RADIOACTIVITY AND MINERALOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON YOUNGER GRANITES OF GABAL SHEIKH EL-ARAB AREA, SOUTHERN SINAI, EGYPT

OSMAN, ABDEL MONEM M.; AASSY, IBRAHIM E.; EL MOWAFY, ALI A.; EL BALAKSSY, SALAH S.; SALLAM, AND OSAMA R.

doi:10.21608/djs.2006.153640

RADIOACTIVITY AND MINERALOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON YOUNGER GRANITES OF GABAL SHEIKH EL-ARAB AREA, SOUTHERN SINAI, EGYPT

Document Type : Research and Reference

Authors

¹ Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

² Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O. Box; 530 El-Maadi, Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/djs.2006.153640

Abstract

The younger granites of the studied area vary in composition from monzogranite, syenogranite to alkali feldspar granite. They exhibit silicification, kaolinitization and ferrugination as a result of the post-magmatic hydrothermal alteration. The monzogranite is traversed by quartz veins and shear zone, while the syenogranite invaded by pegmatitic bodies. Two radioactive anomalies were recorded in the shear zone, as well as, in pegmatites. Petrographic investigation, XRD analyses and ESEM examination show that, pegmatites contain apatite, bastnasite, betafite, brannerite, cassiterite, columbite, fluorite, goethite lanarkite, lepidocrocite, malachite, phlogopite, thorite and uranothorite minerals. Quartz veins exhibit goethite and hematite minerals. The identified minerals reflect the importance of the pegmatites and the shear zone for the REE.