Geochemical and Economic Assessment of Iron-Rich Bodies in Choman-Rayat Area, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Abstract

This paper reports the finding of potential economic iron mineralization in the ophiolite rocks system in the Choman-Rayat Area, Kurdistan, Iraq. XRD, SEM-EDS, ICP-MS, ICP-OES, and detailed optical microscopy studies indicated that these iron-rich bodies are sedimentary and formed in a hydrothermal alteration system of the abundant serpentinized peridotite in the area with possible microbial interaction. Hematite (up to 55%) is the major mineral in iron-rich bodies, along with quartz, chlorite, and some minor spinel content. In addition to Fe, other potential economic metals associated with iron-rich bodies are nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) mineralization. The Ni and Co concentrations ranged from 2094 to 989 ppm and 189.1 to 678.5 ppm respectively. This study adds significant data to the scarcely known or geochemically assessed mineral resources in the Iraqi Kurdistan