Iraqi Bulletin of Geology and Mining

Shari Playa is a closed basin located in central Iraq and characterized by the development of clastic and saline sediment facies during the last (6000 ــ6500) years. The present climate in the area is semiarid with a mean annual precipitation of about 150 mm and a mean annual temperature of 22°C. The palynomorph constituents of the Shari Playa sediments revealed climatic changes towards dry periods. These palynomorphs include: Tricolpate, Lycopodium, Artemisia, Armeria martima, Palmaepollenites, Chenopodiacea, Graminae, Caryophyllaceae, Lavigatosporites, Quercus, Alnus-Pollenites, Retitriporites, Polygonium, Convolvollus and Centaurea.
Six palaeoecological zones are suggested by the pollen diagram of these sediments. Two wet episodes (Zones 2 and 5) are indicated at (5200  5800) years and (2500  4200) years B.P. The rest zones represent dry and transitional episodes. The predominance of Chenopods in the uppermost zone indicates the climatic deterioration and aridification in the area leading to the present climate.

The presence or otherwise of a shallow igneous intrusive body and the origin of the igneous clastics accumulation in Al-Tinif (Al-Waleed) vicinity is a matter of controversy. Many authors conducted different types of geophysical, geochemical and petrographical studies; some of them were associated with drilling. None of the ten drilled boreholes, to maximum depth of 193m, struck an igneous body. The extracted cores from these boreholes indicate inhomogeneous materials including breccia, sand grains and rounded, altered basalt pebbles. Petrographic studies showed cyclic graded bedding sediments with fining upwards nature. Geophysical studies showed major positive anomaly surrounded by negative anomalies. Two scenarios are assumed in this study, the first one (depends on the previous works) is the assumption of presence of an igneous body with arguments, whereas the second scenario deals with the absence of an igneous body. Many indications are given to support the second scenario.

Swab phosphorite deposit was discovered in 1986 in the Western Desert of Iraq. It is of Paleocene age and belongs to the Akashat Formation. The industrial phosphorite consists of (9  16) m thick bed of fine sand - size well sorted phosphate peloids and coated grains with calcite cement , occasionally rich in organic matter . The average P2O5 grade is about 22% and the average stripping ratio is about 3. The overburden consists of Paleocene and Eocene carbonate rocks. The strata are gently dipping towards north with little structural deformation. The new deposit, with its 3.5 billion tons of reserves, puts Iraq among the leading countries in proved phosphorite reserves.

Diagnoses, illustration and comments of four species and five genera of the class bivalvia from the Early Miocene Fatha Formation of northern Iraq are identified here to facilitate recognition and comparison with other countries. The Fatha Formation of Iraq can be dated of possible Burdigalian age based on the occurrences of Ostera latimarginata and Ostera subangulata, which are not known in rocks older than Early Miocene.

During the years 1973  1974 the French CGG, for the benefit of GEOSURV, performed aeromagnetic and aero spectrometric surveys for the all territory of Iraq, except the north and northeastern parts. Thirty five radioactive anomalies distributed in all parts of the surveyed area were distinguished.
After the field ground follow-up (using cars and feet surveys), four groups of anomalies were classified according to their relationship with host rocks and sediments. Nineteen radioactive anomalies were found to be related to the primary uranium that exist within the phosphatic rocks, which are widely exposed in the Western and Southern Deserts. Eleven radioactive anomalies were found to be related also to the primary uranium that exist within the upper parts of Euphrates Formation (Middle Miocene). Another radioactive anomaly was found to be related to uranium and thorium that exist within the heavy minerals of Amij Formation (Middle Jurassic). The other four radioactive anomalies are related and associated with depression ( faidhah) sediments. Both aero spectrometric and ground follow-up surveys gave no indications to any economic radioactive uranium and thorium mineral deposits, in surveyed areas.

Positive indication results were acquired during application of the Quality Management System (QMS), which was based on the International Specifications (ISO 9001/2000) to control the quality specifications of extracted raw materials from the Iraqi Western, Desert. All items of the original specifications were applied, except item 7/5/3, because the Rutbah mines produce only raw materials and are not responsible, about the quality, after delivery.
Nonconformance cases in raw material specifications were decreased, after implementation of Q.M.S. Moreover, no deviations in the specifications of the extracted raw materials and no complains of customers were reported during the implementation. Whereas, many nonconformance cases and customers complains were reported before implementation of QMS.
The updating of records and their symbols, which are used in the Rutbah mines, according to the International Specifications (ISO 9001/2000) to execute mining activities and products marketing le to easiness of retrieving of information from the records. Moreover, the indoctrination of QMS have increased the competence, awareness and performance of the employee in the Rutbah Mines. The preparation of the work procedures during documentation of the system caused the commitment of the employee of the Rutbah Mines in execution processes of the extracted raw materials and finally the performance was enhanced.

This paper deals with the depositional and structural evolution that took place for the trough of deposition of the Red Beds Group during Paleocene–Middle Miocene and its zonal referring, which is formed as inter–vening between two tectonic zones during Mio–Pleistocene in the Choarta area, northeast Iraq.
The result of this study show that the Tertiary trough, in the Choarta area, is referred to marginal style, which formed as embayment – marine trough on the northeastern margin of the Arabian Plate. It is recognized as continuously subsiding and rapidly evoluating during short time and accompanied with final phases of subducation and continental collisions. The Red Beds Group was deposited in shallow water which typified the successive nature of orogenic shelf facies (molasses and flyschoid) during the period of tectonic quiescence in Paleocene – Middle Miocene. These sediments were subjected to stresses of severe collision during Upper Miocene – Pleistocene. Finally, the Tertiary trough was not get inverse tectonic evolution and produced simple, open and asymmetrical synclinal fold of peculiar direction, inconsistent to general Zagros folding system. In the end the syncline was covered by allochthonous Mawat Block. This study considered the Red Beds Group as linking zone (time and spatial) between periods of the Alpine Orogeny in the Imbricated Zone. As well as the study recommended to divide the Red Beds Group into formations for the purpose of detailed studies.

This study was conducted to reduce the iron oxides to less than 0.02 % for scientific glass ware manufacturing For this purpose, magnetic separation, flotation and acid leaching were employed. Therefore, the sand was first sieved on 850 m (to discare + 850 m) followed by washing on 150 m sieve (to eliminate fine material) after mixing with water for 1/2 hr at 3:1 (water : sand) ratio.However, the results obtained indicated that with two stages of magnetic separation it was possible to reduce the Fe2O3 content to about 0.04%. While with one stage flotation the Fe2O3 content, of the sand, was lowered to 0.04%. By re-floatation of this material, the Fe2O3 percentage was lowered to about 0.024%.Consequently, acid (diluted HCl or H2SO4) treatment of both sand products obtained from the magnetic separation (0.04 % Fe2O3) and that of the first stage flotation (0.04 % Fe2O3) gave product containing 0.016% Fe2O3, each . On the other hand, it was possible to lower the Fe2O3 content to about 0.039% and 0.03 %, respectively by direct leaching of untreated (sieving and washing) samples and that of treated sand, with dilute HCl or H2SO4.