GEOSURV geological museum was established in 2010 in order to document and demonstrate the geological role in all its aspects (fieldwork and office work) and its significance in the activities of investigating for different minerals and rocks, their extraction and their marketing.
The exhibited articles in the geological museum show the magnitude of geological role. These articles are classified as:
- The collection of investment rocks and deposits.
- The collection of illustrative rocks and minerals for study purposes and to comprehend the nature and composition of different kinds of rocks which exist either in the form of layers or rock sequences belonging to different geological periods.
- Different geological maps scale 1:1000000.
- The timescale of geological periods and epochs.
- The fossils collection which specify the exact age of rock layers and geological formations.
The Museum embraced a number of exhibits which were classified as follow:
1.Investment deposits which have been explored, extracted and marketed by GEOSURV as:
Sulphur
Geological investigations have shown the existence of large reserves of sulphur deposits in Ninevah governorate at Al-Mishraq fields (1,2,and 3) and in Al-Fatha area which is about 200 km away from Salah Al-Deen governorate. These deposits exist within Al-Fatha Formation (M.Miocene) interbedded with limestone .The demand for sulphur has been increased as it is used in the manufacturing of phosphate fertilizers used in agriculture, also it can be transformed into sulfuric acid which is used in the manufacturing of minerals, paper, medicines and alum for water purification.
Phosphate
An inorganic compound of phosphoric acid which is considered as an important subsurface resource used for industrial and agricultural purposes. It exists in the Western Desert of Iraq especially in Akashat within Akashat Formation/Paleocene epoch. It is used in the preparation of phosphorus and phosphoric acid used for mineral, military, medical and food industries, it is also used in the industry of textiles and phosphate fertilizers.
Iron Deposits
These deposits are exposed in Al-Anbar governorate/the Western Desert within Al Qa'ara Formation/Permian period and Al-Hussainiyat Formation/Jurassic period. They consist of hematite and geothite in the form of volumetric and massive laminated textures associated with kaolin and quartz sand.
Clays
Geological Investigations have revealed the existence of many types of clays distributed in the middle and south of Iraq. These are:
Recent Clays: Quaternary deposits which exist in all the governorates located in the alluvial plain. They are clayey sand deposits used in the industry of bricks and cement.
Kaolin Clays: they are formed from rocks weathering which contain high ratios of feldspar .They exist in the form of interbedded lenses of clay and sand within Al-Qa'ara Formation/Permian period .They are either a white kaolin, as in Dounja quarry in the Western Desert, or a colored kaolin as in Al-Hussainiyat area. Kaolin clays are used in the industry of ceramic, refractories, white cement, bricks and tiles.
Flint: colorless clay exists in karst deposits along with bauxite as in the north of Al-Hussainiyat. They are mainly used in the industry of white cement and refractories.
Bauxite: karstic claystone exist in the north of Al-Hussainiyat/Anbar governorate belonging to the Jurassic period. It is used in the industry of refractories and alum.
Bentonite: These clays exist in Kirkuk and Al-Anbar governorates. They are formed in a marine-reduction environment, and they are used in drilling oil wells, oil bleaching, wax and plumbing.
Sand
As silica sand which exist in the Western Desert of Al-Anbar governorate within the formations of Qa'ara, Al-Hussainiyat, Nahr Umr, Najma, Mauddud and Msa'd/Permian, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods respectively. The sand is characterized by its high purity since the ratio of silica (SiO2) exceeds 95% and found through more than 10 meters depth. There are two main sites for extracting this sand: the first is Um Rahma quarry near Al-Rutba city, and the second is near Kilo 160. Silica sand is used in the manufacturing of ceramic, glass, refractories and plumbing. There is also sand bearing feldspar where feldspar is considered as a recent raw material used in local ceramic industry. Its deposits exist in Al-Najaf Plateau-Iraq within sand layers deposited in a fluvial environment in Dibdibba Formation/ Paleocene epoch. This kind of sand is used as a raw material in the industry of ceramic paste with clays. Quartzite, on the other hand, is found in the form of rock masses resistance to weathering and erosion because of the silica-colloid components penetrated within their sand granules, thus hardening them. Quartzite is found in large quantities in the governorates of Al-Najaf, Karbala, Salah Al-Deen, Kerkuk, Basrah and Al-Anbar within Dibdibba Formation. It is used in the industry of acid lining for furnaces.
Salts
There are many salt resources in Iraq, for example common salt (NaCl) which is found in Al-Muthana and Ninevah governorates. Salt resources belong to different geological formations, they are either surface formations as in Al-Dhiban Formation/M.Miocene which are not invested, or in the form of surface salterns as in Al-Jazera area/Al-Bawara Lake and Al-Muthana governorate/Al-Samawa Saltern where salt is formed from leaked groundwater. There are other kinds of salts as sodium sulphide (Na2SO4) which exists in Salah Al-Deen governorate/Al-Shari Saltern .It consists of various clay deposits and used in the industry of vegetable oil and glass.
Limestone
Limestone (CaCO3) is a kind of sedimentary rock which consists of limestone mixed with different ratios of silica. It is mostly white in color, but the existence of clay, sand and iron oxides makes it appear in various colors. There are many kinds of limestone as chalk, dolomite and marble, and it is used in many industries as acquiring lime (CaO) for construction, cement industry, paper, acquiring carbon dioxide used in the industry of calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) and it is also used as a construction stone. It is found in many Iraqi governorates as Al-Anbar, Al-Muthana, Al-Najaf, Ninevah and Kurdistan Region. Limestone deposits belong to Al-Rutba and Al-Dammam formations/ Eocene epoch, Al-Furat Formation/ Early Miocene and Al-Fatha Formation/ M.Miocene. Limestone is also used as a marble substitute.
2.The museum contains a number of illustrative exhibits to show the composition of different rock layers and their components of rocks, minerals etc… There is a section of different kinds of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks; also there is an exhibit of many minerals and their composites as oxides, sulfate, sulfides, carbons and silicate
3.Fossils.
4.Dur Al-Najaf (Quartz)
It is a kind of pebbles composed of 98% quartz. Their color range from white to pink to smoky, of different sizes which range from 10 cm to 1 mm. The pebble shape differs as it may be oval, flat, circular, semicircular or cylindrical. These are found in Al-Najaf governorate at the upper parts of Tar Al-Najaf in the folds of Dibdibba Formation. Dur Al-Najaf is used for polishing purposes.
5.Geode
They are secondary geological structures exist in igneous and sedimentary rocks. They are irregular and hollow masses of mineral components which have different shapes depending on the surrounding rocks. These structures are exposed on the surface because the enclosing rocks had suffered from weathering and crushing. Geodes are characterized by their different colors where they might be pink or violet because of the existence of amethyst crystals. They are mostly found in the Western Desert of Iraq.
6.Geological Maps
The geological museum also contains a collection of geological maps, scale 1:1000000 which cover most parts of the Country.