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Recent uranium mobilization of late neoproterozoic El Sela sheared granites, South Eastern Desert, Egypt

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Abstract

The sheared granite of El Sela represents one of the most promising uranium mineralization in the southern part of the eastern desert, in Egypt. The present work concerned in detailed with El Sela shear zone through ENE-WSW and NNW-SSE trends as a perfect way for ascending hydrothermal solutions and meteoric water that led to leaching of uranium from its bearing minerals and redeposit them in the altered granites. Activities of radionuclides were identified for 238U, 235U, 234U, 230Th, 232Th, 226Ra, 214Bi, 214Pb, 210Pb, and 40K in the studied samples by hyper-pure germanium detector. Furthermore, activity ratios 234U/238U, 230Th/238U, 230Th/234U, 226Ra/238U, 226Ra/230Th, 238U/235U, and 234U/235U were calculated. Additionally, the 238U/235U activity ratios range were evaluated from 20.99 to 22.4 with an average of 21.69 indicating a slight deviation from the natural ratio (21.7). The 234U/235U activity ratios range recorded from 4.866 to 121.39 with a reported average of 63.13 uranium migration (out / in). Finally, the age of uranium mobilization in the studied samples was calculated from 18.83 to 43.25 kyr. suggested a recent uranium mineralization.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks and appreciation to Dr. El Saeed Ramadan Lasheen (Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt),for his great efforts and assistance of our study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Al Azhar University, P.O. 11884, Cairo, Egypt

    Ahmed M. El Mezayen

  2. Geological Studies Department, Nuclear Materials Authority, Cairo, Egypt

    Hassan A. Shahin

  3. Geochemical Exploration Department, Nuclear Materials Authority, Cairo, Egypt

    Nilly A. Kawady

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  1. Ahmed M. El Mezayen
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  2. Hassan A. Shahin
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  3. Nilly A. Kawady
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Correspondence to Nilly A. Kawady.

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Mezayen, A.M.E., Shahin, H.A. & Kawady, N.A. Recent uranium mobilization of late neoproterozoic El Sela sheared granites, South Eastern Desert, Egypt. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 328, 539–550 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07665-4

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