Uranium mineralized fault zone at Wadi Um Gir locality,Central Eastern Desert,Egypt

The area of Wadi Um Gir, Central Eastern Desert of Egypt, is covered by Basement rocks of Late Precambrian age namely; the postgeosynclinal (Hammamat) sediments, intruded by a bostonite dyke of the younger postorogenic volcanics. The radioactive anomaly discovered at Wadi Urn Gir is a typical vein-type hydrothermal occurrence structurally controlled by a major fault which is among the youngest faults related to the formation of the Red Sea Rift Valley during Tertiary times. The net slip of this fault is determined by the orthographic projection method to be 260 m.Hydrothermal alteration is intense along the fault zone, and is represented by successive bands mainly of hematite, kaolinitic clays, carbonates, etc.The radioactivity is normally distributed in the fresh rocks with anomalous readings connected to the altered bostonite rock in the fault zone. The abnormal high radioactivity is found to be mainly due to secondary uranium mineralization, with a uranium content of 0.065%, and in a radioactive disequilibrium with slight deficiency of daughter elements which may be due to redistribution by the effect of ground water. The uranium mineralization is usually present as fracture-fillings or forming thin fissure veinlets mostly with hematitic alteration bands along the fault zone.Genetically; repeated movement along the major fault resulted in intense fracturing of the bostonite rocks and reopening of the tectonically related fissures. The fault provided an easy channel for the passage of the contemporaneous or immediately ascending uranium-bearing solutions. Subsequently, alteration of bostonite and radioactive mineralization took place in the secondary tension fractures. The physico-chemical conditions of the altered and sheared bostonite rocks afforded the favourable conditions for the deposition of uranium minerals carried by the hydrothermal fluids along the opened fractures.

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Zusammenfassung Das Gebiet »Wadi Um Gir« in der zentralarabischen Wüste Ägyptens besteht aus Basisgesteinen von Präkambrischem Alter. Es handelt sich um die postgeosynklinale »Hammamat«-Serie, deren Sedimentabfolge von einem Bostonitgang des jüngeren postorogenen Vulkanismus durchbrochen wird.Eine Radioaktivitätsanomalie wurde in »Wadi Um Gir« festgestellt. Sie bildet ein typisch-gangartiges hydrothermales Vorkommen und ist von einem Hauptbruch der mit der Entstehung des Rotmeergrabens verbundenen jungen Brüche bestimmt. Eine Berechnung der Sprunghöhe dieser Verwerfung mit der orthographischen Projektionsmethode ergab einen Wert von 260 m.Intensive hydrothermale Umwandlung der Muttergesteine kommt entlang der Bruchzone vor. Sie besteht unter anderem aus Successiven Streifen von hämatitischem, kaolinitischem und karbonatischem Material.Die Radioaktivität, deren Verteilung in den frischen Gesteinen normal ist, zeigt Anomalien nur noch im Zusammenhang mit dem umgewandelten Bostonit der Bruchzone, wobei die abnormal hohen Radioaktivitäts-Werte mit der sekundären Uran-Mineralisation (Urangehalt 0,065%) in Einklang stehen. Es besteht jedoch durch geringe Verarmung an gewissen Tochterelementen eine Gleichgewichtsstörung. Dies könnte auf die Umverteilung durch Grundwassereinflüsse zurückgeführt werden.Genetische Überlagerungen führen zu der Annahme, daß die wiederholte Bewegung entlang der Hauptbruchzone eine intensive Fraktur der Bostonitgesteine veranlaßt hat. Dies führte zur mehrfachen Öffnung der in Zusammenhang stehenden Spalten und damit bildeten sich Bahnen für die aufsteigenden, syngenetischen, uranhaltigen Lösungen.Die Anlagerung uranhaltiger Mineralien in den sekundären Spannungsbrüchen wurde durch die physiko-chemischen Verhältnisse des umgewandelten und abgescherten Bestonits gewährleistet.

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Study of the interaction between U(VI) and the anoxic corrosion products of carbon steel

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