SEG - Society of Economic Geologists

16 SEG NEWSLETTER No 91 • OCTOBER 2012
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Mauritania: A Greenfields Exploration Opportunity in Northwestern Africa (Continued)
Corporation was reported to have discovered
a potential kimberlite area in
the Tasiast-Tijirit terrane. Gunn et al.
(2004, based on Rombouts, 2003) states
there are two kimberlite provinces on a
NNE-trending lineament within the
Taoudeni basin that also localizes the
Guelb er Richat and Semsiyat domal
features thought to be carbonatite
intrusions at depth. The western cluster
is located near the Guelb er Richat
dome. The poorly located eastern cluster
contains 21 kimberlites, of which 7
are diamondiferous (Rombouts, 2003).
CONCLUSIONS
As a result of the aggressive development
of the exploration and mining sectors of
the economy by the Mauritanian government
through programs of data
acquisition and synthesis such as those
described above, Mauritania now can
provide a greenfields exploration opportunity
supported by a wealth of readily
usable state of the art geoinformation.
Additionally, the presence of geological
environments that include Archean craton,
Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary
belts, Pan African orogenic belts, and
major cratonic and coastal sedimentary
basins, as well as the presence of several
world-class ore deposits, should get the
attention of any explorationist. We have
summarized some of the more exciting
potential areas for gold, IOCG, iron,
uranium, gypsum, phosphate, REEs, critical
metals, and diamonds in Mauritania.
But we have not even touched on the
more speculative potential for sedimentary
rock-hosted base metals, VMS,
shoreline placer titanium, or a variety of
industrial minerals that, owing to their
proximity to the Zouerate-Nouadihbou
railway, may represent additional economically
viable commodities. The raw
data packages are available through the
Ministry of Petroleum, Energy, and
Mines in Nouakchott. The derivative
maps and reports described will soon
be available on the USGS Mineral
Resources Program website (accessible
at: http://minerals.usgs.gov/).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Dennis Cox, Daniel Knepper, William
Langer, and David Leach all participated
in the early phases of the USGS-
Mauritania project and are thanked for
their contributions. Reviews by Karen
Kelley and Andrew Killick greatly im -
proved the manuscript. The Mauritanian
Ministry of Petroleum, Energy, and
Mines is acknowledged for their permission
to publish this paper.
Any use of trade, product, or firm names
is for descriptive purposes only and does
not imply endorsement by the U.S.
Government.
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