The Kızıldere geothermal field, located at the eastern part of the Büyük Menderes graben in Western Turkey, is the most important geothermal reservoir suitable for electricity generation. Fossil fumarole fields and alteration or mineralization zones are directly related to the tectonic zones influenced by N-S directional extension. Associated to fossil geothermal activities, calcite, dolomite, strontianite, quartz, gypsum, anhydrite, celestine, kaolinite, smectite, boehmite and goethite/limonite were occurred in the form of void or crack fill within the Paleozoic metamorphic and Miocene-Quaternary clastic and carbonate host rocks. The current mineralogical composition indicates temperature conditions of 100–250 °C which close to current reservoir temperatures. Some of minerals with fossil geothermal origin, i.e. calcite, anhydrite, dolomite, celestine, amorphous silica and quartz, are compatible for mineral precipitations estimated from mineral equilibrium modeling, and scale mineralogy of wells, as well. The formation order of the most common geothermal minerals is determined as calcite → gypsum → anhydrite → quartz direction indicating that alkaline conditions were followed by acidic conditions. The blade-like/prismatic rhombohedral calcites replaced by quartz occurrences in siliceous‑carbonate veins indicate the boiling was occurred in the field. The geothermal mineral zoning determined from drilling samples is anhydrite-dolomite-calcite from shallow to deeper parts. The lateral and vertical distribution of mineral zoning is related to the fact that geothermal waters are mainly affected by host rock compositions, i.e. dissolution from the host rocks and precipitation along the cracks/fractures and bedding planes. Mineralizations in the Kızıldere geothermal field mainly represent the direct precipitations from hot geothermal waters rather than transformations of minerals in the host rocks. Si, Al, Mg, K and Na concentrations in carbonate and sulfate minerals show a positive correlation relationship and are derived from metapelites. Whereas Ca is negatively related to these elements and it is derived from metacarbonate and/or carbonate host rocks. According to the current geothermal water composition, Ca enriches in the deeper parts, while Mg and B enrichment in shallow depths near the basin edge that indicates the different composition of the host rocks where minerals precipitated. The relatively high boron contents at shallow depth indicate that it is retained by the minerals precipitated this level and causes less release to the surface.@en

The Kızıldere geothermal field, located at the eastern part of the Büyük Menderes graben in Western Turkey, is the most important geothermal reservoir suitable for electricity generation. Current and fossil fumaroles and alteration zones are directly related to the tectonic zones influenced by N-S directional extension since Miocene period. Associated to fossil geothermal activities carbonate (calcite, dolomite) and sulfate (gypsum, anhydrite) minerals were occurred in the form of void/crack fill and bands/lenses parallel to bedding of Neogene clastic and carbonate rocks. The carbon (δ13CPDB ‰) and oxygen (δ18OPDB ‰) isotope compositions of hydrothermal calcites and dolomites and sulfur (δ34SCDT) and oxygen (δ18OSMOW) isotope compositions of gypsum and anhydrites are analyzed first time and correlated current geothermal water composition. The carbon and oxygen isotope data of calcites and dolomites have similar carbon but different oxygen isotope composition which increases in the direction of surface calcite – drill cuttings calcite – drill cuttings dolomite – surface dolomite. The isotope compositions of calcite and dolomite minerals range between limestone and marble host rock compositions and indicate the carbonate mineral-forming fluids originated from dissolution of carbonate rocks during the circulation of hot geothermal waters. According to the calcite-CO2 and dolomite-CO2 isotopic fractionation data for the 0–300 °C temperature range, the fossil isotope composition is higher than the composition of current CO2 and reflects relatively lower temperature conditions. The isotope compositions of gypsum and anhydrite minerals indicate that hot thermal waters dissolved terrestrial evaporites and formed a sulfur-rich geothermal solution, and hydrothermal gypsum and anhydrite precipitated from this solution. The δ34SCDT compositions of hydrothermal gypsum and anhydrites are similar to the current geothermal water compositions. Stable isotope geochemistry data of hydrothermal carbonate and sulfate minerals in the Kızıldere geothermal field have shown that the fluids forming these minerals were originated from host rocks instead of magmatic volatiles.@en