Home > Archive > No. 2 (202) 2026 > 76–97
Geology & Geochemistry of Combustible Minerals No. 2 (202) 2026, 76–97
ISSN 0869-0774 (Print), ISSN 2786-8621 (Online)
https://doi.org/
Yaroslava YAREMCHUKa, Sofiya HRYNIVb, Nadiia HORODECHNAc, Liudmyla BILYKd
Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Combustible Minerals of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine
a e-mail: slava.yaremchuk@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3952-6356
b https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9721-1290
c https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8389-5953
d https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8692-3437
Abstract
The influence of the chemical composition of marine and continental waters on the formation and transformation of clay minerals is examined using the Miocene evaporites of the Carpathian Foredeep and the Upper Neoproterozoic-Lower Cambrian evaporites of the Salt Range Formation (Pakistan) as case studies. Evidence for continental-water inflow in the Miocene evaporitic deposits of the Carpathian region is recorded in all facies based on geochemical indicators and, in the gypsum–anhydrite and halite facies, also by clay mineral assemblages atypical for these settings.
The principal controls on clay-mineral transformation under hypersaline conditions are identified, with brine concentration in both the evaporitic basin and buried deposits being the dominant factor, while interaction with organic matter against a background of volcanic activity represents the second most important control. Clay minerals from both the Badenian rock salt and the Upper Neoproterozoic-Lower Cambrian marls of the Salt Range Formation interacted with epigenetic organic matter: in the Carpathian region, regional thrusting created migration pathways for bitumens into Miocene evaporites, whereas the Sawal marl succession likewise contains bituminous layers and is regarded as a petroleum source rock.
Genetic affinities and differences among clay-mineral assemblages formed at successive stages of brine concentration in the Upper Neoproterozoic-Lower Cambrian evaporitic basin of the Salt Range Formation are demonstrated. The presence of identical intermediate transformation products indicates that the same controlling factors operated in the Biliyanwala salt succession as in the Sawal marl succession, whereas the absence of defective structures and the higher crystallinity of clay minerals in the salt unit confirm the decisive role of brine concentration in governing transformation processes.
Keywords
clay minerals, aggradational and degradational transformation, interaction with organic matter, evaporitic deposits, supergene zone, Salt Range, marls
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Received: February 09, 2026
Accepted: February 25, 2026
Published: May, 2026