Iraqi Bulletin of Geology and Mining

The Maastrichtian reefal limestone, which developed variably across the northern and northeastern Kurdistan Region of Iraq, includes the Aqra Formation, which formed extensive platforms in the Aqra-Barzan area throughout the Maastrichtian period. Additionally, bars and beds of reefal limestone in the upper part of the Tanjero Formation created longitudinal submarine ridges in the Arabian-Eurasian Foreland basin. This study selected three sections: the Aqra Formation in the type section and study the reefal limestone beds in the Upper part of the Tanjero Formation at the Kunamasi and limestone bars in the Balakaity. Focusing on lithofacies and microfacies to determine if these reefal limestones are part of the Aqra Formation. The type section of the Aqra Formation, located in the In Geli shekh Abdul Aziz significant reefal limestone approximately 700 meters thick, including rudists with bitumen and some dolomite content. This formation is widely deposited in the Aqra and Barzan areas, overlying the Bekhme platform stratigraphically, and extends geographically from Bujel to Chia Gara anticlines. Four submicrofacies identified in this reefal limestone are Miliolids packstone, Rudists floatstone, Peloidal grainstone, and Bioclastic foraminifera grainstone. In the Kunamasi area, the reefal limestone appears as thick deposits associated with marl and sandy claystone beds, more than 30 meters thick, and situated above the flysch Tanjero Formation. Key submicrofacies here include Omphalocyclus packstone, Rudists floatstone, and Echinoids grainstone. At the Balakaity section, the reefal limestone consists of a single, thick body exceeding 50 meters in thickness, directly overlying the Tanjero Formation and restricted to the Dar-Alsalam area. The submicrofacies in this section include Foraminifera packstone, Omphalocyclus packstone, and Rudists floatstone. Overall, the microfacies interpretation is the Aqra Formation is deposited as a large platform in inner and middle ramp settings. Conversely, the reefal limestone in the Balakaity and Kunamasi areas appears to be part of submerging islands within the flysch marine environment of the Tanjero Formation during the active Arabia-Eurasian Subduction. Based on depositional context and microfacies analysis can be concluded the reefal limestone in these areas is more likely associated with the Tanjero Formation rather than the Aqra Formation.

Eleven cutting rock samples from both Dokan and Gulneri formations (Cretaceous) in one subsurface section of Bai Hassan-13 (BH-13) well in northern Iraq were studied by using two techniques for hydrocarbon generation potentiality. The geochemical technique included Rock-Eval Pyrolysis analysis, The optical technique was achieved by studying palynological slides. The rock-Eval pyrolysis results showed that Dokan Formation has total organic carbon (TOC) wt.% ranging between 1.16 % and 2.3 % (good to very good), Gulneri Formation has a high TOC of 1.34 % and 4.64 % (good to excellent) quantity of organic matter. About the quality of organic matter, both Dokan and Gulneri formations are composed of kerogen types I and II. The organic matter of the Dokan Formation is not indigenous (migrated), one sample of the Gulneri Formation is indigenous the other one is located on the slanted line separating the Indigenous from non-indigenous organic matter. The organic matter within the two formations are thermally immature source rock, Therefore, they cannot generate oil and gas.
The palynological study revealed that amorphous organic matter is the predominant organic matter component in both formations with more than 89%, whereas phytoclasts and palynomorphs comprised only a few percentages. There is no great variation in the percentages of the mentioned organic matter components, except a slight increase in the percentage of phytoclasts and palynomorphs in the lower part of the Dokan Formation, therefore one primary palynofacies type can be recognized, and divided into two secondary palynofacies. Through plotting Tyson\'s Amorphous, phytoclasts, and palynomorphs (APP) diagram, it is clear that the two formations are deposited in a distal suboxic to anoxic basin.

Calcareous nannofossils are classified from the Mushorah Formation from two subsurface sections in Butmah 15-well, Butmah oil field, and Sfaia 41-well, Sfaia oil field, Northwestern Iraq. This Nannopaleontological classification of these calcareous nannofossils led to the determination of many species. Calcareous nannofossils are dominated by the following taxon: Chiastozygaceae family with two of the Chiastozygus genus, three species of the Reinhardtites genus and three species of the Zeugrhabdotus genus, Axopodorhabdaceae family with one species of the Cribrocorona genus, Eiffellithaceae family with two of the Eiffellithus genus, Prediscosphaeraceae family with two of the Prediscosphaera genus, Cretarhabdaceae family with two of the Retecapsa genus, Rhagodiscaceae family with two of the Rhagodiscus genus, Watznaueriaceae family with two of the Cyclagelosphaera genus, with five of the Watznaueria genus, Arkhangelskiales family with two of the, Arkhangelskiella genus, with two of the Broinsonia genus, one of the Misceomarginatus genus, Calyptrosphaeraceae family with three of the Calculites genus with one of the Lucianorhabdus genus, Microrhabdulaceae family with three of the Lithraphidites genus, Polycyclolithaceae family with four of the Eprolithus genus, with three of the Lithastrinus genus, with five of the Micula genus, two of the Quadrum genus, one of the Rucinolithus genus, three of the Ceratolithoides genus.
Our investigation focuses on the response of the assemblage of the Watznaueria spp., it can be concluded from higher speciation for calcareous nannofossils that the bloom at Campanian has an increase in temperature has implications for climate change impacts on the ecosystem.

The fast population growth and significant urban development put pressure and demand on raw materials that are used for construction like carbonate rocks, clay, and gypsum. Providing new background information for these raw materials that may be suitable for different industries, such as cement, Juss, plaster, building stone, and bricks is aimed in this study. Therefore, the study includes a field reconnaissance of seven sites within the Ellan anticline, northwest of Mosul City, several twenty-five rock samples were collected and analyzed from the best exposures of the formations. The results show that unit C of the lower member and the upper member of the Fatha Formation are suitable raw materials for the manufacturing of the cement industry. Gypsum strata in the Fatha Formation are suitable for multiple industries such as cement, Juss, plaster, building units, light tile or blocks, and for the protection of columns. The chemical results of major oxides for limestone from Euphrates and lower members of Fatha formations (units A and B) show that the mean concentrations of CaO, MgO, and alkali oxides are higher than the limit values in Iraqi standards. The bulk-rock analysis for major element oxides of unit C demonstrates that rocks are within the limit values. In addition, most of the oxides of limestone and marly limestone of the upper member of the Fatha Formation are within the standard quality for the cement industry. Clays from Quaternary sediments were found to be suitable for the cement industry only, while the pre-Quaternary appears to be not suitable for cement or perforated brick industries.

Wadi Shorsirin is located in the Wasit governorate east of Iraq, it is considered a promising tourist site for the people who live close to this area. The research aims to study the rocky slopes and assess their stability, along the two banks of Wadi Shorhirine, by choosing five stations distributed where the failure occurs and to determine the expected rock failure along this valley. In addition, determine the factors that affect stability, such as discontinuities, rock resistance, and weathering to take them into account when establishing engineering projects such as roads, and tourist complexes. The stereoscopic projection technique was used to analyze the stability of these rocky slopes and showed there are two types of slopes which are oblique lateral and orthogonal slopes. Toppling and rockfall were found within the study area, in addition to the rolling. Differential eroded in the foot slope was the main reason for the failure, moreover, the existence of joint sets. The rocks of the slopes were evaluated based on the unconfined compressive strength deduced from the point load test into the moderately strong and strong.

Solid bituminous materials are widely spread in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, they are filled so many locations, such as fracture zones, fault planes, and bedding planes. These materials can be used in several industries like pavement road, roofing, bituminous paint and waterproof, etc. The study aims to find an economical quantity of these materials by using 2D resistivity imaging in three locations that are different in geology and tectonic settings. These locations are Alla Syaw, Mera De, and Nasalih villages. The data are collected using Syscal R1 plus resistivity meter, for the sake of following up horizontal and vertical extension of these materials Wenner-Schlumberger array is used with 72 electrodes and a spacing interval of 5 m. Three profiles were conducted for each location, which have lengths equal to 360 m. The data processing was carried out by using the RES2DINV, and the smoothness was performed using finite difference forward modeling. The results show that all the bituminous materials are detected in shallow depths and only in the sandstone layers of the Tanjero, Gercus, and Injana formations filling the fracture zones and fault planes. This is also attributed to the more brittle behavior of the sandstone layer than other layers of these formations which deforms easily by applying external stresses. In the Tanjero Formation bituminous body is detected at a depth of about 10 m, which has an extension of more than 50 m from profile-1 to profile-2 (this is a lateral extension). The average width and height of the body are about 8m and 20 m, so it forms an approximate total volume equal to 8000 m3. The study concludes that the preliminary estimation of the total volume of the detected bituminous bodies is about 20000 m3, which has great importance as raw material for different industries. The bituminous material has a high resistivity value in most of the profiles reaching more than 200 ohm.m.

The 2018 Mandali-Sumar earthquake sequence started in January 2018 at the Iraq – Iran border within the Low Folded Zone of the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt. To study the fault that is responsible for this earthquake sequence, the relocation of 32 earthquakes was conducted. In addition, moment tensor solutions of 9 large earthquakes were collected to know the fault motion and stress regime in the study area. The Computer Programs in Seismology (CPS) was used to analyze waveform data taken from 33 seismic stations located in Iraq and Iran to relocate earthquakes. The location of the earthquake sequence based on the IRSC bulletin shows a scattered spatial distribution, but the results of the relocations show that the earthquakes of the sequences are aligned in a longitudinal feature parallel to an anticline limb located in Ilam and Kermanshah provinces near the Iraqi border. The moment tensor solutions indicate that the sequence is related to a thrust fault with a 342º strike direction, 35º NE dip angle, and 76º rake angle. The TENSOR program was used to perform formal stress inversion of moment stress axes, which revealed that the azimuth of the maximum horizontal stress axis is 63º. The epicenters of the sequence are located between the Mountain Front Fault to the NE and the Zagros Foredeep Fault to the Southeast. We believe that the 2018 Mandali-Sumar earthquake sequence is related to displacement on the surface of the Zagros Foredeep Fault within the uppermost basement and the lowermost Phanerozoic cover.

A detailed engineering geological study was performed for rock slope stability for several selected sites at Imam Mohammed Road that connects Sulaimaniyah city and Darbandikhan town, the study included four sites in which a comprehensive survey was made for the rock slopes, the rocks forming them, and discontinuities affecting in them. The assessment of rock slope stability of the sites was executed through the stereographic projection, to determine the status of the slopes and discontinuities, field measurements revealed many occurred and probable failure types represented by the rock fall and sliding. The rock slopes were also classified based on three factors; divergence angle (parallel, oblique lateral, and orthogonal), Laterality (right and left emergent), and concordance (concordant and discordant). The rocks forming the slopes are described geometrically based on their color, grain size, texture, discontinuities, weathering, rock strength, lithology, and permeability. On the other hand, the risk of each site was also assessed depending on the Landslide Possibility Index (LPI), which showed that the first site lies within the (moderate hazard) category whereas the others lie within the (High hazard) category. Finally, some treatment strategies were proposed in order to stabilize the slopes and decrease the danger of their collapse on the road.