Carbonatite-hosted fluorite and britholite mineralization at Sofular area, Malatya, Turkey

The Sofular carbonatite complex is located approximately 670 km of capital Ankara, within the easternmost part of Anatolide-Tauride platform and consists of Upper Cretaceous to Lower Paleocene carbonatite ring dikes and a number of alkali syenitic intrusions which were emplaced into autochtonous carbonates of Tauride. Carbonatite represents the last stage of alkali intrusions and: was responsible for the fenitization of syenites and deposition of small quantities of fluorite (30,000 tons of 52% CaF2) and britholite (1000 tons of:57.73% RE2O3; 2.68% ThO2 and 2.49% Y2O3). Mineralization occurs as veins in calcite carbonatite and alkali syenitic fenite. Fluid inclusions in fluorite indicate high temperature-high salinity (460 degrees C and 40 wt% NaCl equiv.) ore fluid exolved from carbonatite magma which was generated by postcollisional lithospheric attenuation.