Dahab stream sediments, southeastern Sinai, Egypt: a potential source of gold, magnetite and zircon

Surour, Adel A.; El-Kammar, Ahmed. A.; Arafa, Ebtisam H.; Korany, Hala M.

doi:10.1016/s0375-6742(02)00268-6

Cited by 25 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Sediments derived from granitic rocks and other felsic metasedimentary rocks such as quartzites and amphibolitic schists that make up the Lom basement are known to be poor in V, Cr, Ni, Co, and As [ 79 .] Besides, Co, V and Ni can easily replace Fe in magnetite [ 81 ] which is a major oxide in the ferralitic soils of this tropical basin [ 82 ]. The presence of As in this factor is attributable to arsenopyrite dissemination in the parent rocks.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional geochemical baseline concentration of potentially toxic trace metals in the mineralized Lom Basin, East Cameroon: a tool for contamination assessment

et al. 2018

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The distribution of trace metals in active stream sediments from the mineralized Lom Basin has been evaluated. Fifty-five bottom sediments were collected and the mineralogical composition of six pulverized samples determined by XRD. The fine fraction (< 150 µm) was subjected to total digestion (HClO4 + HF + HCl) and analyzed for trace metals using a combination of ICP-MS and AAS analytical methods. Results show that the mineralogy of stream sediments is dominated by quartz (39–86%), phyllosilicates (0–45%) and feldspars (0–27%). Mean concentrations of the analyzed metals are low (e.g. As = 99.40 µg/kg, Zn = 573.24 µg/kg, V = 963.14 µg/kg and Cr = 763.93 µg/kg). Iron and Mn have significant average concentrations of 28.325 and 442 mg/kg, respectively. Background and threshold values of the trace metals were computed statistically to determine geochemical anomalies of geologic or anthropogenic origin, particularly mining activity. Factor analysis, applied on normalized data, identified three associations: Ni–Cr–V–Co–As–Se–pH, Cu–Zn–Hg–Pb–Cd–Sc and Fe–Mn. The first association is controlled by source geology and the neutral pH, the second by sulphide mineralization and the last by chemical weathering of ferromagnesian minerals. Spatial analysis reveals similar distribution trends for Co–Cr–V–Ni and Cu–Zn–Pb–Sc reflecting the lithology and sulphide mineralization in the basin. Relatively high levels of As were concordant with reported gold occurrences in the area while Fe and Mn distribution are consistent with their source from the Fe-bearing metamorphic rocks. These findings provide baseline geochemical values for common and parallel geological domains in the eastern region of Cameroon. Although this study shows that the stream sediments are not polluted, the evaluation of metal composition in environmental samples from abandoned and active mine sites for comparison and environmental health risk assessment is highly recommended.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional geochemical baseline concentration of potentially toxic trace metals in the mineralized Lom Basin, East Cameroon: a tool for contamination assessment

et al. 2018

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“…F2 is thus the mineralization factor. It has been shown that Co, Mn, and Ni can substitute for Fe in magnetite (Surour, El-Kammar, Arafa, & Korany, 2003), reflecting the receptivity of the octahedral and tetrahedral sites in the spinel lattices. The V present in this factor is explained by its normal occurrence in small amounts in magnetite (Mimba et al, 2014) and its association with Ni represents relation to ultramafic intrusions as well as hightemperature mineralization.…”

Section: Geochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Statistical evaluation of stream sediment geochemical data from Tchangue-Bikoui drainage system, Southern Cameroon: a regional perspective

Nforba

Egbenchung

Berinyuy

et al. 2020

Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes

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Stream sediments play a significant role in geochemical exploration by identifying possible sources of anomalous element concentration. In this study, we use a multi-element association analysis to investigate the concentration of gold and associated elements in stream sediment samples from the Tchangue-Bikoui drainage area, Southern Cameroon. The main river and its tributaries were sampled, panned for gold grain recovery and the 100 μm size fractions analyzed for Au and associated elements by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). A total of 50 samples were collected defining an area of~145 km 2 and 20 samples selected for geochemical analysis for a suite of 20 elements. Gold grades estimated by the panning and weighing technique rarely exceed 0.45 g/t and generally erratic while the Au concentrations from chemical analysis range from 0.01ppb to 4.00ppb. R-mode factor analysis produced a five-factor model accounting for 62.4% of the total variance. The Ni-Au-V-Sr association indicated gold mineralization while the others reflect lithologic control. Mo-Cr-Hg-Ag-As-Zr and Pb-Cu show no spatial relationship to Au and point to a typical primary mesothermal sulphide mineralization in the area which can be further investigated. Anomalous gold concentrations clustered mostly in the southeastern part downstream of River Tchangue defining a potential primary gold target.

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“…The gold content in the stream sediments can be related to the original size of gold in the host rocks and the distance of transportation. Surour et al (2003) in their work on a similar arid area at Wadi Dahab (south Sinai) concluded that the relief and mechanical weathering are the main controlling factors in the development of gold placers. Mining and extraction of gold from loose sediments containing free gold is inexpensive.…”

Section: Precious Metalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineralogy and Radioactivity of Wadi Hangaliya Stream Sediments, South Eastern Desert of Egypt

Mansour¹,

Diab²,

Sherif³

2016

Nuclear Sciences Scientific Journal

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The present paper sheds some light on the mineralogy and radioactivity of stream sediments in Wadi Hangaliya, South Eastern Desert of Egypt. Therefore, eighteen stream sediments have been examined. The wadi is surrounded by several rock units; metavolcanics, mafic-ultramafic rocks and younger granites. The grain size analyses reveal that stream sediments are immature, about 33% and 28% of the sediments lie in the very coarse sand and coarse sand fractions, respectively. About 72% of the sediments are poorly sorted. It attains average heavy 5.82 and 2.33 %for both fine and very fine sand size fractions, respectively. The recorded heavy minerals include opaques with an average content of 13.3% and 14.6% in the fine and very fine sand fractions, respectively. The opaques are dominated by magnetite, ilmenite and hematite. The non-opaques include zircon, rutile, staurolite, sillimanite, titanite, amphiboles, pyroxenes, epidotes, apatite, garnet, barite and tourmaline. The preliminary estimation of visible gold content in sand fraction giving an average of 1.135 g/t Au. Gold was recorded in 72% of the studied samples. Ground spectroscopic measurements and aero-radiometric previous work of the hinterlands show weak radioactivity; increasing slightly to the west portion of Wadi Hangaliya. The increase in radioactivity may be attributed to Gabal Nugrus younger granite. The radioactive minerals include; monazite, metamict zircon and thorite. In addition, the presence of 40 K in the potash feldspars and micas of the light fraction. Thus, the weak radioactivity of Wadi Hangaliya makes it suitable for gold extraction field industry.

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Dahab stream sediments, southeastern Sinai, Egypt: a potential source of gold, magnetite and zircon

Cited by 25 publications

References 10 publications

Regional geochemical baseline concentration of potentially toxic trace metals in the mineralized Lom Basin, East Cameroon: a tool for contamination assessment

Regional geochemical baseline concentration of potentially toxic trace metals in the mineralized Lom Basin, East Cameroon: a tool for contamination assessment

Statistical evaluation of stream sediment geochemical data from Tchangue-Bikoui drainage system, Southern Cameroon: a regional perspective

Mineralogy and Radioactivity of Wadi Hangaliya Stream Sediments, South Eastern Desert of Egypt

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