Egyptian Ore DepositsGE4107

Prof. Dr. Hassan Z. HarrazGeology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University

hharraz2006@yahoo.com

2016- 2017

Prof. Dr. H.Z. Harraz Presentation 1

Outline of Lecture

Humanity’s ever-increasing hunger for mineral raw materials, caused by a growing global population and ever increasing standards of living, has resulted in economic geology becoming a subject of urgent importance.

These lectures provide a broad panorama of mineral deposits, covering their origin and geological characteristics, the principles of the search for ores and minerals, and the investigation of newly found deposits. Practical and environmental issues that arise during the life cycle of a mine and after its closure are addressed, with an emphasis on sustainable and "green" mining.

The central scientific theme of the lectures is to place the extraordinary variability of mineral deposits in the frame of fundamental geological processes.

The lectures are written for earth science students and practicing geologists worldwide. Professionals in administration, resource development, mining, mine reclamation, metallurgy, and mineral economics will also find the lectures valuable.

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Acknowledgments:

I acknowledge gratefully the extent to which I have leant on the work contained in several good text books:

Geology of Egypt: The minerals of economic values associated with the intrusive Precambrian igneous rocks, by Hume WF, 1937. Geologic Survey Egypt 2:689-990.

Mineral deposits, by Hussein, A.A.A., 1990. In: Said, R. (Ed.), The geology of Egypt. 1990. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam/Brookfield, pp. 511-566.

Gold in Egypt, by Gabbra, S.Z., 1986. “A commodity package: minerals, petroleum and groundwater Assessment program” USAID project 363-0105, Geological Survey, Cairo, Egypt, 86p.

Geology, evolution and metallogenesis of the Pan-African Belt in Egypt , by El-Gaby, S., List, F.K., Tehrani, R., 1988. In: El-Gaby, S., Greiling, R.O. (Eds.), The Pan-African Belt of northeast Africa and adjacent areas. Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, Braunschweig/ Wiesbaden, pp. 17–68.

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Outline of lectures:

Topic 1: Mineral resource and classification of Mineral deposits in Egypt.

Topic 2: Cr- and Cu-NiCo ore deposits in Egypt

Topic 3: Asbestos-Vermiculite-Corundum-Talc-Magnesite-deposits in Egypt

Topic 4:Ti-ore deposits in Egypt.

Topic 5: Mineralization Related to Granites in Egypt

Topic 6: Gold ore deposits in Egypt

Topic 7: Pb-Zn-ore deposits in Egypt.

Topic 8 : Manganese ore deposits in Egypt

Topic 9 : Iron ore deposits in Egypt

Topic 10 : Phosphate deposits in Egypt.

Topic 11 : U-ore deposits in Egypt.

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Course objectives:

The objectives of this course in Earth Resources are:

(i) acquainting students (majors and non-majors) with the

basic tools necessary for studying Egyptian ore deposits,

(ii) understanding the different types of Ore Resources in

Egypt,

(iii) understanding the processes of formation of various

economic ore deposits in Egypr,

(iv) understanding the relationship between the distribution

of ores, and coal, and Plate Tectonics, and

(vi) gaining some knowledge of the environmental problems

associated with the extraction and utilization of Egyptian

Ore Resources.

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Textbooks: Most reading assignments will be from: "Ore Geology and Industrial Minerals: Economic Geology: Principles and Practice" by Walter L. Pohl. Additional readings will be assigned from a number of other textbooks, which are either available in the library. Some lecture notes will be handed out throughout the semester. The students are advised not to rely entirely on the lecture notes which will only contain a brief outline of the subject matter, and are thus encouraged to take notes during lectures and do all the assigned reading.

Field trips: This class has one field trip to a nearby area of some economic significance/ potential.

Labs: Possible, depending on the emphasis/ curriculum/ departmental policy/ sample availability. Lab exercises would focus on textures of ore deposits, identifying ores, assessing reserves, identification of ore minerals using reflected light microscopy.

Other Useful TextbooksPohl, W. L., 2011. Economic Geology: Principles and Practice. Wiley-Blackwell, 680 pEvans, A. M., 1997: An introduction to Economic Geology and its environmental impact.

Blackwell Scietific publications, 376ppBeydoun, Z. R., 1991. Arabian Plate Hydrocarbon Geology and Potential. AAPG, 77 pp.Guilbert, J. M. and Park, C. F., 1986. The Geology of Ore Deposits. W. H. Freeman & Co,

984 pp.Hunt, J. M., 1996. Petroleum Geochemistry and Geology. W. H. Freeman & Co, 743 pp.Levorsen, A.I., 1967. Geology of Petroleum. W. H. Freeman & Co. 724 pp.Selley, Richard C., 1998. Elements of Petroleum Geology. Academic Press. 470 pp.

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Introduction

An Introduction to Egyptian Ore Deposits is to geologists.

This course provides a non-technical introduction to the basic concepts of:

Earth Resources in Egypt Metallic ore depositsNon-metallic Mineral Deposits

With numerous examples, figures and images of deposits and mining.

Also included are some key aspects of the economics of a mining and mineral processing operation in Egypt.

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• Keywords:

Egypt Mineral Resources;

Egyptian Mining;

Egyptian Metallic Ores;

Egyptian Mineral Industry

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LECTURE 1:

Hassan Z. Harrazhharraz2006@yahoo.com

2016- 2017

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Outline of Lecture 1:

Introduction.

Mineral deposits known to occur in Egypt?

Systematic classified of the mineral deposits of

Egypt .

We will explore all of the above in Lecture 1.

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Introduction

Gold, copper, and gemstones were known and exploited by the ancient Egyptian since pre-Dynastic time.

The Egyptians were certainly able to smelt gold and copper and to produce bronze ~2500 B.C.

The amazing colours in the tombs of Thebes were produced by artists using the green of malachite, the blue of the turquoise and the purple of the amethyst.

With increasing demand for gold, copper, and gemstones, Economic geology has its beginning in the recording of the mode of

occurrences of these deposits, the formation of crude theories of origin, and the organization of expeditions for the discovery and exploitation of ores.

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Introduction Egyptian Civilization is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, which practiced

mining and processing of metallic and non-metallic ores. The ancient Egyptians quarried the dimensional stones in a very orderly manner to obtain geometrically shaped blocks with exact dimensions to build tombs, temples and pyramids. They also cut-from extremely hard rocks such as granite, gabbros, and granodiorites-obelisks and blocks for hewing statues and for recording their history on them. They also traced the natural minerals, collected them, and treated them to compose the ever-beautiful painting colors, which stayed bright and persisted weather changes for thousands of years. The Ancient Egyptians had an excellent sense and knowledge about geology, survey, rock mechanics and metallurgical processing. They worked their way out in open pits, open cast, and underground mining. Almost all gold and copper locations known at present were originally discovered and worked out by the Ancient Egyptians. The technology limitations in mining, and processing, at that time, limited the mining depth, and the overall efficiency of upgrading the ores. The first known underground map (1300 BC), for El-Fawakhir gold mine, is preserved in Turin museum in Italy.

There are evidences that the Ancient Egyptians mined and extracted gold, silver, copper, and zinc. They used these metals in their pure state and/or as alloys to suit certain purposes. They designed and produced several hard alloys such as bronze (90% Copper and 10 % zinc). They also traced all sorts of gem stones in Sinai, Eastern Desert, and Western Desert. They quarried limestone, granite, marble, breccias, diorites, and granodiorite stones.

Mining in Egypt today, follows almost the same methodology as the Ancient Egyptians used to use thousands of years ago. The main differences are in the introduction of the modern technologies which are available today and were not available then. The underground mines today are much deeper, drainage of the underground water is readily drained by means of pumps which were not available at that time, the underground atmosphere is conditioned by the up to date conditioning techniques (ventilation and refrigeration), the underground openings are electrically lightened, and the raw materials are mechanically transported [1]. However, the scale of mining in Egypt at present is still small. The largest mining operation, which is the iron ore mining, does not exceed 3 million ton/year [2].

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The Topography of Egypt .

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The Topography of Egypt .

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EGYPT

BEDROCK

Western Desert

Sinai

Fig. 1. Overview of the Eastern Desert, Egypt, modified from Moussa et al. (2008). Inset shows the outline of the Neoproterozoic Arabian–Nubian Shield (Stern et al., 2006) with sketch representation of the Saharan Metacraton and the Najd Fault System.

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Fig.2: Geologic map of Sinai Peninsula

(after Ginzburget al.,1979; Neev,1975)Fig.2: Simplified geological map of the Sinai

peninsula and vicinity at the northern

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Mineral deposits known to occur in Egypt Mineral deposits known to occur in Egypt include:

(90) gold, (2) copper, (3) tin, (4) zinc, (5) lead, (6) tungsten, (7)

molybdenum, (8) titanium, (9) iron, (10) chrome, (11) nickel, (12)

manganese, (13) beryllium, (14) barite, (15) talc, (16) graphite, (17)

asbestos, (11) niobium-tantalum, (18) phosphate, (19) marble, (20)

alabaster, (21) magnesite, (22) sulphur, (23) coal, and (24) Gemstones.

Almost all of these have been exploited at one time or another

But, at present,

Only gold, niobium-tantalum, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, phosphate, talc, chrome, coal, and some ornamental and building stones are exploited commercially.

Several metallic ores were recorded in Egypt.

In the present time, only iron and gold are under mining while manganese, Pb-Zn, and chromite are mined in small scale.

The rest of metallic ores mainly, gold, ilmenite, Pb-Zn, Cu, Nb-Ta deposits are still under exploration and re-estimation of ore reserves.

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Economic Metallic Ores in EgyptMany attempts were done to classify these

ores either on the bases of time of deposition or in the frame of metallogenetic aspects.

The first linking between plate tectonic modeling for Arabian-Nubian shield and mineralization was given by Garson and Shalaby (1976).

The latest classification was proposed by Botros and Noor (2008) where they classified the Egyptian ore deposits on the bases of tectonic-magmatic stages.

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The systematic study of the mineral deposits of Egypt began

in the last 18th century with the pioneering work of

Hume,1937.

made a comprehensive list of mineral occurrences in association with Precambrian rocks with notes on stratigraphy, mode of occurrences and genesis of some deposits.

grouped the mineral deposits into:

Occurrence of gold, Occurrences of silver, copper, zinc, and lead, Occurrences of molybdenum, tungsten, and tin, Occurrences of iron, chromium, and nickel, Occurrences of graphite, Occurrences of precious and semiprecious minerals, Occurrences of ornamental stones.

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classified the mineral deposits of the Eastern Desert in

seven groups:

six of which are of Precambrian age, while the seventh

includes those of Miocene and younger ages.

The seven groups, in descending order of age area:

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Mineralization Characters

7) Lead-zincAt the base of the Miocene deposits in the Red

Sea cost

6) Tin-Tungsten Associated with post-Gattarian quartz veins

5) GoldHypogene, epigenetic auriferous quartz veins

with associated some post-Gattarian dykes

4) Ilmenite Associated with some gabbroic intrusions

3) SteatiteAssociated with epidiorites and other

intrusions of basic to intermediate composition

2)

Chromite-

magnesite-

asbestos

In association with serpentine and talc-

carbonate rocks

1)Marble-graphite-

magnetite

Associated with schists, amphibolites and

mudstone

Precambrian

Miocene and younger

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Classified the mineral deposits of Egypt on the

basis of :-

time relations and

their supposed mode of formation.

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Pleistocene-

Recent

Beach and elluvial placers (including black sands)

Evaporites

Miocene

Red Sea coast Zn-Pb and related ochre deposits

Sulphur deposits

Evaporites

Manganese-iron deposits (in Sinai and the Eastern Desert)

Cretaceous

Kaolin

Aswan iron ores

Phosphate deposits

Late

Precambrian

Hydrothermal replacement deposit (steatite and talc, zinc and

copper, copper)

True hydrothermal fissure vein deposits (tin-tungsten,

molybdenum, gold, barite)

Early

Precambrian

Deposits formed by magmatic segregation (ilmenite)

Deposits related to old pegmatites (asbestos, vermiculite, beryl)

Deposits formed from ultrabasic intrusions (Chromite, peridotite,

nickel, magnesite, and talc)

Metamorphosed sedimentary deposits (bedded iron ores and

graphite)27

Notes:-

In the years following, many refinements took

place regarding mineral deposits in Egypt and

new types of deposit were discovered as a result

of the intensive exploration.

The mineral deposits in Egypt should be classified to

facilitate their correlation with worldwide deposits.

Such a classification

would take advantage of the discovery of new types of deposits in the country, and the development of the plate tectonic concept in crustal evolution with its reflections on ore genesis and distribution of mineral deposits.

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Proposed a classification following:-

i) classified the mineral deposits in Egypt to facilitate their

correlation with worldwide deposits.

ii) the widely accepted notion (Stanton, 1972) that

mineral deposits are integral parts of the petrological

associations with which they occur, and that they may

have formed in all the ways that ordinary rocks have

formed.

iii) mineral deposits are grouped and a list of deposits

pertaining to each group is given along with a review of

the geology and economic potentials of the more

important ores.,

iv) the mode of formation and geotectonic environment of

each group has developed, in harmony with the crustal

evolution models. 29

I)

Mineral

deposits

associated with

mafic-

ultramafic

assemblages

1) In ophiolite

sequence

a) Chromite deposits

b) Cu-Ni-Co sulphide deposits

c) Asbestos, vermiculite, corundum,

talc, and magnesite deposits

2) In layered

mafic-ultramafic

intrusions

a) Cu-Ni sulphide deposits

b) Ti-Fe oxide deposits

c) Ni-bearing veins and peridotite

II)

Mineral

deposits in

felsic

association

1) Copper

porphyry type

mineralization

2) Mineralization

related to granites

a) Disseminated and vein molybdenum

mineralization

b) Disseminated and vein tin

mineralization

c) Vein tungsten mineralization

d) Disseminated and vein Nb-Ta

mineralization

e) Beryllium mineralization

f) Fluorite mineralization

g) Uranium mineralization

III) Stratiform volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits and related talc

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IV)

Precious and base

metal vein type

deposits

1) Dominantly gold (±silver)

veins

2) Dominantly base metals

3) Barite veins

V)

Stratabound

deposits in

sedimentary

sequences

1) Zinc-lead deposits

2) Stratiform copper

3 Sulphur deposits

4) Barite in sedimentary rocks

VI)Ores of

sedimentary nature

1) Iron ore deposits

2) Manganese ore deposits

3) True sedimentary ores

a) Phosphate deposits

b) Coal deposits

c) Carbonates

d) Clastic and placer deposits

e) Evaporites

f) Weathering products

g) Sedimentary uranium

deposits

VII)

Mineral deposits in

metamorphic

association

Metamorphosed mineral

deposits

a) Banded iron ore deposits

b) Marble deposits

VIII) Miscellaneous

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The latest classification was proposed by Botros and Noor (2008) where they classified the Egyptian ore deposits on the bases of tectonic-magmatic stages as follows:

I) Island Arc Stage:

A) Deposits formed in ophiolitic assemblage including Cu-Ni-Co

sulphides (e.g. Abu Swayel copper) and Podiform chromite deposits.

B) Deposits formed in primitive island arc including Banded Iron

Formations (BIF) and its gold related deposits.

C) Deposits formed in mature island arc including volcanic hosted base

metal massive sulphides (e.g. gold related deposits such as Um Samuki)

II) Accretional Stage (Orogenic Stage):

A) Auriferous vein type.

B) Base metal vein type.

C) Titaniferous iron ore (e.g., Abu Ghalqa ore deposit)

III) Late Orogenic-Extensional Stage:

A) Cu-Ni sulphides (Gabbro Akarem)

B) Titaniferous iron ore (Kurabkanci)

C) Association with granitic rocks:

Beryllium (e.g., Um Kabu)

Tin-deposit (e.g. Abu Dabbab)

Tungsten (e.g., Igla)

Fluorite (e.g., Homr Akarm)

Auriferous vein deposit (e.g., El Sid)

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Mineral Commodities• The mineral commodities can be classified as metallic

and non-metallic deposits.

• The most important of these deposits are:

1)Metallic ores such as: iron ores, gold ores, industrial metal oxides (Sn, Ta, Nb, W, and Mo), titanium and titaniferous-iron ores, manganese ores, sulphide mineralization (Pb, Zn, Cu, and Co), and chromite.

2)Non-metallic ores such as: phosphate, limestone, dolomite, ornamental stones, quartz rock, white sands, talc, feldspars, kaolin, fire clays, bentonite, gypsum, fluorspar, sands and gravels, magnesite, evaporates (salts), and coal.

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Possible Areas for Investment in in ore deposits in in Egypt

The following areas are open for serious investment in

the mineral industry, metallic commodities, in Egypt:

1) Mining and Mineral Processing of iron ores at:

Eastern Desert, Bahariya Oases, and Aswan.

2) Integrated iron and steel industry.

3) Exploitation of ilmenite ores in the feasible areas.

4) Evaluation and exploitation of Beach Black Sands

for their strategic heavy minerals.

5) Exploration, Mining, Processing, and Extraction of:

gold, tin, tantalum, and niobium.

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The metallic ore and non-metallic mineral deposits,

which will be discussed here in,

are put according to the priority of their economic

impact on Egypt.

@ Hassan Harraz 2017 35

References

Amin, A. S. (1955). Geological Features of Some Mineral Deposits in Egypt. Bulletin De Institute du Desert, Egypt, Vol. 1, pp. 208-239.

El Shazly, E. M. (1957). Classification of Egyptian Mineral Deposits. Egyptian Journal of Geology 1 ( No. 1) pp. 1-20.

Garson, M. S. and Shalaby, I. (1976). Precambrian Lower Paleozoic Plate Tectonics and Metallogenesis in Red Sea Region. The Geological Association of Canada, Special Issue, pp. 537-596.

Hume WF, (1937). Geology of Egypt: The minerals of economic values associated with the intrusive Precambrian igneous rocks. Geologic Survey Egypt 2:689-990.

Hussein, A.A.A., (1990). Mineral deposits. In: Said, R. (Ed.), The geology of Egypt. 1990. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam/Brookfield, pp. 511-566.

Ivanov, T. G.; Shalaby, I. and Hussein, A. A. (1973). Metallogeneic Characteristics of South Eastern Desert, Egypt. Annal of Geological Survey of Egypt, Vol. 3, pp. 139-166.

Kochine, G.; Bassyuni, F. A. and others (1968). Mineral Resources of the UAR, Part I, Metallic Minerals. Internal Report No. 18/19/68, Geological Survey of Egypt, p. 35.

Garson, M. S. and Shalaby, I. (1976). Precambrian Lower Paleozoic Plate Tectonics and Metallogenesis in Red Sea Region. The Geological Association of Canada, Special Issue, pp. 537-596.

Botros, N. S. and. Noor, A. M. (2008). Mineral Deposits in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, an Expression of two Major Episodes with Distinct Magmatic and Tectonic Characteristics. Annal of Geological Survey of Egypt, Vol. 30, pp. 249-274.

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