Stellerite-stilbite and calcite paragenesis in a fracture cavity hosted by andesitic volcaniclastic rocks from the Timok magmatic complex

Medić, Dragana; Štirbanović, Zoran; Banjesevic, Miodrag; Nedelkovski, Vladan; Stanković, Sonja; Cvetković, Aleksandar; Đorđievski, Stefan

doi:10.5937/JMMA2501073M

Article Open access M51

2025

Medić, Dragana
Štirbanović, Zoran
Banjesevic, Miodrag
Nedelkovski, Vladan
Stanković, Sonja
Cvetković, Aleksandar
Đorđievski, Stefan

University of Belgrade, Technical Faculty in Bor

Journal of Mining and Metallurgy, Section A: Mining

English

M51 - Paper in a top journal of national significance

The Timok Magmatic Complex (TMC) is part of the Apuseni–Banat–Timok–Srednogorie magmatic arc within the Tethyan metallogenic belt, hosting world-class porphyry and epithermal copper–gold deposits. In a bedrock channel of the Šarbanovac River (central part of the TMC), seasonal desiccation exposed a fracture cavity within Upper Cretaceous andesitic volcaniclastic rocks, revealing white and yellow mineral aggregates inside the cavity and green mineral aggregates in the surrounding wall rock. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) analyses of separated fractions show that the yellow crystals are stellerite-stilbite zeolites, while the white crystals are calcite. The surrounding green wall rock contains quartz, glauconite, clinochlore, and epistilbite. Quartz represents relict magmatic grains incorporated into the volcaniclastic deposit, while glauconite and clinochlore reflect early diagenetic to propylitic alteration. Epistilbite occurs within pores and microfractures, indicating local wall-rock zeolitization predating the main fracture mineralization. Stellerite-stilbite was first deposited along the fracture walls, followed by calcite filling the central part of the cavity, forming a characteristic layered (“sandwich”) texture. These findings document a multistage paragenetic history involving early diagenetic alteration of porous volcaniclastic material, secondary zeolitization, tectonically induced fracturing, and late-stage low- temperature hydrothermal mineralization. This study provides a rare example of fracture-controlled zeolite-carbonate paragenesis preserved in situ within exposed volcaniclastic bedrock of the TMC.

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia (Contract No. 451-03-137/2025- 03/200131, and Contract No. 451-03-136/2025-03/200052).

Volcaniclastite, andesite, fracture, stilbite, stellerite, calcite

DOI

10.5937/JMMA2501073M

ISSN

1450-5959
2560-3159

URI

https://repozitorijum.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/handle/...
https://repozitorijum.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/handle/...

Scopus OpenCitations OpenAlex

dc.creator	Medić, Dragana
dc.creator	Štirbanović, Zoran
dc.creator	Banjesevic, Miodrag
dc.creator	Nedelkovski, Vladan
dc.creator	Stanković, Sonja
dc.creator	Cvetković, Aleksandar
dc.creator	Đorđievski, Stefan
dc.title	Stellerite-stilbite and calcite paragenesis in a fracture cavity hosted by andesitic volcaniclastic rocks from the Timok magmatic complex
dc.date.available	2026-09-16T14:30:51Z
dc.source	Journal of Mining and Metallurgy, Section A: Mining
dc.publisher	University of Belgrade, Technical Faculty in Bor
dc.date.issued	2025
dc.identifier.doi	10.5937/JMMA2501073M
dc.identifier.issn	1450-5959
dc.identifier.issn	2560-3159
dc.identifier.uri	https://repozitorijum.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/6111
dc.language.iso	en
dc.type	article
dc.type.version	publishedVersion
dc.subject	Volcaniclastite
dc.subject	andesite
dc.subject	fracture
dc.subject	stilbite
dc.subject	stellerite
dc.subject	calcite
dc.citation.volume	61
dc.citation.issue	1
dc.citation.spage	73
dc.citation.epage	81
dc.citation.rank	M51
dc.description.abstract	The Timok Magmatic Complex (TMC) is part of the Apuseni–Banat–Timok–Srednogorie magmatic arc within the Tethyan metallogenic belt, hosting world-class porphyry and epithermal copper–gold deposits. In a bedrock channel of the Šarbanovac River (central part of the TMC), seasonal desiccation exposed a fracture cavity within Upper Cretaceous andesitic volcaniclastic rocks, revealing white and yellow mineral aggregates inside the cavity and green mineral aggregates in the surrounding wall rock. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) analyses of separated fractions show that the yellow crystals are stellerite-stilbite zeolites, while the white crystals are calcite. The surrounding green wall rock contains quartz, glauconite, clinochlore, and epistilbite. Quartz represents relict magmatic grains incorporated into the volcaniclastic deposit, while glauconite and clinochlore reflect early diagenetic to propylitic alteration. Epistilbite occurs within pores and microfractures, indicating local wall-rock zeolitization predating the main fracture mineralization. Stellerite-stilbite was first deposited along the fracture walls, followed by calcite filling the central part of the cavity, forming a characteristic layered (“sandwich”) texture. These findings document a multistage paragenetic history involving early diagenetic alteration of porous volcaniclastic material, secondary zeolitization, tectonically induced fracturing, and late-stage low- temperature hydrothermal mineralization. This study provides a rare example of fracture-controlled zeolite-carbonate paragenesis preserved in situ within exposed volcaniclastic bedrock of the TMC.
dc.description.sponsorship	This work was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia (Contract No. 451-03-137/2025- 03/200131, and Contract No. 451-03-136/2025-03/200052).
dc.rights.license	CC-BY-SA
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
dc.date.accessioned	2026-10-16T11:40:10Z
dc.description.provenance	Submitted by unknown submitter on 2026-09-16 14:30:52, with 2 file(s). Approved by Милица Ницуловић (mniculovic@tfbor.bg.ac.rs) on 2026-10-16T11:40:10Z.
dc.identifier.uri	https://repozitorijum.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/6111
dc.identifier.fulltext	https://repozitorijum.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/bitstream?id=e2bbdb08-630a-42e0-b701-6f073e654890


Stellerite-stilbite and calcite paragenesis in a fracture cavity hosted by andesitic volcaniclastic rocks from the Timok magmatic complex	3


07-25. Dragana Medić.pdf	1