Exploitation of Geological Resources

Nubia is well endowed with the geological resources needed to supply a succession of ancient cultures and kingdoms. Igneous and metamorphic rocks of the region’s Basement Complex provided most of the materials, including gold, copper, gemstones, and a variety of ornamental stones. Overlying the Basement Complex are sedimentary rocks and among these is the Nubian Sandstone Formation, which supplied the material used to build Nubia’s many temples and pyramids. This formation also provided the oolitic ironstone that was the raw material for Kushite iron production as well as two unusually hard varieties of sandstone—iron oxide-cemented ferricrete and quartz-cemented quartzite—that were used in buildings where extra strength was needed and also for many ornamental applications. Surficial sediments deposited by the Nile River and desert wadis were important sources of gold, gemstones, and, for ceramics, clay. A total of 117 ancient mines and quarries have been identified in Nubia with twenty-three for sandstone, seven for ornamental stones, four for quartzite, seventy-six for gold, five for copper, one each for iron and lead, and three for gemstones.

Barite Concretions in Wadi Halfa Oolitic Ironstone Formation, North Sudan

During our examination of the outcrops of the sedimentary formations in northern Sudan, we found discoidal-shape grains of the heavy mineral, barite in a sandstone of the Wadi Halfa Oolitic Ironstone Formation, which was recorded by all the earlier workers as a reworked sandstone. Petrography-wise, the framework of the sandstone consists of very angular to angular quartz grains, in which monocrystalline grains dominate over polycrystalline grains. Barite is the main cementing material of this sandstone, which occurs as concretions. Barite concretions indicate that more of the original porosity has been destroyed by cementation rather than by compaction processes with the inter-granular porosity being reduced mainly due to cementation. The origin of these concretions, as a cementing material in the sandstone, is ascribed to the reaction of Ba with some soluble sulfate to form the extremely insoluble heavy barite that appears as rounded concretions. The sulfur of the sulfate may be from the hydrothermal fluids related to submarine volcanism and/or biogeochemical processes. The deposition of these concretions might have taken place not long after the formation of the sandstone. The source of the barium, however, remains an unsolved problem. Further work is needed to interpret the origin and occurrence of these concretions along the region of Wadi Halfa.

Polygenic chamosite from a hydrothermalized oolitic ironstone (Saint-Aubin-des-Châteaux, Armorican Massif, France): crystal chemistry, visible–near-infrared spectroscopy (red variety) and geochemical significance

Several generations of chamosite, including a red variety, occur in the Ordovician hydrothermalized oolitic ironstone from Saint-Aubin-des-Châteaux (Armorican Massif, France). Their chemical re-examination indicates a low Mg content (0.925 < Fe/(Fe + Mg) < 0.954), but a significant variation in IVAl. Minor vanadium is present at up to 1.1 wt.% oxide. Variations in IVAl, the vanadium content and the colour of chamosite are related to the hydrothermal reworking of the ironstone. Taking into account other published data, the ideal composition of chamosite is (Fe5–xAl1+x)(Si3–xAl1+x)O10(OH)8, with 0.2 < x < 0.8 (0.2: equilibrium with quartz; 0.8: SiO2 deficit). The red chamosite (IIb polytype) has a mean composition of (Fe3.87Mg0.23Mn0.01□0.07Al1.74V0.07)(Si2.33Al1.67)O10(OH)8. This chamosite is strongly pleochroic, from pale yellow (E || (001)) to deep orange red (E ⊥ (001)). Visible–near-infrared absorbance spectra show a specific absorption band centred at ~550 nm for E ⊥ (001), due to a proposed new variety of Fe/V intervalence charge-transfer mechanism in the octahedral sheet, possibly Fe2+ – V4+ → Fe3+ – V3+. While the formation of green chamosite varieties is controlled by reducing conditions due to the presence of organic matter as a buffer, that of red chamosite would indicate locally a weak increase of fO2 related to oxidizing hydrothermal solutions.

Petrology and Genesis of the Bhainskati Iron Ore Deposit of Palpa District, Western Nepal

The Bhainskati Formation of the Tansen Group in Palpa area is known for hematite iron ore deposit for long time. A prominent band of hematite of about 1-2 km thickness extending >5 km was identified in the upper part of the Bhainskati Formation in the present study and the band is repeated three times in the area by folding and faulting. Petrographic study shows that it is oolitic ironstone of sedimentary shallow marine origin. Main minerals in the band are hematite, goethite, quartz, calcite, siderite and albite. Hematite content varies considerably among samples and occurs mainly as oolite and cement. The Bhainskati ironstone with its ferrous mineral assemblage and well-rounded texture of the ooids suggests prodeltaicto estuarine with shallow marine environment reduced clastic input.

Petrology and genesis of the Bhainskati iron ore deposit of Palpa District, western Nepal

The Bhainskati Formation of the Tansen Group in the Palpa area is known for hematite iron ore deposit for long time. A prominent band of hematite of about 1-2 m thickness and extending >5 km was identified in the upper part of the Bhainskati Formation in the present study. The band is repeated three times in the area by folding and faulting. Petrographic study shows that it is oolitic ironstone of sedimentary origin. Main minerals in the band are hematite, goethite, quartz, calcite, siderite and albite. Hematite content varies considerably among samples and occurs mainly as oolite and cement. The Bhainskati ironstone with its ferrous mineral assemblage and well-rounded texture of the ooids suggests shallow marine environment (prodeltaic to estuarine) with reduced clastic input. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/bdg.v15i0.7418 Bulletin of the Department of Geology, Vol. 15, 2012, pp. 63-68