https://doi.org/10.15255/KUI.2025.037
Published: Kem. Ind. 75 (7-8) (2026) 387–394
Paper reference number: KUI-37/2025
Paper type: Review / History of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
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Tućan’s Karst Geochemistry and His Theory of Bauxite Formation

N. Raos

Abstract

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.

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Keywords

bauxite, terra rossa, karst, limestone, aluminum ores, aluminum minerals, history of geology, Fran Tućan, Mijo Kišpatić