TITLE:
Copper Mineralization in the Lower Cambrian Cover of Jbel N’Zourk (Central Anti Atlas, Morocco): Tectonic-Mineralizations Relationships
AUTHORS:
Achraf Ait Yazza, Ismail Bouskri, Mohamed Raji, Faouziya Haissen, Noura Zoraa
KEYWORDS:
Central Anti-Atlas, Lower Cambrian Cover, Copper Mineralization, Structural
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Geology,
Vol.13 No.11,
November
22,
2023
ABSTRACT: The Moroccan Anti-Atlas is a vast geological region composed of a Precambrian basement covered by a late-Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic sedimentary sequences. More than 200 copper occurrences are listed in these sequences. The copper mineralization of the Jbel N’Zourk (Central Anti-Atlas) is observed into the lower Limestones of the lower Cambrian (Adoudou formation), just above the volcanic formations of the Jbel Boho between Bou Azzer El Graara and Zenaga inliers. The region is by an E-W shortening resulting in an overlapping structure with vergence associated with folds. Generally, the mineralization is hosted along the principal fault of Jbel N’Zourk and sometimes in the anticlines hinges. The petrographic study showed that the mineralization can be observed in several aspects, either in the fractures and veins, in small karsts or rarely disseminated in calcite and dolomite minerals. These observations host new arguments who contribute to a later reconcentration of the copper mineralization of Jbel N’Zourk, trapped on faulted and folded structures attributed to Variscan deformation.