Beta
212666

Field Features, Mineral assemblages and Geochemistry of Radioactive Pegmatite in the Wadi Abu Zawal Area, North Eastern Desert, Egypt

Article

Last updated: 28 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology, Volcanology.

Abstract

Granitic pegmatites of the Wadi Abu Zawal area, North Eastern Desert of Egypt, intruded the syn-tectonic granites, younger gabbros and post-orogenic granites. Two unzoned pegmatite masses are quarried for feldspars and quartz, which injected within the older granites. One of them shows high radioactivity related to formation of U-Th-REEs mineralization. The mineralization occurs at the margins of this pegmatite body in close proximity to contacts with the host older granite. Hydrothermal hematite, kaolinite and epidote are dominant along the contact zone. Petrographic observations showed that the mineralized parts are mainly albite-rich with minor quartz and muscovite. The hydrothermal mineral assemblage contains secondary uranium minerals (uranophane and kasolite), uranothorite and monazite-Ce. The mineralization occurs as stains or crystallizes in the microsfractures of the pegmatite. Whole-rock analytical data of albite-rich samples display high contents of Na2O, CaO and Al2O3 with significant lower concentrations of SiO2 and K2O. The analyzed samples are enriched with U, Th, REEs, Zn, Pb, Sr and Ba. Detailed field, mineralogical and geochemical data have provided evidence that the investigated pegmatite has similar characters to other fractionated NYF-type pegmatites in the North Eastern Desert of Egypt.

DOI

10.21608/egjg.2021.98782.1004

Keywords

Wadi Abu Zawal, Pegmatites, Radioactivity, U-Th-REE mineralization, Uranophane

Authors

First Name

Amr

Last Name

Abdel Hamid

MiddleName

Amdel Aty

Affiliation

Nuclear Materials Authority of Egypt

Email

amr_ahamid@yahoo.com

City

Benha

Orcid

-

First Name

Hicham

Last Name

Abdel Hamid

MiddleName

Mahmoud

Affiliation

Nuclear Materials Authority of Egypt

Email

hichamel_hakim@hotmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0009-0002-4152-8410

Volume

65

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

28512

Issue Date

2021-12-01

Receive Date

2021-09-30

Publish Date

2021-12-01

Page Start

91

Page End

103

Print ISSN

0022-1384

Online ISSN

2805-2617

Link

https://egjg.journals.ekb.eg/article_212666.html

Detail API

https://egjg.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=212666

Order

6

Type

Original Article

Type Code

2,013

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Geology

Publication Link

https://egjg.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Field Features, Mineral assemblages and Geochemistry of Radioactive Pegmatite in the Wadi Abu Zawal Area, North Eastern Desert, Egypt

Details

Type

Article

Created At

23 Jan 2023