MINERALOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF RECENT SEDIMENTS IN BASRAH, SOUTHERN IRAQ

Noor A. Al-Khalf; Harith A. Al-Saad

Noor A. Al-Khalf Department of Geology, College of science, University of Basrah, Iraq
Harith A. Al-Saad Department of Geology, College of science, University of Basrah, Iraq

Keywords: Recent sediments, Clay minerals, Grain size analysis, Mineralogical, Geochemical

Abstract

The study of mineralogical and geochemical properties of recent sediments included collecting and analyzing thirty one surface samples from fifteen sites in Basrah city. The results of grain size analysis showed that the sand increases towards the west and southern part of Basrah, whilst clay fractions increase towards the north and eastern parts. Quartz, calcite, gypsum, feldspar, dolomite, and halite represent the light minerals in the study area sediments, while the clay minerals are represented by kaolinite, palygorskite, illite, chlorite, montmorillonite, and montmorillonite- chlorite. Calcium oxide and silica are the most abundant oxides in all analyzed sediments in the study area followed by Fe2O3, Al2O3, TiO2, MgO, Na2O, and K2O with high percentage of loss of ignition.