Heavy Minerals Study of the Injana Formation Sandstone in Selected Outcrops in Iraq: Implication for Provenance and Tectonic Setting

Two sections were selected, the first section is Basara, and Sulaymaniyah, which is located at the boundary between the high and the low folded zone, and the second section is Tuz-Khurmatu, Salaheddin, which is located in the Low Folded Zone. Ten samples of sandstone were collected to study heavy minerals. The study indicates that opaque, amphibole, and pyroxene group minerals form the main heavy minerals, followed by chlorite and magnesite. According to heavy minerals assemblage, the source rocks are interpreted to be composed essentially of sedimentary followed by igneous and metamorphic rocks and the high contents of metastable minerals confirm their direct derivation from the adjacent primary source. The Ternary diagram of MF-MT-GM showed that the studied samples fall within the field of active continental margins characterized by a relatively high percentage of minerals (MF˃GM) derived from mafic magmatic rocks.