Japan-Mauritania Project

Study on Strategic Plan of Mineral Resources Development in
the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
among the Institute for Geo-Resources and Environment, AIST, Mauritanian Office for Geological Researches(OMRG) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) from 2003 to 2006
1. Scope of the Project
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania extend over 1.09
million km2 and is bordered by Atlantic Ocean in the west,
Mali in the east, Morocco and Algeria in the north, andSenegal in the south. Mauritania has been famous for ironresources and production since late 1950s. Exploration ofother mineral resources, in particular, diamond and gold,
have been activated in recent years because of theconfirmation of high gold potential in neighboring
countries and discovery of diamond-bearing kimberlites
in northern Mauritania. The government of the Islamic
Republic of Mauritania planed to establish a strategic
project of mineral resurces development in order to attract
more investment to mining sectors of the country.

The Mauritanian Government asked the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) a cooperation
project, which was agreed in March, 2003, and realized as
the Japan-Mauritania project entitled “Study on Strategic
Plan of Mineral Resources Development in the Islamic
Republic of Mauritania”. The Institute for Geo-Resourcesand Environment, AIST, is involved in the project not
only as a supervisor of the project, but also as a scientificcooperator for the Mauritanian Office for GeologicalResearches (OMRG), which has been practicallyconducting the project under the MauritanianGovernment.

2. Outline of the Project
The project started from October, 2003 and willl becompleted in March, 2006. The project is composed ofthe following researches and studies:Compilation and review of economic geology
information1) Review of geology publications and exploration
reports in Mauritania
2) Remote sensing data analysis
3) Review of infrastructure and environment

Data production and analysis
1) Field geological survey and mineral deposits
assessment
2) Integration of earth science data (geology,geophysics, geochemistry, hydrology)3) Upgrade of the existing GISOre deposits modeling and metallogenicinterpretation
1) Ore deposits modeling of each type of ore species
2) Metallogenic interpretation
3) Strategic prospectivity review

Strategic planning for mineral exploration promotion
1) Establishment of economic geology survey policy2) Publication of book and CD on Mauritanian
economic geology and mineral deposits
3) Promotion seminar for Mauritanian mineral sector

Location map of Mauritania.

A view of the Akjoujt deposit

Flow chart showing the researches and studies in theProject.

Major mineral resources of Mauritania up to now are
iron, phospate, gypsum, titanium, copper and gold. Morethan 14 Mt of iron ore are annually produced from thebanded iron formations at the Guelb El Rhein, Kedia
d’Idjill and M’Haoudat deposits in the Zouerate region inthe Reguibat Shield. 22.6 Mt of copper and 30t of gold isestimated at the Akjoujt deposit in the Mauritanides near
the contatct with the Reguibat Shield. Phospate deposits
occur in the Early Cambrian in the Taoudeni Basin and in
the Eocene in the Mauritania-Senegal Basin. Ilmenite
placer deposits occur near the Atlantic coast in theSenegal-Mauritaina Basin. A few meter-thick gypsum
deposit occurs in recent evaporites at Ndrhamcha Sebkha
in the Senegal-Mauritaina Basin as well as several
tens-centimeter-thick salt layers at Aftout es Saheli.

3. Mauritanian geology and mineral resources
Outline of geology and mineral resourcesWest Africa is based by Archean and early to middle
Proterozoic crystalline rocks of the West-African craton.
This craton is exposed in the Reguibat and Leo Shields,
and a central part underlies the late Paleozoic to
Mesozoic Taoudeni Basin. The Pan-African and
Mauritanides Fold Belts truncate the West-African craton
in the east and west, respectively. The Mauritanides, apoly-phase deformation zone from late Proterozoic to latePaleozoic age, separate the Taoudeni Basin from theSenegal-Mauritania Basin that started forming in theTriassic time due to the spreading of the Atlantic Ocean.
Thus, the geology of Mauritania consists mainly of fourunits; the Reguibat Shield, Mauritanides, Taoudeni Basinand Senegal-Mauritania Basin.

Amounts of iron ore exprted from Mauritania to othercountries.
Akjoujt copper-gold deposit
The Akjoujt area in the Mauritanides consists ofsupracrustal suite of metamorphosed volcanic,volcaniclastic rocks that overthrust northwards andeastwards onto the Reguibat Shield and sedimentaryrocks in the Taoudeni Basin.
Copper production from the Akjoujt deposit began in
1952. Oepn pit mining started in 1967 and oxide copperores were exploited. A recent exploration work confirmed
23.6 Mt of ore at 1.88 % Cu, 1.4 g/t Au and 143 ppm Co.
The host rocks of the Akjoujt deposit consist of chlorite
schist, meta-gabbroic schist with minor amounts ofamphibolite and limestone.

Cross section of the Akjoujt orebody by Strickland andMartyn (2001).

Simplified geology and mineral deposits in Mauritania.

The orebody is lenticuler in shape and hosted mainlyby carbonate rocks within metabasic rocks.
Theorebodies vary in size and reaches more than 50 meters
thick. The boundary between the ore body and schist isconsistent with local schistosity.
Ore minerals are chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, cubanite,arsenopyrite and cobaltite. Magnetite is dominantlyassociated. Gangue minerals are actinolite, tremolite andanthophyllite.

and the east by concentric and continuous belts ofgneisses. From core to margin, aluminous (sillimanitegneiss), ferruginous (magnetite quartzite), siliceous andcalcareous (marble) metamorphic rocks occur. Towards
the southwest, in the Tijirit and Tasiast, remaining septaof greenstone belts increase in size, because of lesser
erosion. In the Zouerate region, the Ijil Group,
allochthonous units less metamorphosed than thebasement, is intercalated between the Tiris Group and thelower part of the Upper Proterozoic series (1,000 Ma) ofthe Taoudeni Basin.

Boundary of magnetite ore (lower) and chlorite schist(upper) at Akjoujt.

Lithologic map of the Archean Reguibat Shield.
Disseminated chalcopyrite in siderite-bearing magnetite
ore at Akjoujt

The Zouerate region contains eight major irondeposits of “Superior“ type. These iron deposits consistof layer-parallel ferruginous beds associated withsiliceous clastic sediments including conglomerate,sandstone, quartzite and mica schist.

Open pit at Zouerate.
Surface oxidized ore with malachite dissemination at
Akjoujt.
Iron deposits at Zouerate
The Archean shield contrasts with the Eburnean
shield by the occurrence of high-grade metamorphism at
3000 Ma, and by the abundance of migmatites andferruginous quartzites. The main structural feature is amigmatitic core 300 km in diameter where gneiss septa
remain. The migmatite core is surrounded in the northHigh-grade ore of specularite and hematite.

Kadiar copper-gold prospect
The kadiar district in the southern Mauritanides isunderlain by three zones consisting of eastern chlorite
schist, central sericite schist and western granite schist.
The chlorite schist and granite schist are believed to be
Precambrian in age, whereas the sericite schist isCambrian in age. The Kadiar prospect consists oflenticular iron oxide orebodies in chlorite shcist. A majorore body is 60 m thick and 500 m long, forming anorth-trending hill, parallel to the regional bedding
planes.

development
2005. 11 Final report making
2006. 02 Submission of final reports
2006. 03 Presentation of the project results at PDAC

Gold geochemical prospecting in the Sfariat area,
northern Mauritania.

The major iron oxide orebody at Kadiar.
The ore at the surface consists mainly of hematite andgeothite, whereas sulfide minerals including chalcopyrite
are confirmed at depth by drilling. Analytical data
indicate that the major orebody contains 120-135 ppm Au,
600-4000 ppm Cu and 900-1200 ppm Zn. The
mineralization style is similar to that at Akjoujt, whereiron oxides with sulfide minerals replace carbonate rocks

4. Publications
Koie, M., Kurokawa, K., Nito, K. and Watanabe, Y.
(2002) Report of the Project Formation Survey in theIslamic Republic of Mauritania. Japan International
Cooperation Agency, JR02-169, 65p. (in Japanese).
Koie, M., Kojima, G., Watanabe, Y., Goto, H and Naito,K. (2003) Report on the preliminary research for theproject “Strategic Plan of Mineral Resources
Development in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania”.
Japan International Cooperation Agency, JR03-083,
98p. (in Japanese).
Watanabe, Y. and Naito, K. (2003) Geological Surveys inthe world-Office Mauritanien de Récherches
Géolgiques (OMRG). Chishitsu News, no. 583, p.
71-72 (in Japanese).

5. Future itinerary
2004. 05-06 Sample analyses, Data compilation andconstruction of database and website
2004. 09 Progress report
2004. 10-11 Field geological survey
2005. 01-03 Field geological survey and sample analyses
2005. 06 Ore deposit modeling and metallogenicinterpretation
2005. 06-07 Operation of database2005. 10 Strategic planning of mineral resources

Participants of the Japan-Mauritania Project

6. Technical supervisors
Yasushi WatanabeMineral Resource Research Group, Institute for
Geo-Resources and Environment, AIST
Central 7, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan.
tel: +81-29-861-3811, fax: +81-29-861-3717
e-mail: y-watanabe@aist.go.jp

Hiroyasu Murakami
Mineral Resource Research Group, Institute for
Geo-Resources and Environment, AIST
Central 7, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan.
tel: +81-29-861-3939, fax: +81-29-861-3717
e-mail: h-murakami@aist.go.jp

Koh Naito
Mineral Resource Research Group, Institute for
Geo-Resources and Environment, AIST
Central 7, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan.
tel: +81-29-861-6789, fax: +81-29-861-3717
e-mail: naito-koh@aist.go.jp