Garnet Geochemistry of Pertek Skarns (Tunceli, Turkey) and U-Pb Age Findings

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is an interesting small contribution about U-Pb dating of garnet in the skarn deposit from Turkey, which is principally suitable for Minerals. However, the language and the structure of the paper are very weak and should be reworked significantly. The authors are using very inaccurate non-professional phrasing and strange expressions, and nearly every sentence should be rewritten. I corrected only the Abstract (found in the attached annotated pdf file) and the rest of the text should be rewritten/corrected by a native-English speaking academic editor. In addition, the paper should be restructured and additional figures should be added. After that the paper can be reviewed again for its applicability for publication. I estimate the changes needed as Major revision.

 

General comments

 

The structure of the paper is very poorly organized: - Geological setting should be given before Results and Materials and methods should be described after Geological setting

 

Geological setting should be described more carefully and a regional map as well as a map of the deposit with sampling sites should be added

 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The authors are using very inaccurate non-professional phrasing and strange expressions, and nearly every sentence should be rewritten. I corrected only the Abstract (found in the attached annotated pdf file) and the rest of the text should be rewritten/corrected by a native-English speaking academic editor.

Author Response

Responses to Reviewer 1

This is an interesting small contribution about U-Pb dating of garnet in the skarn deposit from Turkey, which is principally suitable for Minerals. However, the language and the structure of the paper are very weak and should be reworked significantly. The authors are using very inaccurate non-professional phrasing and strange expressions, and nearly every sentence should be rewritten. I corrected only the Abstract (found in the attached annotated pdf file) and the rest of the text should be rewritten/corrected by a native-English speaking academic editor. In addition, the paper should be restructured and additional figures should be added. After that the paper can be reviewed again for its applicability for publication. I estimate the changes needed as Major revision.

Abstract was corrected on text;

Abstract: Fe-skarn and vein type Cu mineralization are common mineralization types in the Eastern Taurus Mountains. This study aims to determine the U-Pb geochronology of garnets of varying sizes within the skarn zone developed at the quartz diorite-marble contact in the village of Ayazpınarı, Pertek-Tunceli, Turkey. Additionally, it aims to determine the age of skarnization and the type of inclusion minerals in the garnets. Faulting and magma emplacement along the thrust plane caused mineralization in the Eastern Taurus Mountains, especially at marble and quartz diorite contact between Elazığ and Tunceli cities. In the Ayazpınar deposit, greenish garnet is characteristic for disctal skarns, while red or brown Pertek garnets are observed in proximal skarns. The typical feature of garnets is that they show core-rim texture. The cores of garnet crystals, which have higher Fe and lower Al ratios than the rims, are large, reddish in color and have high REE (Ce, Pr) content. High La, Ce and Pr contents compared to the rims is low. We propose that compositional differences between the rims and the cores compared to that in the cores, reflect the transition from oxidized, REE and Fe3+ rich liquids to liquids with lower REE and Fe3+ content, and are also the reason for the difference in garnet colors. Because green garnets show lower REE content than brown garnets with Fe-rich cores. The green garnets have lower REE content than the brown garnets with Fe-rich cores. The skarn includes following successively formed zones: Diorite → epidote skarn → garnet+magnetite → pyrite+garnet +magnetite → calcitic carbonate. Diopside, magnetite and hematite such as small grains were surrounded by or enveloped by garnet. The U-Pb age of mineralization is determined as 74.1±5 Ma, indicating that the mineralization occurred concurrently with the intrusion settlement.

  

The structure of the paper is very poorly organized: - Geological setting should be given before Results and Materials and methods should be described after Geological setting

It was corrected

 

Geological setting should be described more carefully and a regional map as well as a map of the deposit with sampling sites should be added

It was added new map to text

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript "New U-Pb Age Findings in Zoned Garnets ..." by Ahmet Sasmaz and Ayse Didem Kilic presents a detailed chemical and radiometric analysis of some garnets found in the Pertek Skarn from Elazig-Turkey.  The analytical data seem to be of high quality.  However, there are several problems with the manuscript. English mistakes that are so common and distracting that it is difficult to read.  Several ideas and interpretations are presented but they are typically either speculation or are so confusing that they can't be seriously considered.  I have read and re-read the entire manuscript but have not learned anything new about the garnets or skarns. If the English is improved some important items may come into view, but this would require a complete re-write. There are far too many questions and comments to include them all, so a line-by-line focus on the Abstract and just a few additional items follow:

Title – Consider revising to: The garnets of the Pertek Skarn, Elazig, Turkey.

Abstract - Line 7 – Delete the second "mineralizations".

Line 8 – Delete "developing".

Line 9 – Delete "minerals" and change garnet to garnets.

Line 10 – Replace or define "settlement"; replace "the" with "a"; replace "caused" with "resulted in".

Line 11 – Replace "magmatics and metamophics contact" with "quartz diorite – marble contact".

Line 12 – Delete "observed in" and "color"

Line 13 – Delete "colors are observed"; insert "Pertek" before "garnets".

Line 14 – Delete "which"

Line 15 – Consider revising to "... high La, Ce and Pr contents compared to the edges".  Then delete the second sentence.

Line 16 – Begin with "We propose that ...". Replace reflecting with reflect.

Line 17 – Add "and" before "are".

Line 19 – Consider revising to garnet +magnetite and pyrite + garnet

Line 20 – Is magnetite absent from the pyrite + garnet zone? Please clarify.

Line 21 – Wouldn't hydrothermal fluids trapped in the garnets should leave voids or fluid inclusions? Isn't it more likely that small grains of pyroxenes and oxides were surrounded by or enveloped by garnet?

Line 22 – Find a replacement for "bimetasomatic".  The science of grain size is complex, involving diffusion rates and variables that are not considered by the authors although "complex infiltration metasomatism of hydrothermal fluids" is pure speculation.

Line 23-28 – Most of these lines are redundant and could be combined into one.

Line 43 – Describe "the change process."

Line 105 – Replace "In" with 'The" and replace "and" with "is".

Line 107 – Insert "the" before "opening" and "southern".

 Line 124 – Ilmenite alters to pseudorutile then to rutile. Hematite doesn't contain titanium. However, ilmenite can exsolve hematite lamellae during solid state oxidation and cooling.

Lines 132-133 – The sentence makes no sense as written. It need to be re-written.

Line 154-156 – This is very unlikely and without any basis. Consider replacing "and" with "or".

Lines 166-170 – What is the basis for the retrograde stage and prograde stage?  The choice seems very arbitrary, and no references are cited. Why are diopside and wollastonite secondary prograde minerals? There needs to be some temperature evidence. There is probably some published experimental petrology pertaining to the question that needs to be considered.

Figures 2 and 3 – What is the basis for the retrograde stage and prograde fields? How can U and REE content determine the "Retrograde" field? Most readers will not be convinced.  Readers need solid evidence.

Figure 4 – Define Grill, W/R ratio, diffusive metasomatism, advective metasomatism, types 1, 2, and 3; and how all of this confusion could be reasons for differences in total REE content. Note that the "increasing" vector goes from high oxygen to low oxygen to relatively high oxygen.

Line 215 – The authors need references to support these statements.

Line 305 – There is no verb.

Line 321 – The sentence makes no sense.

Line 322 – The sentence makes no sense.

Line 326 – Add a period after "phase".

Line 328 – The sentence beginning with "The garnet" needs explanation.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English is a serious problem.

Author Response

Response For Reviewers 2

Thank you for your insightful comments and suggestions. We have carefully considered your feedback and made the necessary revisions to improve the clarity and precision of our manuscript. The changes and corrections made in accordance with your suggestions are listed in bullet points in the article.

Best regards,

 

The manuscript "New U-Pb Age Findings in Zoned Garnets ..." by Ayse Didem Kilic presents a detailed chemical and radiometric analysis of some garnets found in the Pertek Skarn from Elazig-Turkey.  The analytical data seem to be of high quality.  However, there are several problems with the manuscript. English mistakes that are so common and distracting that it is difficult to read.  Several ideas and interpretations are presented but they are typically either speculation or are so confusing that they can't be seriously considered.  I have read and re-read the entire manuscript but have not learned anything new about the garnets or skarns. If the English is improved some important items may come into view, but this would require a complete re-write. There are far too many questions and comments to include them all, so a line-by-line focus on the Abstract and just a few additional items follow:

Title – Consider revising to: The garnets of the Pertek Skarn, Elazig, Turkey.

Title: ‘The garnets of the Pertek Skarn, Elazığ, Turkey’ önerilmiştir. Ancak bu çalışmanın en önemli özelliği, Elazığ-Pertek alanında ilk kez skarn’ ın yaşı bulunmuştur.  Ayrıca, Raman spektroskopi metoduyla ilk kez granatlardaki kapantı mineralleri incelenmiştir. Dolayısıyla başlık ‘New U-Pb Age of The Pertek Skarn, Elazığ, Turkey’ şeklinde düşünülmüştür (The study titled 'The garnets of the Pertek Skarn, Elazığ, Turkey' has been proposed. However, the most significant aspect of this research is the determination of the age of skarn for the first time in the Elazığ-Pertek area. Additionally, for the first time, inclusion minerals in garnets have been investigated using the Raman spectroscopy method. Therefore, the title is proposed as 'New U-Pb Age of The Pertek Skarn, Elazığ, Turkey'). So, the title of the paper has been changed to 'New U-Pb Age of The Pertek Skarn, Elazığ, Turkey' from ‘New U-Pb Age Findings in Zoned Garnets, Inclusion Minerals and Mineralization’."

Abstract - Line 7 – Delete the second "mineralizations".

Abstract- Line 7 –‘Mineralization’ deleted, and the sentence was corrected accordingly; ‘Fe-skarn and vein type Cu mineralization are common in the Eastern Taurus Mountains.’

Line 8 – Delete "developing".

Line 8 –‘ developing’ deleted, and the sentence was corrected accordingly;’ This study aims to determine the U-Pb geochronology of garnets of varying sizes within the skarn zone developed at the quartz diorite-marble contact in the village of Ayazpınarı, Pertek-Tunceli, Turkey. Additionally, it aims to determine the age of skarnization and the type of inclusion minerals in the garnets’

Line 9 – Delete "minerals" and change garnet to garnets.

Line 9-  ‘Minerals’ deleted, and the sentence was corrected accordingly; ‘This study aims to determine the U-Pb geochronology of garnets of varying sizes within the skarn zone developed at the quartz diorite-marble contact in the village of Ayazpınarı, Pertek-Tunceli, Turkey. Additionally, it aims to determine the age of skarnization and the type of inclusion minerals in the garnets’

Line 10 – Replace or define "settlement"; replace "the" with "a"; replace "caused" with "resulted in".

Line 10- The sentence has been rewritten using the phrase 'emplacement along the thrust plane'.New sentence; ‘Faulting and magma emplacement along the thrust plane caused mineralization in the Eastern Taurus Mountains, especially at marble and quartz diorite contact between Elazığ and Tunceli city.’

Line 11 – Replace "magmatics and metamophics contact" with "quartz diorite – marble contact".

Line 11- New sentence; ‘Faulting and magma emplacement along the thrust plane caused mineralization in the Eastern Taurus Mountains, especially at marble and quartz diorite contact between Elazığ and Tunceli city.’

Line 12 – Delete "observed in" and "color"

Line 12- New sentence; In the Ayazpınar deposit, greenish garnet is characteristic for disctal skarns, while red or brown Pertek garnets are observed in proximal skarns.’

Line 13 – Delete "colors are observed"; insert "Pertek" before "garnets".

Line 13- New sentence; In the Ayazpınar deposit, greenish garnet is characteristic for disctal skarns, while red or brown Pertek garnets are observed in proximal skarns.’

Line 14 – Delete "which"

Line 15 – Consider revising to "... high La, Ce and Pr contents compared to the edges".  Then delete the second sentence.

Line 16 – Begin with "We propose that ...". Replace reflecting with reflect.

Line 17 – Add "and" before "are".

Line 14-17 -New sentence; cores of the garnet crystals, which have higher Fe and lower Al ratios than the rims, are large, reddish in color and have high REE (Ce, Pr) content. High La, Ce and Pr contents compared to the rims is low. We propose that compositional differences between the rims and the cores compared to that in the cores, reflect the transition from oxidized, REE and Fe3+ rich liquids to liquids with lower REE and Fe3+ content, and are also the reason for the difference in garnet colors. 

Line 19 – Consider revising to garnet +magnetite and pyrite + garnet

Line 18-19- Corrected sentence; ‘The green garnets have lower REE content than the brown garnets with Fe-rich cores. The skarn includes following successively formed zones: Diorite → epidote skarn → garnet+magnetite → pyrite+garnet +magnetite → calcitic carbonate.’

Line 20 – Is magnetite absent from the pyrite + garnet zone? Please clarify.

Line 20- No, magnetite is present in the pyrite+garnet zone. Sentence; ‘The green garnets have lower REE content than the brown garnets with Fe-rich cores. The skarn includes following successively formed zones: Diorite → epidote skarn → garnet+magnetite → pyrite+garnet +magnetite → calcitic carbonate’ is corrected.

Line 21 – Wouldn't hydrothermal fluids trapped in the garnets should leave voids or fluid inclusions? Isn't it more likely that small grains of pyroxenes and oxides were surrounded by or enveloped by garnet?

Line 21- New sentence; ‘Diopside, magnetite and hematite such as small grains were surrounded by or enveloped by garnet.’

Line 22 – Find a replacement for "bimetasomatic".  The science of grain size is complex, involving diffusion rates and variables that are not considered by the authors although "complex infiltration metasomatism of hydrothermal fluids" is pure speculation.

Line 22- As per the recommendation of the esteemed reviewer, completely removed 'Line 22.

Line 23-28 – Most of these lines are redundant and could be combined into one.

Line 23-28-Corrected sentence; ‘The U-Pb age of mineralization is determined as 74.1±5 Ma, indicating that the mineralization occurred concurrently with the intrusion settlement.’

Line 32- The phrase 'Garnet mineral' has been replaced with 'Minerals of the Garnet group'.

‘Minerals of the Garnet group, which can be found in the upper mantle, at different temperatures of metamorphism and in skarn deposits, is preferred in geochronology studies because Garnet minerals have high HREE content [1-14]. ‘

Line 43 – Describe "the change process."

Line 43- The phrase 'the change process' was deemed unnecessary and deleted.

Line 105 – Replace "In" with 'The" and replace "and" with "is".

Line 105- ‘The study area in the Eastern Tauride Orogenic Belt is referred to as the Torid Orogenic Zone is composed of plutonic and calc-alkaline magmatites.’

Line 107 – Insert "the" before "opening" and "southern".

Line 107- Corrected sentence: ‘This area formed as a result of the opening of the southern branch of the Neo-Tethys Ocean in Late Triassic-Early Cretaceous between the Keban Platform and the Pütürge Metamorphite [24] and following northward subduction under the Keban Plate during Senomanian-Turonian.’

Line 124 – Ilmenite alters to pseudorutile then to rutile. Hematite doesn't contain titanium. However, ilmenite can exsolve hematite lamellae during solid state oxidation and cooling.

Line 124-New sentence; ‘Ilmenite exsolves into hematite lamellae during solid-state oxidation and cooling’.

Lines 132-133 – The sentence makes no sense as written. It need to be re-written.

Line 132-133-Rewritten sentence;’ The content of magnetite and pyrite gradually increases towards carbonates. In mineralization, garnet predominates over pyroxene, with compositions mainly consisting of andradite, grossular, and diopside.’

Line 154-156 – This is very unlikely and without any basis. Consider replacing "and" with "or".

Line 154-156- This sentence has been removed.

Lines 166-170 – What is the basis for the retrograde stage and prograde stage?  The choice seems very arbitrary, and no references are cited. Why are diopside and wollastonite secondary prograde minerals? There needs to be some temperature evidence. There is probably some published experimental petrology pertaining to the question that needs to be considered.

Line 166-170- ‘The basis for distinguishing between these stages in skarnization lies in the observation of mineral assemblages, textures, and zoning patterns within skarn deposits, as well as in the study of fluid inclusion and stable isotope compositions. Additionally, laboratory experiments and thermodynamic modeling can provide insights into the conditions under which these mineral reactions occur during both the prograde and retrograde stages of skarnization (Meinert, 1992). The presence of anhydrous minerals such as andradite and diopside indicates the prograde stage, while the occurrence of hydrous minerals such as epidote suggests subsequent retrograde development. Microthermometric analysis of quartz and calcite from the exoskarn zone reveals skarn formation within the temperature range of 175°C to 430°C. Magnetite mineralization is characterized by 210°C-405°C temperatures and with  salinity levels spanning from 0.2 to 14.8 wt% NaCl equivalent.The presence of hydrous minerals (epidote) further supports the development of a retrograde stage. The formation of the Fe-Cu skarn deposit of Karadağ occurred under oxidized conditions, as evidenced by the prevalence of andradite, diopside, and the abundance of magnetite, with minor occurrences of pyrite (Sipahi et al.,2017).. During the prograde anhydrous stage, garnets in marble and  skarn zones exhibit anomalous anisotropy more frequently compared to those in the mineralized skarn zone, possibly due to the presence of H2O molecules in their chemical structure (Ardilla et al., 1991). The presence of diopside and wollastonite can indicate a higher grade of metamorphism, as they are stable at higher temperatures and pressures compared to their precursor minerals. Additionally, their occurrence within metamorphic rocks provides valuable insights into the thermal history and metamorphic conditions experienced by the rock during its geological evolution (Catellenos-Allarcon et al., 2015).

References: Castellanos-Alarcón, O.M., Ríos-Reyes, C.A., Mantilla-Figueroa, L.C.,2015. Occurrence of a skarn-type mineralogy found in Ciénaga Marbles,located in the NW foothills of the Santa Marta Massif (Colombia), Dyna (Medellin, Colombia), 83(196):69-79. 10.15446/dyna.v83n196.45409

Ardila, R., Carrascal, E.R. y Oyarzún, J., Proposición de un modelo genético para los yacimientos cupríferos tipo skarn de San Antonio y Panulcillo, Región de Coquimbo, Chile. En: VI Congreso Geológico Chileno, 1, pp. 256-260, 1991.

Meinert, L.D., Skarns and skarn deposits. Geoscience Canada, 19, pp. 145-162, 1992. DOI: 10.2113/gsecongeo.95.6.1183.

Sipahi, F., Akpınar, İ., Kaygusuz, A.,Vural, A.,Eker, Ç.S.,2017. Investigation of Karadağ Fe-Cu Skarn Deposit (Gümüshane, Turkey), Conference: III International Conference on Engineering and Natural Sciences, Budapest

Figures 2 and 3 – What is the basis for the retrograde stage and prograde fields? How can U and REE content determine the "Retrograde" field? Most readers will not be convinced.  Readers need solid evidence.

Figures 2 and 3-

Figure 3 – Define Grill, W/R ratio, diffusive metasomatism, advective metasomatism, types 1, 2, and 3; and how all of this confusion could be reasons for differences in total REE content. Note that the "increasing" vector goes from high oxygen to low oxygen to relatively high oxygen.

Figure 3 -Yes. The garnets, diffusive metasomatism, W/R ratio, advective metasomatism, types 1, 2, and 3; and elucidate how this complexity may contribute to variations in total REE content.

Line 215 – The authors need references to support these statements.

Line 215-‘Moreover, Garnet high LREE’s (G1) is partly due to acidic and/or oxidized conditions.’ Statement modified from ‘Oscillatory zoning in garnets indicates acidic and oxidized conditions. in oscillatory garnets, the Al-rich regions are probably under a near-neutral pH condition, while the Fe-rich regions are It occurs in an acidic and more oxidized state (Tian et al., 2019). Pertoldova et al. (2009) proposed that the presence of magnetite and the rising proportion of the andradite component in garnet suggest that iron primarily exists in the form of Fe3+ under elevated ƒO2 conditions, thus promoting andradite precipitation [20,39,40].’

References: Tian, Z.D.; Leng, C.B.; Zhang, X.C.; Zafar, T.; Zhang, L.J.; Hong, W.; Lai, C.K. Chemical composition, genesis and exploration implication of garnet from the Hongshan Cu-Mo skarn deposit, SW China. Ore Geol. Rev. 2019, 112, 2–22.

Pertoldova, J.; Tycova, P.; Verner, K.; Kosulicova, M.; Pertold, Z.; Kosler, J.; Konopasek, J.; Pudilova, M. Metamorphic history of skarns, origin of their protolith and implications for genetic interpretation; an example from three units of the Bohemian Massif. J.Geosci. 2009, 54, 101–134.

Zhang, J.Q.; Li, S.R.; Santosh, M.; Wang, J.Z.; Li, Q. Mineral chemistry of high-Mg diorites and skarn in the Han-Xing Iron deposits of South Taihang Mountains, China: Constraints on mineralization process. Ore Geol. Rev. 2015, 64, 200–214.

Scheibner, B.; Wörner, G.; Civetta, L.; Stosch, H.G.; Simon, K.; Kronz, A. Rare earth element fractionation in magmatic Ca-rich garnets. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 2007, 154, 55–74.

Ruan, C.-T.; Yu, X.-Y.; Su, S.-G.; Santosh, M.; Qin, L.-J. Anatomy of Garnet from the Nanminghe Skarn Iron Deposit, China: Implications for Ore Genesis. Minerals 2022, 12, 845. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12070845

Line 305 – There is no verb.

Line 305- Corrected sentence: ‘Magmatic-hydrothermal metallic mineralizations are typically linked with oxidized magmas [37].’

Line 321 – The sentence makes no sense.

Line 321-322- ‘The decrease in REE content from center to rim of garnet indicates a modification through a combined dissolution-reprecipitation mechanism [30,35].’

Line 328 – The sentence beginning with "The garnet" needs explanation.

Line 328-‘ The oscillatory zoning observed in garnets from the Pertek Fe-Cu skarn mineralization suggests that the Al-rich zones likely developed under relatively reduced and near-neutral pH conditions.’

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

First of all, I have to admit that I didn’t find answers to my comments in the Response to Reviewers, provided by the authors, that would normally resulted in recommendation to reject.

 

Secondly, I can see that some of my comments were incorporated by the authors, however, the overall impression from the paper is still rather weak.

 

There is still a lot of inconsistencies in the text and figures that should be corrected before the MS can be considered for publication. I estimate the changes needed as Minor to Moderate Revision.

 

My comments are listed below

 

The title sounds naïve and non-professional – please consider rephrasing and choosing “normal” title.

 

Fig. 1 should be referred to in section Geological setting. Please give coordinates for all schematic maps in Fig. 1. Please show positions of Figures B and C in Fig. 1A. Please explain the meaning of two blue squares in Fig. 1C. In the legend of Fig. 3 C give names of the rocks and not only ages and names of Formations.

 

In Fig 4 correct the word “Mildly”

 

According to Journal’s quality standards all figures must be self-explaining and self-sufficient. Therefore, all figure captions must be changes correspondingly in order to give a reader full information about the figure. For example Figure 10 caption “Raman spectra of inclusions” should be changed to “Raman spectra of inclusions of XX mineral in XX mineral in XX rock from XX deposit”. Please change ALL figure captions correspondingly.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English language should be corrected by a native English speaking editor.

Author Response

Responses to Reviewer 1

My comments are listed below

 The title sounds native and non-professional – please consider rephrasing and choosing “normal” title.

 It was changed ;

Garnet Geochemistry of Pertek (Elazığ, Turkey) Skarns and U-Pb Age Findings

 

Fig. 1 should be referred to in section Geological setting. Please give coordinates for all schematic maps in Fig. 1. Please show positions of Figures B and C in Fig. 1A. Please explain the meaning of two blue squares in Fig. 1C. In the legend of Fig. 3 C give names of the rocks and not only ages and names of Formations.

Fig 1 was referred in Geological Setting:

The study area consists mainly of plutonic and calc-alkaline magmatites within the Eastern Tauride Orogenic Belt (Figure 1).

Fig 1 was corrected

In Fig 4 correct the word “Mildly”

It was corrected on Fig 3

 According to Journal’s quality standards all figures must be self-explaining and self-sufficient. Therefore, all figure captions must be changes correspondingly in order to give a reader full information about the figure. For example Figure 10 caption “Raman spectra of inclusions” should be changed to “Raman spectra of inclusions of XX mineral in XX mineral in XX rock from XX deposit”. Please change ALL figure captions correspondingly.

It was corrected;

Raman spectra of hematite, magnetite, and goethite mineral inclusions in garnet from the granodiorite-marble contact in the Pertek skarn deposit’

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The revised version of "New U-Pb Age Findings in Zoned Garnets ..." by Ahmet Sasmaz and Ayse Didem Kilic is improved.  This is my third review of the manuscript by Ahmet Sasmaz and Ayse Didem Kilic.  After considering the author's reply to my questions and comments I am willing to revise my review.

 Some of my concerns were adequately responded to by the authors.  However, a few items still need revision. In particular, Figure 4 is almost without merit. It needs to be completely redrafted or deleted. Figure 3 has some potential but the exact basis for the "retrograde" field needs to be stated. Finally, the pH of the garnet stability field needs to be established.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English of the revised manuscript has been improved but needs more work. 

Author Response

Responses to Reviewer 2

The revised version of "New U-Pb Age Findings in Zoned Garnets ..." by Ahmet Sasmaz and Ayse Didem Kilic is improved.  This is my third review of the manuscript by Ahmet Sasmaz and Ayse Didem Kilic.  After considering the author's reply to my questions and comments I am willing to revise my review.

 Some of my concerns were adequately responded to by the authors.  However, a few items still need revision. In particular, Figure 4 is almost without merit. It needs to be completely redrafted or deleted. Figure 3 has some potential but the exact basis for the "retrograde" field needs to be stated. Finally, the pH of the garnet stability field needs to be established.

Figure 4 was used because it was necessary to explain the formation phases of the study area skarn zone.

It was added to text:

In the retrograde stage, garnets covered with fluorite, quartz, calcite and sulphide minerals are accompanied by hematite, magnetite, epidote, sulfides and calcites. From the fluid inclusions in the retrograde sulphide veins, it can be stated that the homogenization temperature was 125-255 ^◦C and the salinity was equivalent to 0.2-6.2 wt% NaCl [42,55].

Author Response File: Author Response.docx