Chemical Composition of Zeolite Ore in The Al-Sis Formation Outcropping Hamad Area, Syria

The significance of this research is related to the importance of natural zeolite ore occurring within Al-Sis formations that contain admixed heterogeneous pyroclastic-sedimentary deposits of the Upper Pliocene, outcropping in three locations (Tell Mekehlat, Tell AL-Sis and Tell Om-thon). The importance of zeolite ore is related to its diverse uses in agricultural, industrial, environmental and medical fields, to its availability in huge economic amounts, as well as to its outcropping near the land surface, permitting hence simple exploitation and mining processes. The main objective of this study is to determine the chemical composition of major, trace and rare earth elements in selected 32 rock samples representing all divers lithological types of Al-Sis formations, and to clarify some geochemical correlations that exist among them. Comparison between the chemical content of major elements in the studied sedimentary and or igneous rock samples did not provide any indications that facilitate its classification into distinct rock groups. This is supported by the field observations, which in turn indicated that the composition of Al-Sis formations represents a random heterogeneous mixture of volcanic rocks with a variety of other sedimentary rocks of different origin and composition.
The high percentages of weighted water loss and carbon dioxide are positively and progressively correlated
 either to the content of samples from the zeolite and clay mineral groups or to the calcareous minerals group. With the exception of scandium, often associated with the olivine mineral widespread in abundant amount in Al-Sis Formations, the relatively high proportions of trace elements such as nickel, chromium and vanadium, may be exchanged and replaced by Mg and Fe in the crystal structure of olivine, or by Fe in some metallic minerals like magnetite and ilmenite. The samples that show low chemical contents in trace incompatible elements of large ionic size, low ionic charge, such as Rb, Ba, Sr and Cs, the so-called lithophilic elements (LILE), which have the possibility to be replaced by alkali strong elements, such as potassium and sodium in the main feldspar minerals or in the group of calcium, sodium, potassium, and barium zeolite minerals. The elements of high charge incompatible elements (HFSE) did not show any relation. The high increase in average uranium content in studied samples could be attributed to high phosphate minerals such as apatite and monazite, widespread in low percentages within Al-Sis formations. Although the high contents of heavy chalcophilic elements, such as Pb, Sn, As, Zn, Cr, Cd and U, having toxic behaviors, compared with those of their average contents in the rocks of earth crust, still in acceptable limits for  improving the fertility of agricultural soil, for desalination of agriculture and industrial water drainages or for treatment of sewage water sladges.