Geochemical-mineralogical investigation and research on their usability as industrial raw materials of silica sand deposits in the west of Iraq

The oldest outcropping rocks in the Iraqi Western Desert belong to the Permian period Ga'ara formation and the youngest rocks belong to the Pliocene-Pleistocene Zara formation. There are 24 formations in the study area and its immediate surroundings. The formation containing silica sands is the Rutba formation. Within the scope of the study, 5 silica sand samples were obtained from the Rutba formation. The chemical, physical and mineralogical properties of the supplied silica sand samples were determined. The petrographic study shows that the quartz mineral represents the main component of all samples, varies between 93.78% and 92.7% and 94.5% on average, and that the examined samples contain small amounts of feldspar and rock fragments. The average grain size of quartz grains ranges from 0.0625 mm to 0.2 mm (very fine sand to medium sand). As a result of the data obtained, silica sand in the region can be used in many sectors such as molding sand, hydraulic breaking sand, filter sand, glass in the chemical industry, silicon carbide and soluble silicates as a result of increasing the purity values by various ore preparation and enrichment methods.