IntroductionBauxite deposits are formed by alteration and weathering of parent rocks rich in alumino-silicate minerals. These residual deposits are developed principally in tropical to subtropical climatic conditions with annual rainfall exceeding 1.2 m and an average temperature of >22 °C (Bardossy and Aleva, 1990;Mondillo et al., 2011). According to Bardossy and Combes (1999), these deposits are characterized into 3 major groups: lateritic bauxite deposits, karst bauxite deposits, and Tikhvin-type bauxite deposits. The first group is the product of in situ and direct chemical weathering of alumino-silicate rocks lying beneath the surface. The second group is developed on the surface of more or less karstified carbonates (limestone and dolomite) and scarce marls. The third group is formed on the surface of eroded alumino-silicate rocks and is the erosional product of lateritic bauxite deposits. Bardossy (1982), based upon parameters such as morphology and chemical compositions, classified the bauxite deposits into 6 distinct groups: Mediterranean type, Kazakhstan type, Timan type, Salento type, Tulsk type, and Ariege type. Based upon geographical situations, these deposits occurred in 7 belts throughout the world: the northern Mediterranean coast, Caribbean basin, Urals-Siberia-Central Asia, East Asia, Irano-Himalaya, Southwest Pacific, and North America.During the last few decades, geochemical investigations proved to have practical applications for determination of various aspects of formation and evolution of bauxite deposits such as the type of parent rocks; the roles of diagenetic, epigenetic, and supergene processes in connection to ore-forming mechanisms; physicochemical conditions of the environment of the ore formation (e.g., pH, Eh, intensity of draining, and climate); the mineral controls on distribution, mobilization, and fractionation of elements [particularly trace and rare earth elements (REEs)] in the course of bauxitization; and tectonometamorphic evolutions (Özlü,
