Oman
In October 2008, Tim Barrett visited Oman, courtesy of the National Mining Company, to examine several VMS deposits hosted by mafic volcanic rocks of the famous Semail Ophiolite Compex, a large and well preserved segment of Cretaceous ocean crust that outcrops for several hundred kilometres along much of the length of the country. The main past-producing deposits, which were mined for Cu, include the Lesail, Bayda and Aarja deposits, and the more recently discovered Hatta, Shinas and Ghuzayn deposits. The Lesail deposit, at about 10 Mt, was the largest. The Bayda deposit is also the site of the first described fossilized worm tubes, which indicate that the sulfides were formed at black smoker sites (Hayman et al., 1984).
The previously mined massive sulfide deposits in the ophiolite complex
appear to occur at or close to the contact between two major volcanic
sequences known as the Geotimes and Lesail units (Alabaster, 1985). However,
this has not been demonstrated as yet in the areas of recent discoveries.
A program of sampling of the stratigraphy around the latter deposits therefore
has been initiated in order to define the chemostratigraphic sequence
in detail, in particular the main paleo-surface of ore deposition. This
framework will be applied to both outcrop mapping and new drilling in
order to identify and follow the main contacts of exploration interest.
Semail Ophiolite Complex. Extrusives in foreground, mantle sequence in
background.
Geotimes basalt unit. This unit forms the footwall to the Lesail deposit.
Aarja open-pit deposit, now mined out.
Cu-rich
massive sulfides (clastic). Hattas deposit.
Methodology - General Research Publications - Contact Us
Page design copyright © 1998 Palomar Media Corporation. All rights reserved.
Registered trademarks are used under license and are the property of their respective owners.