TY - JOUR
T1 - Sedimentology of the lower Hofuf Formation, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, and the chances for gold prospection
AU - Nasir, Sobhi
AU - Al-Sayigh, Abdul Razak
AU - Safarjalani, Abdulrahman
PY - 2007/3
Y1 - 2007/3
N2 - Fine-grained to pebbly coarse-grained fluvial sandstones of the Late Miocene to Pliocene Hofuf Formation crop out in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The sandstones comprise three distinct facies: clast-supported gravel and conglomerate, coarse-grained sandstone and fine-grained sandstone. The gravels and conglomerates are rich in pebbles of various igneous and metamorphic rocks derived from the gold-bearing Arabian Shield as well as limestone, dolomite and marl derived from the Phanerozoic. The sandstone shows a uniform framework composition dominated by monocrystalline quartz and feldspar with less abundant polycrystalline quartz, calcite, and micas and igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock fragments. A geochemical signature of gold (placer) deposits was detected in the lower unit of the Hofuf Formation in the Hofuf and Harad areas. The very fine-grained fraction (0 < 125 μm) of the Hofuf area contains the highest amounts of gold (0.16-1.87 ppm), the gold dispersion anomaly in the Haradh area is of a high extent (24.22-4.83 ppm). The primary gold source is probably related to weathering of paleo-placers, and/or to weathering and transport of gold-bearing igneous rocks from the Arabian Shield.
AB - Fine-grained to pebbly coarse-grained fluvial sandstones of the Late Miocene to Pliocene Hofuf Formation crop out in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The sandstones comprise three distinct facies: clast-supported gravel and conglomerate, coarse-grained sandstone and fine-grained sandstone. The gravels and conglomerates are rich in pebbles of various igneous and metamorphic rocks derived from the gold-bearing Arabian Shield as well as limestone, dolomite and marl derived from the Phanerozoic. The sandstone shows a uniform framework composition dominated by monocrystalline quartz and feldspar with less abundant polycrystalline quartz, calcite, and micas and igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock fragments. A geochemical signature of gold (placer) deposits was detected in the lower unit of the Hofuf Formation in the Hofuf and Harad areas. The very fine-grained fraction (0 < 125 μm) of the Hofuf area contains the highest amounts of gold (0.16-1.87 ppm), the gold dispersion anomaly in the Haradh area is of a high extent (24.22-4.83 ppm). The primary gold source is probably related to weathering of paleo-placers, and/or to weathering and transport of gold-bearing igneous rocks from the Arabian Shield.
KW - Arabian shield
KW - Cenozoic
KW - Fluvial transport
KW - Gold deposits
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34250184160&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34250184160&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1127/0077-7749/2007/0243-0325
DO - 10.1127/0077-7749/2007/0243-0325
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34250184160
SN - 0077-7749
VL - 243
SP - 325
EP - 342
JO - Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie - Abhandlungen
JF - Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie - Abhandlungen
IS - 3
ER -