Hornblende occur in idiomorphic or hypidiomorphic prismatic grains up to 2 mm in size.

They are
dark greenish or light-greenish colour, ehxibiting strong polychro ism. Seldom phenocrysts are fresh,
commonly they are corroded and subrounded by opacite reaction rims, neobiotite and dusty
magnetite. Usually they appear as intensively chloritized and calcitized gra.ins with secondary dusty
magnetite that delineate their orig.inal forms and boundaries, thus represent the only sign and proof
for the primary hornblende presence. Pyroxene is present in variable amounts. Prismatic or tabular
hypidiomorpbic or idiomorphic crystals, usually are about 0.3 x 0.7 mm in size. Occasionally is
fresh, light-greenish or colourless.
Biotite occurs as red-brownish laths with markedly polychroism from honey-yellow to brown colour.
Often includes needle shaped rutile grains. Phcnocrysts of biotite are commonly about 0.5 x I mm in
size, and fresh, rarely replaced partly by chlorite or limonitc.
Magnetite occur as allotriomorphic grains, up to 0.5 mm in size, or as fine-grained, dusty aggregates
when they are distributed as rims around iron-magnesian phenocrysts.
Calcite is the dominant secondary mineral in andesites.This mineral partly or completely replaces
phcnocrysts of plagioclase, hornblende or pyroxene, but also occurs :as veins in ground mass up to
few mm lhick. Distinguishing of hydrotherm ally calcite from the weathering one is not always
possible, especially when it builds nest-like aggregates.
Chlorite is also common secondary mineral and develops as the alteration product of iron-magnesian
minerals.Sometimes it builds with dusty magnetite nest-like aggregates in a ground mass.
Scricite occurs as fine-laths aggregates, that replaces plagioclase together with clay minerals.
Ground mass of andesites is microcrystalline, build of plagioclase microlites, and of hornblende and
pyroxene microlites in lesser amount. It is almost always replaced by calcite, chlorite and limonite.
Texture of andesite is holocrystaline-porfiritic with clcmentS of poicilitic and glomeroporfiritic.

4 Type and degree of alteration

Petrographical -microscopical investigations confirmed that andesites in chosen quarries were
affected to a different degree by few types of alteration. With respect to the presence of different
secondary minerals, as well as to their variable amounts in rocks two genetically different type
of alteration were distinguished: autometamorphic alteration - propylitisation that gave
propytitised andesite, i.e. propylitc; and hyd'rothermal alteration (chloritization, calcification,
sericitization, argillization, prehnitization etc.) - that produced hydrothermally altered
andesites. Both genetically types suffered subsequent weathering (carbonation, argillization,
sililication, limonitization). According to distinguished
. alteration type and it's intensity, andesites were further subdivided for investigation of their
technical (engineering) properties.
Propylite andesitc: In each of these three quarries andcsites were affected by propylitisation to the
same degree. Plagioclase phenocrysts are mostly fresh, or with rare traces of calcificatioo, but their
idiomorpbic shape remained (Fig. 2a). Ferro-magnesiao minerals: hornblende, pyroxene and biotite
were through this process partly or completely replaced by opacitc, chlorite and calcite. Ground
mass often contains secondary calcite, quartz and seldom pyrite.
Hy drothermall v altered andesite originated from propylite andesites which were further affected by
hydrothermal solutions. Plagioclase pbeoocrysts are calcificated, argillized or sericitized to a different
degree, sometimes with hardly recognisable contou.rs. Phenocrysts of ferro-magnesian minerals
are completely replaced with secondary chlorite, calcite, while dusty magnetite delineated their
shapes. Ground mass is intensively chloritized, calcificated, argillized, containing numerous calcite
or quartz nest like aggregates.or veins.The intensity of hydrothermal alteration was determined using
the degree of plagioclase alteration as a criterion, and accordingly three groups were divided (Figure
2 b, c, d):

SSI