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Sidi-Daoui Opencast Operations

Prospect in Casablanca*, Morocco with commodities Phosphorus-Phosphates, Fluorine-Fluorite, Uranium
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Host and associated rocks
  7. Nearby scientific data
  8. Ore body information
  9. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  10. Mining district
  11. Ownership information
  12. Reserves and resources
  13. Links to other databases
  14. Bibliographic references
  15. General comments
  16. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10024671
MRDS ID ISM0405
Record type Site
Current site name Sidi-Daoui Opencast Operations
Alternate or previous names Grand-Daoui, Daoui-Sud, Khouribga Opencast Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -6.63164, 32.86618 (WGS84)
Elevation 700
Relative position CENTROID, ABOUT 2 KM

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Casablanca*(province)

Morocco(country)

Africa(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Morocco Casablanca*

Comments on the location information

  • SEVERAL OPERATIONS. YOUSSOUFIA FIELD WHICH IS PART OF THE GANNTOUR DEPOSIT, HAS BEEN DIVIDED IN OPERATION UNITS, CALLED RECETTES. RECETTE 3: SURFACE OPERATION, 8 DEG. 27'W-32 DEG. 14'N, CLOSURE IN 1982, DEPLETION OF RESERVES, WHITE PHOSPHATE; RECETTE 4: SURFACE MINING, 8 DEG. 23'W-32 DEG. 11'N, ACTIVE, WHITE PHOSPHATES; RECETTE 5: SURFACE MINING, 8 DEG. 33'W-32 DEG. 11'N, ACTIVE, WHITE PHOSPHATES; RECETTE 6: SURFACE MINING, 8 DEG. 04'W-32 DEG. 12'N, BEING PREPARED FOR PRODUCTION, WHITE & BLACK PHOSPHATES; RECETTE 7: UNDERGROUND MINE, 8 DEG. 29'W-32 DEG. 11'N, ACTIVE, BLACK PHOSPHATES; RECETTE 8: UNDERGROUND MINE, EXACT LOCATION UNKNOWN, STARTING PRODUCTION IN 1982, BLACK PHOSPHATES. IN SEVERAL OUTCROPS IN YOUSSOUFIA AREA SMALL-SCALE OPERATIONS OF PRIVATE COMPANIES PRODUCE ORES WHICH ARE DELIVERED TO THE OCP BENEFICIATION PLANTS

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Phosphorus-Phosphates Primary
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Primary
Uranium Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PHOSPHATE

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Dalle A Thersite, Lutetian;Ypresian;Maestrichtian
    Rock description Dalle A Thersite, Lutetian;Ypresian;Maestrichtian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Chert

Nearby scientific data

(1) -6.63164, 32.86618
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Depth to top 6M

Comments on the geologic information

  • ; APATITE, CALCITE, DOLOMITE, SILICA, ARGILLACEOUS MATTER, ORGANIC BITUNMINOUS MATTER IN BLACK PHOSPHATES; 4 MAIN PHOSPHATE BEDS WITHIN LCRET-EO SEDIMENT SEQUENCE. BED 1, MONTIAN-AGE, HAS BEEN BY FAR THE MOST PRODUCTIVE SEAM. BLACK PHOSPHATES ARE ENCOUNTERED IN OPERATIONS BELOW WATER TABLE. WHITE PHOSPHATE OF SEAM 1 HAS UNDERGONE METEORIC ALTERATION, LOSS OF ORGANIC MATTER. TYPICAL SECTION THROUGH MAIN PHOSPHATE SEQUENCE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: 21 M SANDS, PHOSPHATIC (26 % BPL) AND PHOSPHATIC MARLS, YPRESIAN/THANETIAN; 1.5 M ALTERNATION OF LIMESTONES AND SMALL PHOSPHATE-LAYERS; 0.5 M COUCHE O, PHOSPHATE, 64 % BPL, MONTIAN; 0.5 M PHOSPHATIC LIMESTONE, MONTIAN; 2.6 M COUCHE 1, PHOSPHATE CARBONATIC, 58 % BPL, MONTIAN; 1.0 M MARLS & SILEXITES; 0.5 M SILLON X, ARENITIC PHOSPHATE, 61 % BPL, UPPERMOST MAESTRICHTIAN; 3 M MARLS; 3 M COUCHE 2, ARENITIC PHOSPHATE, 60 % BPL; 1 M PHOSPHATIC LIMESTONES; 1 M COUCHE 3, ARENITIC PHOSPHATE, 63 % BPL, MAESTRICHTIAN

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Both
Significant No
Discovery year 1922
Year of first production 1956
Year of last production 1982

Mining district

District name Oulad Abdoun Phosphate Deposit

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Ocp
  • Type Owner
    Owner Office Cherifien Des Phosphates (Ocp), State Owned; Bvd. De La Grande Ceinture, Casablanca/Maroc

Comments on the production information

  • EXPANSION PLANS FOR 8 MILLION TONNES IN 1983 AND 9 MILLION TONNES IN 1985PRODUCTION OF CALCINED CONCENTRATES FROM BLACK PHOSPHATES WILL INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY MISSING DATA FOR SEVERAL YEARS WERE INTERPOLATED

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1982
    Total resources 16000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Phosphorus-Phosphates Bpl 80 wt-pct Phosphorus Major 1982

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • THE RESERVES OF BLACK ROCK ARE GREATER THAN 1 BILLION CUBIC METRES
  • RESERVES AT BLOCK 7 (RECETTE 7) AMOUNT TO 1 BILLION TONNES, INCLUDING THE BLACK PHOSPHATE. RESERVES OF TOTAL YOUSSOUFIA FIELD SHOULD BE SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER

Comments on development

  • NON-GEOLOGIC CONSTRAINTS ON DEVELOPMENT OR EXPANSION IN 1-5 YRS. (). DEVELOPMENT(YES); EXPLORATION(YES); BLACK PHOSPHATE ORE BEING MINED IN UNDERGROUND OPERATIONS BELOW GROUND WATER TABLE WILL HAVE GROWING IMPORTANCE. CONCENTRATES FROM YOUSSOUFIA BENEFICIATION PLANTS ARE RAILED TO SAFI (PORT, AND CHEMICAL COMPLEX) CALCINED CONC. ENTIRELY FOR EXPORT, CONCENTRATE MADE FROM WHITE PHOSPHATE ORES PARTIALLY FOR PRODUCTION OF PHOSPHORIC ACID AND TSP IN SAFI PLANT. RAILWAY CONNECTION YOUSSOUFIA-SAFI 80 KM. 1) CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF YOUSSOUFIA 75 % BPL: 74.6 % BPL, 34.14 % P2O5, 4.25 % F, 0.05 % CL, 2.32 % SO3, 2.9 % CO2, 53.84 % CAO, 0.46 % MGO, 0.33 % AL2O3, 0.15 % FE2O3, 2.72 % SIO2, 0.89 % NA2O, 0.09 % K2O, 0.21 % OM. 2) ANALYSIS OF BLACK PHOSPHATES: 67-68 % BPL, 5.6 % CO2, 45 % CAO, 0.4 % MGO, 0.21 % OM, 17-18 % LOI. SOURCES: 1) BRITISH SULPHUR CORP. LTD., 1980: WORLD SURVEY OF PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS, 4TH ED., LONDON; 2) INFORMATION OBTAINED DURING REPORTER'S VISIT

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BRITISH SULPHUR CORP. LTD., 1980: WORLD SURVEY OF PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS, 4TH ED., LONDON

  • Deposit

    SALVAN, H. 1960: LES PHOSPHATES DE CHAUX SEDIMENTAIRES DU MAROC. NOTES MAROCAINES; SOC. GEOGR. MAROC, NO.14, P.7-20, RABAT

  • Deposit

    MOUNTASSIR, M. EL. 1977: LA ZONE RUBEFIEE DE SIDI DAOUI... THESIS, UNIVERSITY STRASBOURG

  • Deposit

    BELFKIRA, O. 1980: EVOLUTIONS SEDIMENTOLOGIQUES ET GEOCHIMIQUES DE LA SERIE PHOSPHATEE DU MAESTRICHTIEN DES OULAD ABDOUN. THESIS, UNIVERSITY GRENOBLE

  • Production

    INFORMATION OBTAINED DURING VISIT IN APRIL 1982

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THIS RECORD WAS COMPILED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC MINERALS INVENTORY. THE DATA WERE USED IN PREPARATION OF THE USGS CIRCULAR 930 SERIES OF REPORTS. MINERAL RESOURCE CATEGORIES AND CODES HEREIN ARE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM RECOMMENDED BY THE UNITED NATIONS GROUP OF EXPERTS ON DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY FOR MINERAL RESOURCES. (SEE NATIONAL RESOURCES FORUM, V. 4, NO. 3, P. 307-313.). SURFACE, UNDERGROUND SCREENING, WASHING, DRYING, CALCINATION OCP-POLITICS CONCERNING RESOURCE EVALUATION AIMS TO PROVE QUANTITIES FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS OF MINING ONLY, WITHIN PROPERTIES DEVELOPED FOR PRODUCTION (=RECETTES). OFFICIAL PUBLISHED OCP-FIGURES FOR TOTAL GANNTOUR DEPOSIT ARE AS FOLLOWS: TOTAL AREA OF DEPOSIT: 2850 KM2, AREA RECOGNIZED AND STUDIED 605 KM2, KNOWN AND INVESTIGATED RESERVES WITHIN STUDIED AREAS 6.84 BILLION M3. DENSITY OF PHOSPHORITES MIGHT AVERAGE 1.6. ASSUMING THAT RECOVERY RATE IS ABOUT 60-65 % LEDS TO THE RELATION: 1 M3 EQUALS 1 TONNE RECOVERABLE ORE.
Deposit ESTIMATE OF TOTAL PROVEN RESERVES FOR GANNTOUR DEPOSIT AFTER BRITISH SULPHUR CORP. LTD. 1980 (RF1) 13 BILLION TO 15 BILLION TONNES GRADING AT 61.2-72.1 % BPL

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1982 Krauss, Ulrich H. Bundesanstalt Fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffee (Germany)

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

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