Geology of Serbia

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Mountain ranges of Serbia

The regional geology of Serbia describes the geologic structure and history inside the borders of Serbia.

Dinaride orogenic belts.[2][3] Its territory can be divided into five geotectonic units of differing genesis:[4][5]

Tectonic units

Layers of sedimentary rock in Rosomače Canyon

Sava Zone

The Sava Zone (named after the river Sava) is an oceanic suture that strikes roughly NNW to SSE through Serbia and is mostly covered in the north by the sediments of the Pannonian Basin. Outcrops can be found in the Fruška Gora (Fruška mountains).[2] Here the unit is composed of blueschists and ophiolites. In the south outcrops of the Sava Zone occur in the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains. This includes the Senonian Flysch and the rocks cropping out in the Jastrebac Window.[2]

Jadar-Kopaonik thrust sheet

The Jadar-Kopaonik Thrust Sheet is a NW-SE striking unit in the southern footwall of the Sava Zone and the northern hangingwall of the Drina-Ivanjica Thrust Sheet.[2] Most of the outcrops are ophiolites from the Western Vardar ocean, but there are some windows into the underlying basement. The Jadar unit in western Serbia (Jadar Region) is the largest window into the underlying Adriatic units of the Jadar-Kopaonik Thrust Sheet. Two smaller windows crop out farther to the south. The Studenica unit lies in the west and the Kopaonik unit in the east of the thrust sheet.[6]

Supragetic

The Supragetic nappes form a N-S striking belt in eastern Serbia, where they crop out in the

paleogeographic realm of Dacia. The Supragetic is subdivided into the Ranovac and Vlasina unit.[2]

Drina-Ivanjica thrust sheet

The Drina-Ivanjica thrust sheet forms a NNW to SSE striking thrust sheet through southwestern Serbia. It is composed of a Paleozoic basement and Mesozoic cover. On top of this lies the obducted Zlatibor ophiolite (Zlatibor Mountains), a remnant of the Western Vardar ocean.[2]

Seismic activity

Serbia is prone to moderate to strong seismic activity, especially in the central belts of Vardar Zone and Serbian Massif.

occurred near Kraljevo on 3 November 2010.[8]

List of major earthquakes in the 20th and 21st centuries:[9][10]

Modern history

A 2016 stamp dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the Serbian Geologic Society, featuring its founder, Jovan Žujović.

The Serbian Geologic Society was established by a group of professors and students in Belgrade on 10 February 1891 under the leadership of Jovan Žujović.[11] The geologic survey was founded 29 December 1930.[12]

Economic geology

The economic geology of Serbia was reviewed by Melcher and Reichl in 2017.[13]

Serbia is the 18th largest producer of coal (7th in Europe) extracted from large deposits in

Zijin Bor Copper, a large copper mining company with significant gold extraction.[14][15][16][13] In 2018, it was acquired by the Chinese Zijin Mining, which in April 2021 was ordered by the government to cease activity because of "non-compliance with environmental standards".[17]

The iron ore deposits of Serbia are insignificant.[18][19] Iron and copper deposits were found at Suva Ruda and Suvo Rudište.[20]

The largest laterite nickel deposit in Europe is at Mokra Gora, with an estimated 1,000 million tons of ore.[21]

The

Rio Tinto Mines has invested $200M to test if it "has the potential to produce both battery-grade lithium carbonate and boric acid." Reports were made in March 2021 that the Jadar mine would begin production in 2026.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tectonic Plates: Divergent, Convergent, and Transform Boundaries" (PDF) (Map). Tectonics Observatory. California Institute of Technology. April 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  2. ^
    S2CID 55108896
    .
  3. ^ Milena Zlokolica-Mandic. "Structural-Tectonic Elements as a Factor in Cave Development". Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  4. ^ Mica Martinovic; Mihailo Milivojevic (25 April 2010). "Serbia Country Update" (PDF). Proceedings of World Geothermal Congress 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011.
  5. .
  6. .
  7. ^ "Seismic Activity on the Territory Of Serbia --Overview Of Relevant Data" (PDF). First Workshop for the NATO Science For Peace Project. 7 November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011.
  8. ^ "Snažan zemljotres za ove prostore". B92. 3 November 2010.
  9. ^ "Dve žrtve zemljotresa u Kraljevu". RTS. 11 March 2010.
  10. .
  11. ^ "Short History". Serbian Geologic Society. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  12. ^ "Istorijat Geološkog zavoda Srbije". Geoloski zavod Srbije. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  13. ^
    S2CID 134480133
    .
  14. ^ "Mineral deposits and mining districts of Serbia Compilation map and GIS databases" (PDF). Republic of Serbia - Ministry of Mining and Energy. March 2002.
  15. ^ "Mineral resources of Serbia" August 2008 Geologica Carpathica 59(4):345-361
  16. ^ "2015 Minerals Yearbook: Serbia" (PDF). USGS. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Serbia orders Zijin Mining to cease work at copper mine". Verdict Media Limited. Mining Technology. 15 April 2021.
  18. ^ ROESLER, MAX (1921). "THE IRON-ORE RESOURCES OF EUROPE" (PDF). Bulletin of the USGS. 706. USGS.
  19. .
  20. ^ Antonijevic I. (1983) Lezista gvozda Srbije [Translated Title: The iron ore deposits of Serbia]. Vesnik, Zavod za Geoloska i Geofizicka Istrazivanja, Serija A: Geologija, 41, p. 5-40.
  21. .
  22. ^ Ralev, Radomir (4 March 2021). "Rio Tinto to complete construction of Serbia's Jadar lithium mine in 2026 - report". SeeNews.