurassic-Early Cretaceous interval within passive margin carbonates, probably as MVT Pb-Zn deposits. Subsequently,
with the closure of the Neotethys Ocean, the initial MVT mineralizations were transferred into blocks
during the Late Cretaceous. As the Neotethys Ocean completely closed during the Miocene, the region underwent
uplift and deformation during the collision of the Arabian and Anatolian plates, resulting in thrusts and subsequently
normal faulting in an extensional tectonic regime. Hydrothermal fluids circulating along these normal
faults remobilized Pb, Zn, and Ba elements from the initial MVT ore bodies within the melange and formed veintype
Ba-Pb-Zn mineralizations along the normal faults. During this process, Pb-Zn mineralizations within the
melange oxidized and transformed into supergene oxide‑carbonate Zn-Pb deposits.