Iron sulfide deposits at Wadi Wassat, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Open-File Report
82-176
By: R. J. Roberts, Darwin L. Rossman, A.Y. Bagdady, C. M. Conway, and A. M. Helaby
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Abstract
Massive and disseminated iron sulfide deposits in Wadi Wassat form lenticular, stratabound deposits in cherty Precambrian sedimentary rocks interlayered with Precambrian calcareous sedimentary rocks, pyroclastic rocks, and andesitic flow rocks. These rocks have been cut by a wide variety of plutonic and dike rocks including gabbro, diorite, granodiorite, diabase, rhyolite, and granite.
The zone containing the sulfide lenses is nearly 16 km long and is cut off by granitic rocks at both the northern and southern ends. The lenses are as much as 200 m thick; one can be traced along strike for more than 4 km. The lenses consist mostly of iron sulfides. Pyrite is the principal sulfide mineral; near intrusive bodies the pyrite has been partially converted to pyrrhotite and locally mobilized into fractures. The sulfides have been oxidized to a depth of about 25 m.
Preliminary calculations indicate that about 107,500,000 tons of sulfides, averaging 40 percent iron and 35 percent sulfur, are available to a depth of i00 m. Small amounts of nickel, cobalt, zinc, and copper are also present, but at metal prices prevailing in early 1981, these do not constitute significant resources.
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Iron sulfide deposits at Wadi Wassat, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 82-176 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr82176 |
| Edition | - |
| Year Published | 1981 |
| Language | ENGLISH |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey, |
| Description | v, 133 p. :ill., maps (1 col.) ;28 cm. |
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