Geology, mineralogy, geochemistry and deposit model of iron and manganese in Bouarfa mine, Eastern High Atlas, Morocco

Abstract

The Bouarfa Iron and Manganese Deposits are contained in the Sinemurian carbonate formations in the eastern High Atlas. It is a large deposit which has allowed the exploitation of more than 1.5 million tons of manganese and which still contains millions of tons of reserves. The mapping carried out shows the extension of the mineralization with oxides and hydroxides of Mn and Fe. The definition of types of mineralization shows that they are essentially stratiform deposits with some bodies and veins in the fault zones. The result of the mineralogical identification and geochemical analyses shows that it is a sedimentary deposit resulting from at least two mineralizing events with a high Fe-Mn content during the installation of the Sinemurian shallow carbonate platform. This is an environment of rapid oxidation and relatively sufficient sulphide inputs under redox conditions.

Keywords

• Manganese and iron
• Bouarfa mine
• Cartography
• Mineralogy and geochemistry
• Sedimentary deposit
• Sinemurian carbonate platform