Heavy Minerals Study of Sandstone from the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene Mukdadiya Formation; Kirkuk, Iraq: Implications for Provenance

Mukdadiya Formation (Late Miocene-Pliocene) exposed in the northeastern limb of Baba anticline fold in Kirkuk structure. The selected section was located in the Shoraw area, northeastern Kirkuk city, Iraq. Twenty sandstone samples were collected to study heavy minerals. The study indicates that opaque and epidote group minerals forming the main heavy minerals, followed by amphibole, pyroxene, garnet, and chlorite. According to heavy minerals assemblage, the source rocks are interpreted to be composed essentially of sedimentary followed by igneous and metamorphic rocks and the high contents of unstable and metastable minerals confirm their direct derivation from the adjacent primary source. Ultra-stable and metastable heavy minerals relationship indicated that the sandstone of the Mukdadiya Formation is immature and moderate stability and showed that these minerals couldn't be transported for very long distances close to the source area and not represents polycyclic grain. MF-MT-GM Ternary diagram showed that the studied samples fall within the field of active continental margins which is characterized by a relatively high percentage of minerals (MF˃GM) derived from mafic magmatic rocks.

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Sources of Heavy Minerals of the Neogene Clastics at Bekhme, Northern Iraq

Iraqi Journal of Science ◽

10.24996/ijs.2020.61.10.17 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 2610-2618

Author(s):

Saif Al-Ddin A. AL-Rawi ◽

Suhad Khalaf A. Razzak

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Source Rocks ◽

Heavy Minerals ◽

Metamorphic Rocks ◽

Continental Margins ◽

Zagros Mountains ◽

Northern Iraq ◽

Opaque Mineral ◽

Fine Grain ◽

Active Continental Margins

Ten samples were collected from Injana and Mukdadiya Formations, representing 5 samples of fine grain sandstone (F) and 5 samples of very fine grain sandstone (VF). The heavy metals study showed that the opaque mineral recorded the highest percentage in comparison with other heavy metals. While, transparent minerals, including unstable minerals (Amphibole including Hornblend and Glaucophane) and (pyroxene including Orthopyroxene and Clinopyroxene), Metastable minerals including (Epidote, staurolite, Garnet, Kyanite) indicated metamorphic source, Ultrastable minerals (Zircon, Rutile, Tourmaline), Mica group (chlorite, biotite and muscovite). These accumulations indicate that the heavy minerals are derived from mafic igneous and metamorphic rocks mostly, as well as acidic igneous and reworked sediments. Ternary diagram of heavy metals stability showed that they are moderately stable due to the effect of the opaque mineral that have highest attention. Both sandstones for the Injana and Mukdadiya formations are derived from active continental margins. This source rocks may be represented by Taurus and Zagros Mountains.

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Heavy Minerals as Indicators of the Source and Stratigraphic Position of the Loess-Like Deposits in the Orava Basin (Polish Western Carpathians)

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10050445 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 445

Author(s):

Dorota Chmielowska ◽

Dorota Salata

Keyword(s):

Source Area ◽

Heavy Mineral ◽

Source Rocks ◽

Heavy Minerals ◽

Granitic Rocks ◽

Metamorphic Rocks ◽

Tatra Mountains ◽

Stratigraphic Position ◽

Glacial Periods ◽

The Tatra Mountains

This study is focused on the loess-like deposits accumulated on glaciofluvial fans of the Czarny Dunajec River in the Orava Basin (Southern Poland). The deposition of these sediments took place during three cold intervals of the Pleistocene: Würm, Riss, and Günz/Mindel. So far, the provenance and age of the deposits has not been precisely defined, even though the development of each fan is believed to be related to the successive glacial periods in the Tatra Mountains. Heavy minerals were studied to determine the source of the deposits. Heavy mineral analyses revealed that zircon, tourmaline, rutile, garnet, amphibole, epidote, and apatite are the typical constituents of the heavy mineral fraction. Abundances of heavy minerals differ in each of the Pleistocene fans of the Czarny Dunajec River, especially the amphibole content. However, the chemical composition of garnet, amphibole, and tourmaline is rather uniform. This research showed that mainly medium-grade metamorphic rocks with a subordinate share of high-grade metamorphics, and granitic rocks are the dominant source rocks of the deposits studied. Such rocks are exposed in the Western Tatra Mountains, which most probably supplied the Orava Basin with clastic material. Change in abundances of heavy minerals in the succession may reflect the progressive erosion of the source area. Grain-size distribution and textural features of the sampled sediments suggest fluvial and aeolian modes of transportation. Additionally, this study indicated that heavy minerals may be used to correlate the loess covers in the Orava Basin.

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Petrography of the quartz sand deposits of the Lower Cretaceous of Bornholm, Denmark

Danmarks Geologiske Undersøgelse Serie A ◽

10.34194/seriea.v10.7029 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 1-24

Author(s):

Peter Gravesen

Keyword(s):

Quartz Sand ◽

Lower Cretaceous ◽

Source Area ◽

Source Rocks ◽

Heavy Minerals ◽

Fault Block ◽

Basement Rocks ◽

Provenance Areas ◽

Lowermost Part ◽

Shape Analyses

The quartz sand of the Lower Cretaceous Robbedale Formation and lowermost part of the Jydegard Formation in the Arnager-Sose fault block of Bornholm has been investigated with respect to mineralogy, grain-size, grain rounding and grain shape. Analyses of both light and heavy minerals have been carried out for 18 samples from different localities and facies. The purpose of the investigation was to try to recognize the possible types of source rocks and provenance areas. The Precambrian basement rocks of Bornholm are not the main sources of the sand, especially not the heavy minerals, but parts of the sand may have originated from the basement. The Palaeozoic sandstones and siltstones have delivered only a small amount of material. Parts of the older Mesozoic sediments of the Bornholm Group and Homandshald Member may have been redeposited in the Lower Cretaceous as they contain the same kinds of heavy minerals as the Robbedale and Jydegard Formations, although in differing amounts. It seems very possible, however, that most of the Mesozoic sediments of Bornholm have had a source area outside Bornholm, and this source area has been nearly the same during the whole span of time. The Fenno-Scandian Shield seems to be the most obvious provenance area, but eastern and southern areas are possibilities too. It is concluded that most of the Lower Cretaceous sands are first deposition cycle sediments of both local and distant origin combined with minor amounts of polycyclic sediments of mainly local origin.

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Geochemistry of Recent Brahmaputra River Sediments: Provenance, Tectonics, Source Area Weathering and Depositional Environment

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10090813 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 813

Author(s):

Md Aminur Rahman ◽

Sudeb Chandra Das ◽

Mark I. Pownceby ◽

James Tardio ◽

Md Sha Alam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Rare Earth Element ◽

Chemical Weathering ◽

Earth Element ◽

Tectonic Setting ◽

River Sediments ◽

Source Area ◽

Source Rocks ◽

Heavy Minerals ◽

Brahmaputra River

Sediments from stable sand bars along a 40 km section of the Brahmaputra River in northern Bangladesh were analyzed for their major, trace and rare earth element contents to determine their provenance, compositional maturity, source area weathering and tectonic setting. Geochemically, the sediments were classified as litharenites and the Index of Compositional Variability (ICV) varied between 1.4 and 2.0, indicating low compositional and mineralogical maturity. A high mean SiO2 concentration (72.9 wt.%) and low Al2O3 (11.1 wt.%) were consistent with a low abundance of shale and clay components. The depletion of the oxide components Na2O, CaO and K2O relative to average upper crustal compositions (UCC) reflected loss of feldspar during chemical weathering in the source region. Average TiO2 values for most samples were higher than average crustal levels, consistent with the northern section of the Brahmaputra River being a potential resource for valuable Fe-Ti oxide heavy minerals. Major and trace element ratios indicated the sediments represented erosional products from typical felsic upper continental crustal materials with contamination (30%–40%) from more intermediate/mafic compositions. The rare earth element patterns showed negative Eu anomalies (0.57–0.71), indicating they were derived mainly from fractionated felsic rocks. Resemblance of the sediment compositions to mean compositions from Higher Himalaya crystalline rocks pointed to these being potential source rocks but with components from a mafic source also present. Major element chemistries and low to intermediate weathering indices for all sediments indicated a lack of substantial chemical weathering. Evidence from tectonic discrimination diagrams suggested the Brahmaputra River sediments were derived from rock types that formed in a transitional tectonic setting ranging from an ancient passive margin to an active continental margin. Deposition occurred under cool to semi-arid climatic conditions in an oxic environment.

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Petrographic and geochemical interpretations of source provenance and tectonic setting of the Lokoja Sandstone, Bida Basin, Nigeria

International Journal of Advanced Geosciences ◽

10.14419/ijag.v8i2.31196 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 279

Author(s):

G. U. Ozulu ◽

A. U. Okoro ◽

V. O. Ndubueze

Keyword(s):

Trace Elements ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

Tectonic Setting ◽

Source Area ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Source Rocks ◽

Heavy Minerals ◽

Petrographic Analysis ◽

Moderate Degree ◽

X Ray

The petrography and geochemistry of major and trace elements distribution pattern for the Lokoja Sandstones, Southern Bida Basin, Nigeria; were used to interpret their provenance, weathering conditions and paleotectonic setting. A total of seven (7) representative sandstone samples were selected for petrographic, heavy minerals and inorganic geochemical analyses; that is X- ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Results of the petrographic analysis showed 52.14 % quartz, 39.29 % feldspar, 2.00 % rock fragments, 5.14 % matrix and cement fraction as well as 1.43 % unfilled voids. Results of major elements and oxides suggests intermediate to felsic source rocks while the dominance of Na-rich feldspar to the k-feldspar and high value of Fe2O3+MgO shows contribution from ferromagnesian minerals of mafic igneous source provenance and oceanic island arc region. Average concentrations of designated trace elements in the studied sandstones are low in concentrations. The lower concentrations of Cr, Co, and Ni and higher concentrations of Zr, Ba, and Sr suggest a felsic progenitor rock. But significantly high values of Ni (7.02 ppm), La/Co (7.99), and Ni/Co (3.28) as well as the low concentration value of Y, (3.23 ppm) suggests contributions from mafic source rocks. Low average ratios for La/Co, Th/Co, Th/Sc, Ni/Co, Cr/Ni, Cr/Sc, Cr/Th, Ni/Co, Cr/Ni, Cr/Th, Cr/Sc, Th/Sc, La/Co and Th/Co also suggest a felsic source provenance. An average CIA value of 78.04% is indicative of an intense recycling in the source area while an average MIA value of 56.13% suggests a moderate degree of weathering. The high clay matrix and feldspar content have been used to classify the sandstones as feldspathic greywackes deposited in dry arid climatic conditions under a basement uplifted tectonic setting.

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An Evaluation of the Provenance of Terrigenous Sediments from Offshore Vancouver Island

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e74-064 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 664-677 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lionel Carter

Keyword(s):

Source Area ◽

Vancouver Island ◽

Source Rocks ◽

Heavy Minerals ◽

Late Mesozoic ◽

Barkley Sound ◽

Environment Effects ◽

Mineral Assemblages ◽

Sediment Mineralogy ◽

Opaque Minerals

Modern sands and gravels from Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island, are mainly composed of igneous lithic fragments, present in sediments coarser than medium sand, and of andesine plagioclase, present in finer size fractions. Heavy mineral assemblages are dominated by hornblende, epidote, opaque minerals, and chlorite. This sediment mineralogy is mainly controlled by the composition of the source area, and to a lesser extent, by hydraulic processes of the depositional environment; effects of weathering at source and river transport are minimal. Sources include Mesozoic, eugeosynclinal basalts and andesites, late Mesozoic, post-geosynclinal granodiorite and diorite plutons, and Cretaceous to (?) late Pleistocene sediments which themselves were ultimately derived from the aforementioned igneous sources.Relict sands and gravels on the continental shelf adjacent to Barkley Sound, are similar in composition to the modern sediments and have been derived from similar igneous and sedimentary source rocks. However, relative to modern sands, relict sands have a greater variety of minor constituents, particularly heavy minerals, which in addition to hornblende, epidote, and opaque minerals, include garnet, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene. It is suggested the more varied mineralogy is due to: (1) a more extensive source area; and (2) introduction of additional sediment from outside the study area by modern bottom currents.

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Mineralogy of Lower Diyala River Sediments Northeastern Baghdad

Iraqi Journal of Science ◽

10.24996/ijs.2019.60.7.10 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1498-1506

Author(s):

Mustafa Najm Al-Shamary ◽

Mazin Yousif Tamar-Agha

Keyword(s):

River Sediments ◽

Source Area ◽

Mineralogical Composition ◽

Heavy Minerals ◽

Heavy Liquid ◽

Metamorphic Rocks ◽

Northeastern Part ◽

Upper Miocene ◽

Rock Fragments ◽

Diyala River

The purpose of this study is to determine the mineralogical composition of Lower Diyala River, northeastern of Baghdad, and attempt to define the sources of sediments. 10 samples were collected from Lower Diyala River from the area between Himreen Dam to south Baghdad, where these samples are dealings by the heavy liquid to separated into light and heavy minerals. The light minerals contents are composed mainly of quartz, feldspars, and rock fragments. The main rocks fragments consist of; igneous, metamorphic, carbonate, chert rock fragments, and evaporites. The heavy minerals contents are opaques minerals, chlorite, amphiboles, pyroxenes, epidote, zircon, garnet, muscovite, biotite, kyanite, tourmaline, staurolite, and rutile. The source area of these sediments is the outcrops of Upper Miocene-Pliocene rocks at the northeastern part of the studied area, igneous, and metamorphic rocks in the northeastern Iraq and Iran.

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Multi-proxy evidence of Caribbean-sourced marine incursions in the Neogene of Western Amazonia, Brazil

Geology ◽

10.1130/g49544.1 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Lilian M. Leandro ◽

Ana P. Linhares ◽

Marcelo A. De Lira Mota ◽

Gerson Fauth ◽

Alessandra Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Late Miocene ◽

Middle Miocene ◽

Drainage System ◽

Primary Source ◽

Source Area ◽

Caribbean Sea ◽

Geochemical Data ◽

Continental Scale ◽

The Caribbean ◽

First Time

The timing of continental-scale marine flooding events in Western Amazonia during the Neogene is still an unsolved question. Despite broad proxy-based evidence of such events, the pathways and duration of late Miocene marine incursions remain controversial. We provide coupled calcareous and organic microfossil and geochemical data from six onshore cores from Neogene sequences of the Solimões Basin, Brazil. Our records support minor marine influence in the early Miocene (23.0, 21.1, 18.6, and 16.3 Ma), middle Miocene (14.9, 13.7, and 12.9 Ma) and early Pliocene (4.7, 4.2–4.1, and 3.8 Ma), and conspicuous marine incursions in the late Miocene (11.1–8.8 Ma) suggested by the consistent presence of salinity-indicative microfossils and geochemical data. Our findings challenge the view of major marine incursions in the early and middle Miocene in the studied area. We propose for the first time a new late Miocene incursion (LMI) event as the main marine flooding event in Western Amazonia during the Neogene. These onshore records are compared with three offshore cores from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The similarity between microfossil assemblages of the Solimões Basin and the Caribbean Sea, and evidence of increased runoff from the Orinoco river drainage system, strongly suggest the Caribbean Sea as the primary source area of the marine incursions, supporting a Venezuelan seaway. We further show for the first time the potential linkage between Neogene marine incursions (mainly the LMI) into the Solimões Basin and major disturbances in the global carbon cycle.

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Geochemistry of the Lower Cretaceous Chaswood Formation, Nova Scotia, Canada: provenance and diagenesisGeological Survey of Canada Contribution 20080004.

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e08-055 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 45 (10) ◽

pp. 1083-1094 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

David J.W. Piper ◽

Georgia Pe-Piper ◽

Shannon Ledger-Piercey

Keyword(s):

Source Area ◽

Crystalline Basement ◽

Sediment Supply ◽

Source Rocks ◽

Heavy Minerals ◽

Basement Rocks ◽

Complete Section ◽

History Of ◽

Basement High ◽

Stratigraphic Succession

The fluvial Chaswood Formation records a complex history of tectonic reactivation of basement horsts and shedding of clastic sediment. Previous mineralogical studies indicate sources from both local and more distant basement rocks of the Appalachians. Because such mineralogical studies identify only particular source rocks, the geochemistry of 60 samples from a complete section through the Chaswood Formation in borehole RR-97-23 was investigated to determine the character of bulk sediment supply. The detrital signature is partially obscured by diagenetic processes that caused concentration of K, P, Sr, and U at three regional unconformities. The elements Ti (in ilmenite and its alteration products), Zr (in zircon), Th, and Y are largely controlled by the abundance of heavy minerals in the rocks. Ilmenite is the dominant first-cycle heavy mineral, whereas much of the zircon is of polycyclic origin; therefore, the Ti/Zr ratio is a guide to the proportion of first-cycle sediment supply from crystalline basement. High Cr, Sr, and Ni/Co ratio in mudstones appear related to supply from weathered mafic crystalline basement. Three cycles of sediment supply are recognized, each overlying a regional unconformity. These reflect uplift of horsts that resulted first in shedding of readily eroded Carboniferous sandstones, then rapid erosion of crystalline basement and, finally, greater supply of deeply weathered regolith. This study provides a template for interpreting more distal sediments in the Scotian Basin, where the direct effects of source-area tectonics are not recorded in the stratigraphic succession.

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