Iraqi Bulletin of Geology and Mining

The first Czechoslovak geologists came to Iraq at the invitation of SOM (State Organization for Minerals, now Iraq Geological Survey, GEOSURV) in the early or the mid 1960s and were recruited and sent there through Polytechna Praha, a state foreign trade company. The most well known expert, who worked at SOM, was Dr. Tibor Buday (TB) who started in the autumn of 1968. TB was commissioned to study especially the regional geology of the country, and focused mainly on oil-bearing areas, in addition to the mountains and their foothills in Kurdistan. After a few years he was able to compile a geological map of Iraq, and to write a book \"The regional geology of Iraq”. Vol.1 (1980). In 1984, he completed, along with Dr. Saad Jassim a geological and tectonic map of Iraq 1: 1000 000, and in 1987 they published \"The Regional Geology of Iraq, Vol.2 Tectonism, Magmatism and Metamorphism”.
Then during the 1970s and 1980s many Czech, and to much lesser extent Slovak geologists gradually worked at SOM. Their professional experience covered a range of fields of earth sciences such as geology, mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, economic geology, sedimentology, metamorphic, igneous, volcanic petrology and geology, Quaternary geology, remote sensing, geophysics and other fields. They have gradualy become experts on the geology of Iraq, and trained a number of Iraqi geologists.
Based on the good experience with the Czech geologists, especially with TB, the management of SOM decided to ask the Czech party to organize a geological expedition, which would have a task of geological mapping in the mountains of Kurdistan. Dr. Buday was appointed to design the project. He has chosen a few other geologists to join him in preparing the expedition, but before doing so they made a reconnaissance trip to Kurdistan in the autumn of 1975, and then compiled a mapping project. The project was later approved by both the Czech and the Iraqi parts, and the expedition started in the spring of 1976. In Prague, the expedition was provided with necessary material and equipment such as tents, clothes, geological equipment, etc. A preparatory team visited Kuwait and bought cars and other equipment. Finally, the first members of the expedition arrived in Baghdad in April 16, 1976 followed by another group a week or two later.

Three formations were studied along Surdash, Qallat, Khalakan, Hezob, Sektan, Degala and Shaqlawa areas in the Sulaimaniyah and Erbil governorates, NE Iraq. These are: Dokan, Gulneri and Kometan formations. The age of these formations are determined depending on the biozones of planktonic foraminifera, and the contact between each two formations was discriminated in the field and by microfossils content.
Eleven biozones were distinguished from Albian – Santonian age and at least two biozones up to seven biozones can be discriminated in each section along the study area.
Forty-nine species belong to twenty-four genera were used as species of biozones and coeval fossils support each zone.

The Khas'sa Soo River is one of the main tributaries of the Adhaim River. The Khas'sa Soo River runs in the central part of Iraq, It is a perennial stream, running almost in straight line, especially in its middle and upper parts of its course. The width of the Khas'sa Soo River ranges from 0.1 to 1.1 Km, whereas its length is about 90 Km. It is filled by valley fill sediments, indicating prevailance of very active fluvial climate; during the Pleistocene and the Holocene.

The catchment area of the Khas'sa Soo River consists of mainly fine clastics derived from Injana and Mukdadiyah formations and coarse clastics from Bai Hassan Formation. Along its course, the stream crosses many anticlines perpendicularly, some of these crossings have gorge forms with water gaps.
A main alluvial fan is developed in the outlet of the Khas'sa Soo River from Kani Dommilan Mountain, which forms part of Kirkuk oil field. The length and width of the fan is 42 Km and 20 Km respectively. The main constituent of the fan is sandy silt, underlain by gravels of different sizes. The shape of the fan has almost disappeared, due to human activities, but it is still clear on the topographic maps of scale 1: 100 000. The morphology of a segmented alluvial fan can be used as an indicator for active tectonics. The fan form may reflect different rates of tectonic processes, such as faulting, uplifting, tilting, and folding along and adjacent to the mountain front.

This study of the fans in Khas'sa Soo River found that tilting had produced segmented fan. Alluvial fan on the valley is shifted to the east as illustrated by remnant terraces (two levels for Early and Late Pleistocene age), consequently the location of the fan deposits is moved down-fan. Therefore, fanhead incision has occurred, and younger fan segments are located far away from the mountain front and fan apex, which represents the tectonic activity in the area.

In this study, topographic profiles and fan contours are used to identify the position of the fan apex, identify relic mountain fronts, and calculate the tectonic tilt. Modeling of alluvial-fan morphology is used in evaluating the amount of uplift, which the fan apex has experienced.

The Shark Tooth Shale (STS) is of Middle Lutetian age and consists of ocher or green fissile shale, marl, carbonate mudstone and subordinate phosphate, stacked in a multi cyclic rhythm. Each cycle consists, from bottom to top of phosphates-shale-marl-carbonate mudstone. The top of each cycle is usually a bioturbated hardground. The mineralogy consists of carbonate fluorapatite, palygorskite, dolomite, calcite and quartz, with less amount of glauconite, halite and gypsum. The phosphates are granular, composed of phosphoclasts mainly bioclasts including fish bones, shark teeth and coprolites. The chemical composition is dominated by SiO2, CaO and MgO with variable amounts of P2O5 (1.0 – 13.5%). The purified concentrates of phosphate coprolites and bones show 34 – 35% P2O5, about 52.5% CaO, 3.7% F and 6.6 – 7.2% L.O.I (CO2 and H2O+). The STS was deposited on a shelf controlled locally by the Bahrain Anticline or Dome. The sedimentation took place in several sharp transgressive episodes; each was concluded by temporary shallowing and emergences. The phosphate are mainly related to the early stages of transgression; the shale-rich sediments were laid down at the maximum transgression under subtidal anoxic conditions and the carbonate mud were deposited and simultaneously dolomitized in the tidal mud flats at shallowing stage and were later emerged and bioturbated. The phosphate showings of the STS are correlatable, as a phosphogenic event, and geological setting with other Tythian deposits (of the same age i.e. Lutetian) in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordon, Iraq, and probably other same age deposits in North Africa.

Heavy mineral data of 87 samples from 51 fully cored boreholes, penetrated the Quaternary fluvial successions of the southern part of the Mesopotamia Plain, have been evaluated using numerical methods. Interpretation relied on the presumption that Quaternary physiography and geological settings of the source regions are comparable to those of today.
Comparative analyses of the present study with the previous work show that the concentration of heavy minerals in the sediments of the studied area coincides with the concentration of heavy minerals in the sediments of the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers, which have brought pyroxene, hornblende, epidote and garnet-rich sediments from the north and north-east (Turkey and Syria). There is an abnormal increase of concentration of ultrastable minerals (ZTR) in the west bank of the Euphrates River suggesting different sources for the supplied sediments, such sources may be the surrounding formations whose sediments were derived from the Western Desert.
The result of the study reveals volcanogenic hornblende and pyroxene as well as metamorphic epidote and garnet as the dominant minerals of the Quaternary sands. The diversity of the heavy minerals suggests derivation from basic igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks and minor contribution from older sedimentary rocks.
Study of heavy minerals using ZTR index, Ternary diagram and Pie-Diagram revealed that the sediments of the studied area are immature; affected more by mechanical than by chemical weathering. Variations in heavy mineral distributions also reflect tectonically-controlled fluvial channel switching.
Appearance of pyrite in the heavy mineral assemblages at depth 22 – 22.2 m may record the evolution in reducing environments and confirm its authigenic origin.

Seventeen geological sections were studied in the Gercus Formation, east of Dohuk city, with sampling of all exposed palygorskite-rich claystone beds. The thickness of these beds ranges between few centimeters to three meters. Forty eight claystone samples were analysed by X-ray diffraction and five of these samples were examined by transmission electronic microscopy. Mineralogically, these claystones consist basically of palygorskite, montmorillonite and dolomite with small amounts of kaolinite, quartz, chlorite, calcite and feldspar.
For the first time in Iraq, this study succeeded in separating the palygorskite from the other associated minerals in the claystones. Eight samples were purified to separate the palygorskite using a developed purification procedure. The percentage of the palygorskite in the separated samples ranged between 90 – 100%. The separated palygorskite was studied minerlogically by X-ray diffraction, thermogravemetric analysis and Infrared.

The palygorskite is well crystalline and includes several forms of water which were lost when heated above 900 °C. Palygorskite appears as elongated authigenic fibers aggregated forming weak bands; each band includes 2 – 12 fibers or more. The lengths of the fibers are mostly less than 8 µm and the width is about 0.1 µm mainly with straight edges and euhedral shape. Various patterns were observed in the studied palygorskite represented by short palygorskite fibers emerge from the montmorillonite grains. This feature and the sharp peaks of XRD and infrared patterns promote the authigenic formation of the studied palygorskite from montmorillonite in a shallow marine (restricted) environment in a warm temperature and high pH value as well as the enrichment of Mg in the sedimentary basin. The direct precipitation theory for the formation of the studied palygorskite cannot be applied. The origin of montmorillonite is detrital, transported to the depositional basin from the weathering of continental detritus.

During the period from the first of May to December 2011, 53 boreholes were drilled in the Al-Nasiriyah area at 15m depth each. 53 soil samples were collected from the interval (0 – 50) cm. and 52 soil samples collected from the interval (50 – 100) cm. All samples were analyzed to determine the concentration of the heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cr, Ni, Co, Cu) in addition to TDS and SO3. The results show that the soil salinity ranges from moderately saline to extremely saline and the analysis of the heavy metals indicated that soil of the study area is relatively free from pollution for the time being. Prediction maps showed that Ni, Cu and Cr have slightly higher values in bottom layer soil than in the top soil layer, while Co and Pb have the same values in the two layers. The minelogical composition of the soil was determined by analyzing (50) samples by XRD and the results shows that quartz is the most abundant mineral followed by calcite, feldspar, halite, and gypsum. Montmorillonite is the most abundant among the clay minerals, followed by palygorskite, illite, and kaolinite. Grain size analysis results show that the clay fraction is a dominant content in the soil of the area followed by sand and silt fractions.

A magnetic survey has been executed in the partially discovered archaeological site of Tel Hermal. It lies southeast of Baghdad and belongs to ancient Babylonian time (1500 – 2000 B.C). The area is covered by 2 × 2 m net of magnetic measurements including 3367 readings. The goal of this work is to delineate the locations and extensions of buried archaeological structures. The statistical and geostatistical analyst tools involved in ArcGIS Software are utilized in this study. These include the histogram of data distribution, some statistical parameters and methods of interpolations. The study shows that the histogram is unimodal, which suggests a unique magnetic background in the site, and of a negative skewness with relatively high standard deviation which may be related to high noise level. The main noise sources are debris, electrical power lines, fences, and electromagnetic waves of communications. Accordingly, many magnetic anomalies of archaeological and non archaeological meaning have been identified on the residual map. Archaeological remains represented by wells and walls are recognized at a depth of 1.2 m at the northeast side of the study area.

In view of the availability of a cheap and a high quality limestone raw material and the practical abilities to produce precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) using the carbonation process route, this study was carried out with bench scale experiments. High purity limestone of Wadi Ghadaf (Dammam Formation), was calcined to produce quick lime which was converted to calcium hydroxide by slaking with water, the final stage comprised injection of CO2 gas into the slaked lime slurry. Calcium carbonate was precipitated as a high purity (99.5% CaCO3) white powder (95% brightness) with a particle size range of (6 – 12) microns. Conditions optimization was done through each stage of this study.