Uraniferous Polymetallic Veins, Gebel El Missikat Area, Eastern Desert, Egypt

Abstract

The uraniferous polymetallic veins in Gebel El Missikat area, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt, are mainly composed of chalcedony with subsidiary amount of fluorite and ore minerals containing uranium, molybdenium, lead, arsenic, gold, and silver. They are genetically related to late orogenic pink or red granite of Upper Proterozoic age. The veins occur in steeply dipping tectonic fractures trending east or northeast. The polymetallic minerals formed for at least two closely related episodes. These hydrothermal veins formed under low to moderate temperature condition and are enclosed in green alteration zones. The contents of molybdenium, lead, and fluorine in veins increase with an increase in uranium content. The relationships of As, Sr, Rb and Zr with silica are not distinct.