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Low-temperature alteration of uranium–thorium bearing minerals and its significance in neoformation of radioactive minerals in stream sediments of Wadi El-Reddah, North Eastern Desert, Egypt

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Abstract

The stream sediments of Wadi El Reddah (North Eastern Desert, Egypt) are geochemically and mineralogically investigated. Their content of radioactive and other heavy minerals is mainly represented by thorite, uranothorite, zircon, monazite, xenotime, columbite, fergusonite, and unknown rare earth elements (REEs) bearing minerals as well as cassiterite. Special emphasis on REE content of thorite, uranothorite, zircon and xenotime has been done to correlate them with the increase of uranium contents in these sediments. The key evidence for the presence low-temperature alteration processes includes the presence of some zircon crystals as remnants after complete dissolution of the overgrowth zircon in severe acidic environment, the sulphur content, biogenic minerals, occurrence of unusual minerals as cassiterite pore filling in zircon, variation in the REEs content from the surrounding granites to the stream sediments and the abundance of monazite in the surrounding granites. Most minerals are partially and/or completely altered, which indicated by the pseudomorphism of zircon by xenotime, thorite, and uranothorite.

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Modified after El Rakaiby and Shalaby (1988)

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank the Nuclear Materials Authority, Egypt for the facilities used in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566, Egypt

    A. R. Baghdady

  2. Nuclear Materials Authority (NMA), P.O. Box 530, El-Maadi, Cairo, Egypt

    O. A. Ebyan, H. A. Khamis, M. G. El-Feky & N. S. Abed

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  1. O. A. Ebyan
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  2. H. A. Khamis
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  3. A. R. Baghdady
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Correspondence to N. S. Abed.

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Ebyan, O.A., Khamis, H.A., Baghdady, A.R. et al. Low-temperature alteration of uranium–thorium bearing minerals and its significance in neoformation of radioactive minerals in stream sediments of Wadi El-Reddah, North Eastern Desert, Egypt. Acta Geochim 39, 96–115 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-019-00335-z

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