OUTLINES OF IRAQ MINERAL AND MINING STRATEGY: A PROPOSAL FOR DISCUSSION

Iraq is rich in mineral resources and industrial rocks, discovered and assessed over half a century of geological exploration works. Iraqi native sulfur deposits are the largest in the world and the Iraqi phosphorite deposits come second after Morocco. Large deposits of silica sand, kaolin, limestone, bentonite and construction raw materials have been discovered and partly exploited. Metallic mineral deposits and occurrences are restricted to the Kurdistan Region including Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr – Ni and Fe. None of which have been exploited.