Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.15255/KUI.2025.037
Tućan’s Karst Geochemistry and His Theory of Bauxite Formation
Nenad Raos
; ProGEO-Hrvatska, Horvatovac 102a, 10 000 Zagreb
*
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
In 1912, the Croatian geologist and mineralogist, Fran Tućan (1878–1954), and his former professor, Mijo Kišpatić (1851–1926), both at the University of Zagreb, proposed a theory that terra rossa had formed through the weathering of limestone and dolomites, and that terra rossa was subsequently transformed into bauxite. This hypothesis was based on Tućan’s mineralogical and chemical analyses of bauxites from Dalmatia (Croatia) and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which showed similarities to the acid-insoluble fraction of karst carbonate rocks. The theory was generally accepted by the scientific community in Croatia and in the newly formed state of Yugoslavia (1918–1992), but it is now challenged by at least three competing theories. This contribution presents the argumentation and historical development of Tućan’s theory, as well as the history of bauxite exploitation and the aluminium industry in Croatia and Yugoslavia.
Ključne riječi
bauxite; terra rossa; karst; limestone; aluminium ores; aluminium minerals; history of geology; Fran Tućan; Mijo Kišpatić
Hrčak ID:
346449
URI
Datum izdavanja:
17.7.2026.
Posjeta: 0 *