Geology of Rare Metals in Egypt- A review

Abstract

The term “rare metals” refers in this work to metals with a low availability in natural. Based on their chemistry, rare metals were classified into; 1) rare earth elements (La-Lu), 2) trace elements (Nb, Ta, Mo, Cu, Ni, Co, Sn, W, V), 3) noble elements (Au, Ag, and PGE) and 4) fissionable elements (U and Th). In Egypt, rare earth elements occur in the phosphorites, monazite and granites. Trace elements occur in three associations; a) elements in granites and albite granites such as Nb, Ta, Sn, Mo, and W, b) elements associate mafic rocks and ophiolites include Cu, Ni, and Co, and c) V in the black shales. 95 Au localities were reported mainly as vein-type mineralization in the Eastern Desert. PGE are confined to three associations including mafic and ultramafic rocks, chromite and black shales as sulfides, alloys, and organometallic compounds, respectively. Uranium occurs in granites of the Eastern Desert. Thorium was reported at the Um Ara area at the Eastern Desert and in the monazite from the black sands. Although rare metals are quite common in Egypt, processing and beneficiations of the rare metals-bearing rocks did not reflect the abundance and the economic significance of these metals