Abstract

Chaabet El Bellout iron mine is located in the Medjerda Mountains, constituting a connection zone between the Maghrebides chain and the Saharan Atlas. This deposit is mainly embedded in Upper Cretaceous (Campanian and Maastrichtian) and Miocene limestones with clusters and veins replacing both carbonates and sandy-carbonate levels. In this study, field observations and mineralogical analyses combined with geochemical and oxygen isotopic data were used to determine the origin of the mineralizing fluid and the source of mineralization. The results indicate that the iron ore of Chaabet El Bellout is of medium quality resulting following two main phases: first, the replacement of Cretaceous carbonates by ankerite and siderite, followed by the alteration of iron oxides (hematite and magnetite), then, a deposit of high temperature sulfides,sulfosalts, and sulfates (pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, gray copper, and barite) in a fractured zone. However, the contributionof magmatic fluids cannot be excluded, as some samples reveal high V-Mo-Ni and Zn contents and a negative isotopic signature (-0.6‰ VSMOW) different from the rest of samples that all indicate positive values (0.6 to 1.6‰ VSMOW), suggesting the participation of metasomatic saline fluids interacting with marine carbonate levels deposited in the Cretaceous and Triassic formations.

Information

Item Type:	Journal
Divisions:	» Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
ePrint ID:	3682
Date Deposited:	2022-12-11
Further Information:	Google Scholar
URI:	https://www.univ-soukahras.dz/en/publication/article/3682

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