First occurrence of rodingite in Central Serbia

During the field geological mapping and accompanied laboratory studies of the samples for the Basic Geological Map in the wider area of the town of Valjevo (Central Serbia) were distinguished serpentinites, gabbros, peridotites, andesites, diabases and amphibolites. In addition, at one locality within the area (i.e. the village of Danilović, site Suva česma), there was detected one unusual rock in the contact with serpentinite, which is in this paper further determined by the optical microscopic, XRPD and chemical methods, as rodingite.
   Rodingite is characterized with a massive structure and granoblastic texture. It has mostly white color, with unevenly distributed concentrations of a green mineral.
   Rodingite dominantly consists (over 80 %) of macroscopically white, microscopically transparent, and slightly anisotropic grossular, close to the end member with Grs98Adr2 composition. Grossular appears in a coarse-grain granular form, with size from 0.5 to 1.5 mm.
   Green Mg-Al-Fe chlorite occupies interstitials between the grossular grains. This chlorite was most probably formed as secondary phase replacing pyroxene, which is preserved as relic pseudomorphic forms with size up to about 0.5 mm.
   Up to now, there were not registered the appearances of such kind of rocks on the territory of Serbia. Nearest sites of rodingites have been previously registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina (11 localities from Brnača at NW to Rijeka at SE; belonging to the Outer Ophiolite Zone), and in FYR Macedonia (1 locality-Raduša; which belongs to the Inner Ophiolite Zone).
   According to this classification, discovered rodingite in the area of Valjevo also belongs to the Inner Ophiolite Zone. It occurs in contact with gabbro and peridotite rocks, and most probably originated from veined gabbro by subsequently metasomatic processes.