Pontide Belt, Turkey: Oct 2004

1 October: Arrival in Trabzon
2 October: Scientific presentations at the Geological Survey of Turkey (MTA).
3 October: Macka-Espiye geological field traverse. Evening presentations.
4 October: Visit to Köprübasi, Lahanos, Kizilkaya and Killik ore deposits. Evening presentations.
5 October: Visit to Çayeli (Madenköy) Mine and Kutlular ore deposit. Evening presentations.
6 October: Visit to Murgul Mine (overnight at Murgul)
7 October: Visit to Cerattepe and Seyitler ore deposits
8 October: Departure from Trabzon.

09 00 – 9 10 Introduction to the activities of the MTA Regional Office in Trabzon (Deniz GÖÇ)
09 10 – 9 40 IGCP Global VMS Project (Rodney ALLEN)
09 40 – 10 10 Geology of the Eastern Pontides (Aral OKAY)
10 10 – 10 30 Coffee-Tea break
10 30 – 11 00 VMS Deposits of the Eastern Pontides (Namik ÇAGATAY)
11 00 – 11 30 Relations between the evolution of the Eastern Pontide Cretaceaous arc and its mineral deposits (Iskender KURT)
11 30 – 12 00 The Çayeli – Madenköy Mine (ÇB Group)
12 00 – 13 00 Lunch
13 00 – 13 20 Slide show: Black Sea region of Turkey with photographs (MTA Group)
13 20 – 13 50 Geological setting and character of VMS deposits in the Bathurst Camp, New Brunswick (Jan PETER and Wayne GOODFELLOW)
13 50 – 14 20 Geological setting and character of VMS deposits in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (Fernando TORNOS)
14 20 – 14 50 Shallow marine VMS deposits and modern seafloor sulphide occurrences (Thomas MONECKE)
14 50 – 15 10 Coffee-tea break
15 10 – 15 40 Recent research on the geology and alteration systems of VMS deposits in the Skellefte District, Sweden (Rodney ALLEN)
15 40 – 16 10 Exploration for VMS ores in the Skellefte District (Rolf JONSSON)
16 10 – 16 40 Geology of VMS deposits of the Southern Urals, Russia (Valery MASLENNIKOV, Viktor ZAYKOV and Richard HERRINGTON)
16 40 – 17 00 Coffee-tea break
17 00 – 18 00 Open discussion

This meeting and field workshop had three main aims:
(1) This was the first major meeting of the project since it became an IGCP project in March 2004. Consequently this meeting was designed to discuss in detail how the project should be carried out, how we should seek additional funding, how we should disseminate results…. In order to achieve this, we ensured that all project leaders and a number of other key project members attended the meeting, and discussion sessions were held each evening.
(2) This meeting also focussed on Turkey’s role in IGCP502. Turkish scientists and the Geological Survey of Turkey have shown great interest in the project. The meeting sought to work out what specific data, expertise, and opportunities for research that Turkey can contribute to the project and what the project’s international scientific team can contribute to help the Turkish scientific team understand VMS ore deposits in Turkey.
(3) The third main aim of the meeting was to visit important geological localities and VMS ore deposits in the Eastern Pontides ore province in NE Turkey in order to discuss the geological characteristics of VMS ore deposits in Turkey and their similarities and differences compared to other VMS deposits around the world.

(1) The meeting was fully subscribed with 35 scientists from 11 different countries, and attracted scientists from some countries where there has previously been little international collaborative research on VMS deposits (Morocco, Russia, Saudi Arabia).
(2) The meeting was very well organised by the Turkish IGCP502 team. The conference part of the meeting enabled project members to grasp the aims, theme and proposed work programme and methods for IGCP502, and also enabled the participants to learn about recent research on VMS ore deposits in a number of countries participating in the project.
(3) The field workshop part of the meeting provided stimulating discussion among the participants, showed the visiting scientists that the VMS ore deposits in Turkey provide excellent scientific potential for research, and showed the Turkish scientists and government agency (MTA) that the IGCP502 scientific team can provide important relevant expertise to help advance the understanding of Turkish VMS ore deposits, which should ultimately help the discovery and exploitation of VMS ore deposits in Turkey.
(4) Proposals were presented by the Geological Survey of Turkey (MTA) and several visiting scientists for the development of collaborative research on VMS deposits in Turkey.
(5) The details of an IGCP-502 web page were finalised.
(6) The meeting stimulated scientists from Morocco and Saudi Arabia to start planning similar workshops in their countries.
(7) The meeting forged many new contacts between scientists, especially between the scientists from developed and less developed nations, and between the Turkish project team and the rest of the participants.

(1) At this meeting it became clear that the Cretaceous Eastern Pontides ore province is of major interest to the IGCP502 project and that the Turkish scientists wish to have help from the IGCP502 group to study the Eastern Pontides VMS deposits. From the visits to VMS ore deposits during this meeting we can conclude that the Eastern Pontides province is one of the best examples in the world of a VMS district with abundant, well preserved clastic sulphide ores that formed on the sea floor.
(2) At the end of the meeting, the Geological Survey of Turkey (MTA) made an offer to finance the field expenses, transport in the field and accommodation for project members and PhD students from abroad who wish to carry out research in Turkey related to the IGCP502 project. A group of IGCP502 researchers from Turkey, Canada, Spain, Sweden and Russia are now planning a research proposal to their respective countries in order to take up the MTA’s offer and start a collaborative IGCP502 project in the Eastern Pontides.
(3) Plans were made by the IGCP502 leadership and MTA to organise a field course (”Volcanic stratigraphy related to VMS ore deposits”) in Turkey for Turkish scientists during 2005-2006.
(4) The Russian scientists (Valeriy Maslennikov, Viktor Zaykov) discovered well preserved fossils of hydrothermal vent fauna (tube worms) replaced by sulphide minerals at the Lahanos VMS deposit. We believe this to be the first discovery of a fossilised vent fauna in Turkey, the first in Cretaceous rocks in any country, and only the sixth or seventh known discovery in ancient rocks of any age. This discovery may result in a topical new publication.