Heavy Minerals Distribution in the Sandstone Beds of the Tanjero Formation, Khalakan Valley, Dokan Area, Sulaimanyia Governorate, Northern Iraq.

Mineralogical analysis of heavy minerals is done for ten sandstone samples of Tanjero Formation (Upper Cretaceous) at Khalakan Valley-Dokan Area. The data obtained from the analysis of heavy minerals indicate the dominance of opaque minerals and non-opaque minerals, represented by chlorite, pyroxene, amphibole, epidote, mica, garnet, chromium spinel, tourmaline, rutile, kyanite, zircon, and others. Opaque minerals may indicate the presence of multiple source rocks, and thus, opaque minerals are evidence of multiple rock sources, such as sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. Significantly, high concentrations of both unstable and metastable heavy mineral assemblages indicate that these minerals originated directly from the primary provenance of igneous and metamorphic rocks located in northern Iraq. Tectonically, the high proportions of mafic minerals derived from mafic magmatic source rocks indicate that the study area was located within an active continental margin. Furthermore, the ZTR (zircon, tourmaline, rutile) maturity index in the investigated sandstone samples constitutes 7.9%, indicating the overall immaturity of the sandstone in the Tanjero Formation.