Abstract

This paper has been carried out to determine the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Eocene Darnah limestone which outcrops at Wadi Al Kharsha as an example of the Darnah Formation. The most conspicuous phenomenon is the upward increase of the dolomitization process, whereas, the dolomite content ranges from 4.34 to 15.48 % with an average value of 8.99%. The lime (CaO) represents the major predominant with a high content (48.08%), it can be blend with other carbonates to improve its quality to meet the specifications of raw material for cement manufacture. The relationship between calcium (CaO) and magnesium (MgO) exhibits a significantly strong negative linear correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.967), which emphasizes the dolomitization process, while the relationship between SiO2 and Al2O3 is a positive linear significant relationship with a strong correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.98), whereas, the SiO2 increases with increasing of Al2O3. The calculated mineralogical composition revealed that halite, gypsum, and hematite are considered to be minor constituents, almost less than 1.0%. Keywords: Limestone; Darnah Formation; Mineralogy; Geochemistry; Dolomitization; Characterizations; Cement

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