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- Title
Mineral chemistry (U, Th, Zr, REE) in accessory minerals from Wadi Rod Elsayalla granitoids, South Eastern Desert, Egypt.
- Authors
Abdel Gawad, Ahmed E.
- Abstract
Detailed electron probe microanalyses (EPMA) of accessory minerals from Wadi Rod Elsayalla granitoids (SE Desert, Egypt) furnished insights into U, Th, Zr, and REE mineralization. Thorite and uranothorite are the main radioactive minerals, in addition to zircon and monazite. Thorite occurs in syenogranite and quartz syenite rocks with marked enrichment in UO2 up to 6.89 wt% in the former rock type. High Y and Zr elements content in thorite indicates marked replacement of Th by Y and Zr. Uranothorite in syenogranite contains up to 51.68 wt% ThO2, 19.12 wt% SiO2, and 20.62 wt% UO2, in addition to minor amount of Y2O3 up to 1.94 wt%. Zoned zircon shows thorium-rich core, with marked fluctuation in UO2 content, owing to extensive hydrothermal alterations. Total REE content as REE2O3 reaches to about 6 wt% in zircon rims from the syenogranite. Zircon from quartz syenite shows U, Th, and REEs below the detection limit of the electron microprobe. Identified REE prospects in the study area contain (i) REE fluorocarbonates and fluoride (bastnäsite, synchysite, and flocerite), (ii) REE phosphates (monazite-Ce, xenotime, and florencite), and (iii) REE silicates (allanite-Ce and zircon), with a clear predominance of LREE minerals, in which Ce is the main REE. The average REE contents of bastnäsite-Ce, flocerite, synchysite-Ce, and synchysite-Y are 77.28, 74.01, 52.89, and 49.09 wt%, respectively. Xenotime from syenogranite and quartz syenite has average HREE contents (Gd2O3–Lu2O3) of 20.45 and 23.72 wt%, respectively.
- Publication
Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2021, Vol 14, Issue 19, p1
- ISSN
1866-7511
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s12517-021-08367-7