Mineralogy and Origin of the Manganese Deposit in the Sulaimani Province, Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Insight to Serpentinization-Induced Manganese Production Scenario

Abstract

The Manganese deposits in Sulaimani metallogenic province mainly occur within the top Qulqula Radiolarite chert unit of the Penjween ophiolite complex as strata bound type deposits near Kani Saif village, 15 km south of the Penjween district within the Imbricated zone, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A restricted occurrence of massive manganese boulders was identified, 1 km north to the Mawat District, associated with the Oligocene Merga Red beds Group. The Qulqula Radiolarite represents the Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous sedimentary cover of Neo-Tethys oceanic crust deposits throughout the early to mature stages of the Neo-Tethys ocean opening along the northern and eastern margins of the Afro-Arabian plate. The field and petrographical data indicated that the nature of manganese mineralization in the area is of various forms including veins, brecciated, micronodules, banded and massive types. Reflected light microscopy, high resolution scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction reveal that the mineral assemblages are dominated by barunite, rhodinite, hematite, quartz and carbonate for the massive metamorphosed type deposit in the Mawat area. Meanwhile, the mineralogy of the vein, micronodule and banded types are simple and dominated by pyrolusite, hollandite minerals close to Kain Saif village. Combinations of the modal manganese minerals, filed and textural observations, a paragenetic-time model suggests that the manganese deposit in the area formed via a sequence of multiple processes (1) serpentinization of the upper mantle at mid oceanic ridge during the Cretaceous period, (2) deposition from diluted hydrothermal fluids in the Neo-Tethys mature oceanic basin, (3) the diagenetic modification of the manganese bearing sediment and (4) metamorphism of sediment a combing Zagros orogeny in Paleogene. Overall data suggest that the manganese deposits in the Kurdistan region of Iraq are cogenetic and spatially related to those which occur along the entire margin of the Arabian plates from Oman to Turkey associated with the radiolarite facies.