A late Triassic 40Ar/39Ar age for the El Hammam high-REE fluorite deposit (Morocco): mineralization related to the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province?

El Hammam is the only fluorite mine in Morocco (production 100,000 t/year). The fluorite mineralization is in an array of fluorite–calcite veins and is characterized by unusually high REE content in carbonate minerals (1,400 ppm in calcite; up to 2,000 ppm in siderite) and in fluorite (about 600 ppm). Since the 1960s, the genesis of the deposit has been attributed to a mesothermal hydrothermal event connected with late-Variscan granitic intrusions. Precise ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of hydrothermal K-feldspar yields an age of formation of the El Hammam deposit at 205 ± 1 Ma. Its genesis is therefore associated in time and space with the development of the Triassic–Jurassic basins and the associated anorogenic continental flood basalts of the Moroccan Mesetian Middle Atlas. The source of the hydrothermal mineralization (magmatic and/or metamorphic) is discussed.     

Estimation of the peak flows in the catchment area of Batna(Algeria)

The limited knowledge of the variations,both spatial and temporal,of the flow patterns at the watershed level invariably leads to poor space management,generating great and often irreversible damage.Therefore,measuring peak flows appears to be not only important but even essential.Due to the absence of hydrometric stations at the outlet of the sub-basins that are part of comprehensive prevention strategy,and were established because of the high vulnerability of the city of Batna,this study provides a transformation model of rainfall into flows in the Batna watershed.This work aims to model the transformation of rainfall into flows.To estimate the Q max,two formulas were used,and Turazza's seems to be the most adequate,because it demonstrates a cumulative sub-basins flow close to the result recorded by the only hydrometric station at the outlet of Batna Watershed.From this modeling,it is possible to estimate the extreme quantiles with the return periods of 10,20,50 and 100 years for each sub-basin.Its purpose is to help design of hydraulic works and increase the resilience of development projects that might be exposed to floods.