The Iforas (Adrar des Iforas) forms a southwestern promontory of the central saharan Hoggar shield (Black et al., 1979) and consists of metamorphosed Upper Proterozoic sediments and older basement rocks. Most of the alkaline rocks of Mali are located within this area (Fig. 167) and have been reviewed by Ba et al. (1985). Descriptions of rock types are given in the text accompanying the 1:500,000 map of the Adrar des Iforas (Fabre, 1982; Fabre et al., 1982). An outline of the general geology of the area including brief descriptions of some of the principal alkaline intrusions will be found in Black et al. (1979), and Liegeois et al. (1996) give a short account of the alkaline rocks and carbonatites of the Tadhak province of northwestern Iforas. Liégeois and Black (1984) review the geochronology of the igneous rocks of the Iforas and the same authors have also published a broader review (Liégeois and Black, 1987).
A large intrusion of granite on the northeastern side of the Iforas Province is depicted on the 1:500,000 geological map (Fabre, 1982; see also Ba et al., 1985, Fig. 2). On the map it is categorised as undifferentiated alkaline and peralkaline granite.
This is a 3x1.5 km intrusion of microgranite which cuts the Oumassene group of andesites, basalts and tuffs. It consists of perthite, sodic amphibole, aegirine and a little biotite.
This intrusion forms a dome of 8x5 km within the Tiralrar rhyolites. It is composed of granite and peralkaline microgranite but little else is known.
Covering 18x8 km this bean-shaped intrusion is composed principally of peralkaline granites including aegirine-arfvedsonite granite. At the southern margin is a small mass of amphibole-biotite granite which is cut by apatite dykes.
Extending some 25 km north-south and with a width of 8 km Ebrhoren is cut by several sinistral faults trending approximately parallel to its length, which are probably responsible for its elongated form. It is composed of aegirine-arfvedsonite granite.
The 8x2 km intrusion of Alimamas cuts Tiralrur rhyolites and ignimbrites. It consists of peralkaline granites similar to those of Ebrhoren (No. 105-00-015).
This complex is built from six intrusive granite phases of which the fourth and fifth are peraluminous and the other four peralkaline, with successively younger intrusions emplaced inwards.
This intrusion is described by Liégeois and Black (1984) as consisting of adamellite but is shown on the 'Carte Geologique de l'Adrar des Iforas', 1:500,000 (Fabre, 1982) as 'Granites alcalins et hyperalcalins indifferencies'.
Situated immediately west of Kidal-Tibeljeljeline (No. 105-00-020) Djounhane is an almost perfectly circular complex 15 km in diameter which is revealed strikingly on satellite photographs (Ba et al., 1985, Fig. 3; Liégeois and Black, 1984).
This complex, at 30x24 km, is the largest of those of L'Adrar des Iforas. It is divided by a sinistral fault with a throw of 7 km into the major Kidal part and a much smaller Tibeljeljeline segment to the southwest.