MINERALOGICAL AND RADIOACTIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF GABAL EL-URF PEGMATITES, CENTRAL EASTERN DESERT, EGYPT

The present study deals with the mineralogical and radioactive characteristics of the pegmatitic rocks at Gabal El-Urf area, Central Eastern Desert of Egypt.
The zoned pegmatites of El-Urf area are composed of three enriched mineral zones; extremely milky quartz core, intermediate mica zone and feldspars wall zone.
The identified separated heavy minerals in the studied pegmatite can be grouped into three mineral groups; the primary minerals (pyrite, molybdenite, rutile, magnetite, thorianite, zircon, columbite and garnet), the secondary minerals (uranophane, kasolite, uranothorite, samarskite, uranopolycrase, dravite, ilmenorutile, allanite and titanite.) and the gangue minerals (lanarkite, barite, hematite, ilmenite, goethite, apatite, monazite and kamitugaite).
The studied zoned pegmatites hosting or acting as a source for uranium and rare metals (Zr, Y, Nb and Th) mineralizations. Multistage deformation, magmatic and hydrothermal processes accompanied by events of uranium mineralization with the associated rare metals mineralizations in different episodes affected Gabal El-Urf zoned pegmatites.
The rare metals can be originated through magmatic and hydrothermal fluids under the restrictive sets of conditions that commonly prevail in these zoned pegmatites. The magmatic and hydrothermal processes enriched with rare metals mineralization accompanied by event of an intensive tectonic structure affected Gabal El-Urf pegmatites.