Geomorphologically, the study area comprises three geomorphic units, the foreshore zone, the backshore
flat and coastal sebkhas. El-Sahel (coastal) drain runs parallel to the shoreline. The coastal plain of study area
is divided to northern and southern sectors; each sector covers an area of about 10Km2. The northern sector is
characterized by relatively highly concentrated black sand especially the near shore area due to marine erosion
and the southern sector is characterized by diluted homogenous sediments compared with the northern one.
Along the shoreline of the study area, erosion and accretion phenomena are indicated by alternations of
highly concentrated and low concentrated sediments, distribution of flaky, discoidal, spherical stones and mud
balls. The north-western part of the northern coastal plain sector of the study area is characterized by the highly
concentrated black sands extends from the fifth groin eastward about 2.5 Km. These deposits are affected
greatly by a wave cut along the shore line. Rate of shoreline retreat along Abu-Khashabah beach in front of El-
Matlaa Medak (road) was 43.66 m/y in the time interval between 2003 and 2012.
The coastal plain of study area was covered by a total 561 collected samples at one meter depth from the
surface were collected within a grid pattern 200m×200m nearly parallel and perpendicular to the shoreline.
The northern sector of coastal plain area is covered by 255 samples, whereas the southern sector covered by
306 samples. Naturally highly concentrated black sands are deposited in a thin mantle near and parallel to the
shoreline of the northern coastal plain sector. The highly concentrated black sands were scraped from the
mantle to a depth of about 30 cm.
Separation of economic heavy minerals Concentrates using physical ore dressing technique is considered
closer to reality; cheap and safe method than the heavy fluid technique.
The average content (Av. cont.) and reserve tonnage for each economic mineral in the studied sectors are:
magnetite has an average content 11.61% with a reserve 296055 ton, ilmenite has an average content 33.74%
with a reserve 860370 ton, garnet has an average content 2.88% with a reserve 73440 ton, leucoxene has an
average content 2.58% with a reserve 65790 ton, zircon has an average content 4.11% with a reserve 104805
ton, rutile has an average content 1.26% with a reserve 3210 ton and monazite has an average content 0.05%
with a reserve 1275 ton with a total average of economic minerals 56.23% and reserve of 1433865 tons.