A study of Chromite Deposits of the Abdasht Peridotites

Approximately 50 chromite outcrops are observed in the Esfandagheh Paleozoic ophiolite complex, of which few are economically important. Rock types in Abdasht area are mostly dunite and harzburgite and the chromite deposits occur as lens- shaped bodies in dunite. Texture of the bodies is nodular, disseminated and massive which occasionally all these textures can be seen together in one orebody. These deposits are rich in chromium and poor in aluminum. Moreover, there is no mineral concentration of elements such as Ni, Co and PGE in the chromite ore and host rocks. The chromite deposits in Abdasht region are of Alpine type (podiform).