Copper mineralization in selected areas of Kurdistan region, Iraq : a review on mineralogy and geochemistry

Abstract EN

Copper mineralization in Iraq stretches along the northeast of Kurdistan Region, hosted by various rock units of the Mawat Ophiolites Complex and the Qandil Series.

The mineralization in the Mawat Ophiolite is hosted by mafic igneous and associated quartz veins; meanwhile they are hosted in phyllite and marble in the Sharosh area.

Two types of copper mineralization have been recognized by ore microscopy in the previous studies: disseminated and vein filling.

Textural relationships among the minerals suggest three stages of mineralization: syngenetic, epigenetic and supergene enrichment.

The dominant primary mineralization assemblage is represented by chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, pyrite, magnetite, and ilmenite.

On the other hand, covellite, hematite, limonite goethite, tenorite, azurite, and malachite represent the supergene enrichment products.

The Cu mineralization at the Mawat Ophiolite was formed from magmatic segregation and hydrothermal solution generated from tectonomagmatic activity.

Mesothermal fluid system, with low to medium density and dilute NaCl-type, is the source of the mineralization at the Sharosh area.

There is a promising potential to locate underground economic concentrations of copper in the Kurdistan Region based upon the evaluation of the wide spread copper supergene minerals at surface which indicate transportation of copper from subsurface sulfide mineralization to the supergene enrichment zone.