Mineralogical Properties and Geochronology of the Can Stone Tuff ( Biga Peninsula, NW Turkey)

Can stone is composed of rhyolitic tuffs, which are the pyroclastic products of the Oligocene volcanics of the Biga Peninsula, which have widespread outcrops around Can-Etili. In this study, the petrographic and mineralogical (XRD-SEM / EDX) evaluations of Can stone tuffs are carried out. Furthermore, geochronological dating is performed to determine the chronostratigraphic position in the widespread volcanism of the area. The Can stone tuff, which is determined to be of late Oligocene age, shows light yellowish, creamy and reddish -brownish different motifs developed by ferrious oxidation after hydrothermal alteration. According to the results of the XRD and SEM / EDX analyzes of Can stones; quartz, sanidine, albite, pyrite, kaolinite, alunite and rarely biotite and amphibole minerals are detected. The pyrite minerals, which are rarely euhedral and mostly composed of crystals packed in frambolites, form different patterns on these tuffs. Owing to these motifs, Can stones have been interested and used for covering stone and / or for decorative purposes in the construction sector for many years.