The mineralogical properties of the Precambrianearly Paleozoic series have been investigated in the Southeast Anatolian Autochthon (SEAA) and are represented by generally clayey siliciclastic and rarer volcanogenic rocks. These include basalt, andesite, and volcanic sandstones of the Precambrian period; siliceous sandstone, dolomite, shale, and siltstone of the Cambrian period; and sandy dolomite, shale, siltstone, sandstone, and limestone with red Fe nodules of the Lower-Upper Ordovician period. The rock-forming minerals determined in order of abundance are feldspar, pyroxene, quartz, and olivine in the Precambrian unit; quartz, moganite, calcite, dolomite, feldspar, and phyllosilicates (illite, chlorite, mixed-layered illite-smectite/I-S, smectite) in the Cambrian units; and phyllosilicates (kaolinite, illite, chlorite, I-S, mixed-layered chlorite-vermiculite/C-V, smectite), quartz, feldspar, calcite, dolomite, moganite, and goethite in the Lower-Upper Ordovician units. Short prismatic and partly radiating moganites discovered in the early Paleozoic sediments in Turkey are present between euhedral and coarse-grained quartz and feldspar in the sandstones. Thin platy illites have undergone a transition that introduces a fibrous/thread-like mixed-layer I-S through their edges. The rhombohedral dolomites have dissolution traces associated with siliceous balls, long thin filament-shaped illites, and acicular-radial chlorites.Illites usually show coarse and tiny plates parallel to each other and partly radiating flakes, and chamosite-type chlorites form thick plates in the siliciclastics. Kaolinites consist of typical pseudohexagonal sheets with parallel or accordionlike booklets in the siltstones. The Kübler index indicates low-to high-grade diagenesis to low-grade diagenesis, signifying that the location partially differs from the other units of the SEAA and Taurus Belt. In addition, Paleozoic rocks reflect no maturation characteristics with respect to the petroleum system.
