Age, tectonic setting and quality distribution of the Neogene lignite deposits of western Anatolia

Abstract

e lignite-bearing continental Neogene basins of Western Anatolia are divided into three groups ac- cording to their time of formation, tectonic setting, and sedimentary facies. � ese are, in ascending time/tectonic order, the NE, the NW and the E _ W-trending basins. While the NE and the NW-trending Neogene basins of Western Anatolia are fi lled with respectively Middle to Upper Miocene sedimentary sequences, the E _ W-trending basins are fi lled with Pliocene-Quaternary sediments only. � e latter basins have parallel trends from west to east. Generally, the boundaries of the basins are controlled by growth faults which have infl uenced the thickness and spreading of the sedimentary sequence and lignite seams. � ese sedimentary sequences of the continental basins consists mainly of fan, fl uvial, lacustrine, and volcanoclastic sediments. Most of the economic lignite deposits in the Neogene continental basins occur in the uppermost part of the fl uvial sequences which are concordantly overlain by lacustrine sequences. � e NE-trending Neogene lignite basins of western Anatolia, have a relatively high calorifi c value compared to those of the NW-trending lignite basins. � e E _ W-trending Pliocene-Quaternary basins do generally not contain economic lignite deposits. � e total lignite reserve of western Anatolia amount to approximatively 3 billion tonnes.