DELINEATING Cu-U MINERALIZED ZONE IN WADI EL-REGEITA AREA, SOUTHERN SINAI-EGYPT, USING GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETRY AND SELF POTENTIAL METHODS | ||||
| Journal of Egyptian Geophysical Society | ||||
| Volume 13, Issue 1, 2015, Page 115-125 PDF (1.2 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jegs.2015.385041 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
| S.E.A. Mousa1; R.A.M. Elsayed2; A.F. Khalil2; S.H. Abd El-Nabi3; M.H.M. Yousef2 | ||||
| 1(1)Ain Shams University, Cairo | ||||
| 2(2) Nuclear Materials Authority, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 3(1)Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Wadi El-Regeita area is located in the southern part of Sinai Peninsula, at the intersection of Lat. 28° 37′ 29′′ N and Long. 34° 05′ 15′′ E. The area acquired its importance since the discovery of significant copper mineralizations associated, in most cases, with some radioactive anomalies related to the increase in the uranium content. These mineralizations are related to intense post-magmatic, structurally controlled, hydrothermal activities in the area and the surroundings. This work deals with application of the gamma-ray spectrometry and self-potential methods to identify the content of the radioactive elements and delineate the mineralized zone in the area. The work also aims to explain if there is a relation or association between the mineralizations of uranium and copper, which could be useful in view of the exploratory processes in other areas. Data of the gamma-ray spectrometry revealed radioactivity levels ranging from 12.0 to 149.0 Ur, 0.3 to 130.0 ppm, 3.0 to 54.0 ppm and 0.5 to 9.8% for the total count of gamma rays, equivalent uranium, equivalent thorium and potassium, respectively. Interpretation of the constructed radioactivity maps, with the equivalent uranium false-color composite image, clearly reflect a sharp increase of the equivalent uranium concentrations along the NW-SE copper-mineralized shear zone in the area. Data of the self-potential survey also revealed a wide range of amplitudes (–106.7 to +55.4 mV), with the highest negative values recorded along the copper-mineralized shear zone. The quantitative interpretation revealed shallow depths to the centers of nine selected anomalies (ranging from 3.3 to 21.0 m and averaging 11.2 m), with half-widths ranging from 8.4 to 61.0 m and moderate dips toward the SW. The spatial distribution of the determined anomalies for equivalent uranium (> 37.5 ppm) and self-potential (> -60 mV) showed an excellent agreement, which indicates a very strong copper-uranium association and, therefore, methods of gamma-ray spectrometry can be considered as effective exploration tools for the copper mineralizations. | ||||
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