## 1 Introduction  
The use of major oxides in geochemistry and mineralogical analyses to determine paleoweathering, origin, and tectonic setting is one of the most effective and long-established methods for studying of sedimentary basins for different rock types and sediment ages [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. Over geological time, specific processes, such as tectonic activity, paleoweathering conditions, and variations in drainage systems, changed. These changes are preserved in rocks, and the use of mineralogical and geochemical methods allows us to distinguish differences in paleogeography, climate and tectonic processes in a particular area at a particular time. However, not all provenance determination diagrams are sufficiently precise, and they do not provide compatible results. Caution is also required when using and interpreting different discriminant functions [2, 14, 15]. In addition, caution should be exercised when interpreting paleoweathering due to the influence of provenance, which itself can be negated by utilizing different models and analyses [16]. The Pannonian Basin System (PBS) represents a large basin within the well-studied Alpine, Carpathian, and Dinaric mountain ranges [17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22] (Figure 1a), with major tectonic, climatic and paleogeographic changes during the Miocene [23, 24]. Geochemical and mineralogical approaches are not common in the sedimentary successions of the Miocene sediments of the PBS, with only a few studies focusing on geochemical and mineralogical analyses and the determination of paleoweathering, provenance, tectonic setting, and paleoenvironment [15; 25; 26; 27; 28]. The structurally extremely complex evolution and dynamic area of the PBS may be the crux of the matter [21; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33]. The basement of the PBS consists of two lithospheric blocks--Tisza and Dacia. The movement and rotation of the blocks strongly influenced the evolution of the PBS [18; 29; 34]. In addition, various tectonic processes influenced the development of the studied area from the Miocene onwards, starting with the collision of the Adriatic and European lithospheric plates, which caused the Alpine orogen, the continental escape of the Eastern Alps, thrusting and folding of the Dinarides, and the syn-rift and post-rift Miocene extensions [20; 35; 36]. These processes significantly influenced the evolution of faults and the fault system, which in turn affected the evolution of the environment and sediments [37; 38; 39]. The evolution of the southwestern PBS was also affected by climate change, especially in the Early and Middle Miocene, which caused changes in depositional environments and sedimentary style. In addition, the temporary isolation of the Central Paratethys from the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean led to limited exchange of fauna from the open ocean, resulting in the development of restricted fossil assemblages. Therefore, a regional chronostrigraphic subdivision was established. It differed from the global stages (Figure 1b), and was primarily based on paleontological criteria [23; 24; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44]. The main objective of this study is to determine the degree of paleoweathering, the main source of sediments, and the main tectonic settings during the period from the beginning of the Early Miocene (Egerian) to the end of the Middle Miocene (Sarmatian), based on mineralogical and geochemical data from the sedimentary successions from the Tunjice Hills (Western Pannonian Basin System, Western Central Paratethys). In addition, we aim to evaluate the reliability of these methods on sediments located at the interface of several tectonic units and possibly subjected to various tectonic processes. To achieve all these objectives, the paper aims to unravel the impact of the main processes that contributed to the changes in the paleogeography that influenced the early cessation of sedimentation and uplift of the western margins of the PBS.