Heavy Minerals Distribution and Provenance in Palinurus Shoal, Northwest of the Arabian Gulf

Abstract

Twelve stations were selected from Palinurus shoal area and one sample from each station where dredged. The heavy and light minerals of a sandy fraction in size 0.125mm were separated by Bromoform liquid and identified. After the petrographic study of twenty-four thin sections under the polarized microscope, mineral identification showed different types, dominated by opaque as 41.8% with some transparent minerals, which indicate multiple source rocks as sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. The main components of the studied sand fraction are opaque minerals followed by transparent minerals as pyroxene, hornblende, zircon, tourmaline, and rutile. This assemblage discerns that the sand deposits are of a moderate type. The triangular clarifies that the values are located near the stable medium range, the Palinurus Shoal region has moderate stability of the mineral deposits and this confirms the increase in the percentage of opaque minerals percentage, which could be attributed to the drop in sea level during the sedimentation period.