Site visit to United Arab Emirates island
IGS senior specialist geoscientist Dr. Christoph J. Dobmeier took part in a pre-tender site visit on one of the islands of the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf from December 11 to 13. 2024.
The round to elliptical shape of many of the islands gives a direct indication of their geology, as they expose parts of salt-piercement structures. All associated rocks of these structures form the Ediacaran to early Cambrian Hormuz Complex. A characteristic feature is the presence of megaclasts which can reach several 100 m in edge length. Current U-Pb ages indicate that the megaclasts (volcanic, subvolcanic, volcanogenic and detrital sedimentary lithologies) were not detached from younger units as the salt moved toward the surface. Since the ages match that of the salt, they must have been located directly underneath, above, next to or in between it.
The megaclasts are embedded in the so-called Hormuz breccia, a commonly poorly sorted breccia with a very fine-grained maroon matrix composed of gypsum (and/or anhydrite), quartz, and haematite. A slight salty taste indicates the presence of some halite. The almost complete absence of salt, however, was not expected and therefore a very big surprise. It is best explained by salt dissolution during arid weathering. The widespread occurrence of gypcrete (or gypcrust) supports this assumption. Sedimentary rocks of the Holocene Jebal Dhanna Formation rim the salt structure. While the salt structures were emplaced in Miocene time, the displacement of the Holocene rocks suggests that the salt is still or again moving.
IGS would like to thank the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MOEI) and Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) for the invitation and their hospitality during the visit.
Participants of the site visit including IGS senior specialist geoscientist Dr Christoph J Dobmeier (standing, 3rd from right)
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IGS Team at FMF25 in Riyadh and Dr Feargal Murphy Speaking at Knowledge Exchange Program in the conference
Dr Feargal Murphy, Principal Geophysicist at IGS, was one of the Knowledge Exchange Program Speakers at a workshop on the first day of FMF25 in Riyadh.
His presentation was on an overview of the SGS (Saudi Geological Survey) RGP airborne Geophysics project in Saudi Arabia and he presented preliminary data examples to demonstrate the hugely increased resolution of the data compared with legacy data. Some of this data is available for free on the National Geoscience Database portal.
IGS Ltd also turned out in strength for FMF2025 in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. It was great to meet so many clients at the IGS booth. The exhibition continues to grow in size and quality every year and this was reflected in the volume and focused nature of many visitors who visited our booth.
Dr Feargal Murphy speaking at Knowledge Exchange Program workshop during FMF25 in Riyadh
From left Dr. Rowan Vernon, Dr. Ashley Johnson, Dr. Feargal Murphy, Dr. Peter Zawada
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Mongolian Mining Week 2024 – MinePro 2024, Quarrying and Mining Exhibition in Ulaanbaatar
Dr. Peter Zawada, IGS Managing Director, attended the Mongolian Mining Week 2024 – MinePro 2024, quarrying and mining exhibition in Ulaanbaatar from 2nd to 5th October 2024.
Peter gave a presentation on ‘Modern government-held geoscience data – a prerequisite for exploration investment decisions’ and was also part of a panel discussion on ‘Consulting services for the mining sector – UK capabilities’.
The UK Department for Business & Trade featured prominently at the exhibition and with the British Embassy in Ulaanbaatar provided excellent support for the trip, arranging the talk/panel discussion and meetings with various stakeholders.
Dr Peter Zawada with Minister Tuvaan of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resource
Dr. Peter Zawada with Mr Munkhtur, Director of the National Geological Survey of Mongolia (third from right) and Mr. Benjamin Aldred, UK Deputy Trade Commissioner for Eastern Europe & Central Asia (far right)
By Dr. Peter Zawada – Managing Director
(For more information please contact us at enquiries@igsint.com)
The 6th Uzbekistan International Mining and Metals Forum in Tashkent
Dr. Ash Johnson, IGS Director, recently attended the 6th Uzbekistan International Mining and Metals Forum in Tashkent. As part of the ‘Critical minerals: sources of innovative transition’ panel, he spoke about ‘Modern government geoscience data in the search for critical minerals’, highlighting the role modern data plays in attracting exploration investment into a country.
The highlights of the presentation included examples from the ongoing Regional Geoscience Programme of the Saudi Geological Survey, for which IGS is serving as the Technical Partner in collaboration with GTK, as well as examples from World Bank-funded projects in Nigeria and Uganda in which IGS is also participating.
For more information on how we can help with your regional geoscience projects and the search for critical minerals, please contact us at enquiries@igsint.com).
Dr Ash Johnson (far right) with panelists on the ‘Critical minerals: sources of innovative transition’ session of UIMF24, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Geological Mapping of the Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia
IGS (International Geoscience Services) Ltd contributes to the largest geological mapping project as leader of the Technical Partner consortium (IGS, GTK, PGW, Geotech Arabia) to the Saudi Geological Survey. One element of support are field inspections during which the quality of the field work is assessed and the quality of the submitted field data is reviewed.
Geologists of the Technical Partner accompany the field activities continuously. The geologists spend part of their time with the field geologists to evaluate their work with a focus on how support and output can be optimized and to make sure that occupational safety is a top priority. Independently, they visit sites to verify geological data collected earlier by field geologists.
The second field season of project Detailed Geological Mapping of the Arabian Shield (GMAS) started in the first days of September 2024. In October 2024, activities focus on the easternmost part of the Arabian Shield between the cities of Al Quwajja, Ad Dawadimi and Bijadiya. GMAS is one of the many initiatives of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
IGS geologist and Team Leader for the GMAS project Christoph Dobmeier (4th from left) with field geologists Tao Bai, Shengwei Wang, Mobarak Al Nadi, and Chao Sun (from left) at the end of a hot field day on map sheet Mughayrā’ (4524-3) and checking field data on sheet Jabal al ‘Ard (4424-2).
By Dr. Christoph J. Dobmeier (EurGeol)– Principal Geologist (for more information please contact us at enquiries@igsint.com)
