Geology of Mauritania ore. A Neoproterozoic carbonate unit, part of a synformal nappe overturned in the Paleozoic, now forms a major copper deposit 250 kilometers northeast of Nouakchott in the Mauritanides Belt. The one kilometer, 250 meter wide deposit spans the West and East Moghrein Guelb hills. Forty meters below the deposit is a secondary deposit of cuprite, azurite, malachite and tenorite, with an additional 2.25% copper, some gold and sulfide mineralization including cubanite, chalcopyrite, pyrrohitite and aresnopyrite. In the 2000s, mining at the site had mostly ceased except for gold mining in the tailings pile. Gypsum is extracted from the N'Drahamcha quarry,
Iron ore infrastructure such as rail in order to transport the ore from the mine to a freight ship. For these reasons, iron ore production is concentrated in the hands of a few major players. World production averages two billion metric tons of raw ore annually. The world's largest producer of iron ore is the Brazilian mining corporation Vale, followed by Anglo-Australian companies Rio Tinto Group and then BHP Billiton. A further Australian supplier, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, has helped bring Australia's production to first in the world. The seaborne trade in iron ore, that is, iron ore to be shipped to