Heavy minerals, including monazite, in Egypt's black sand deposits

Abstract

Egypt's black sand deposits are located in the Nile Delta between Alexandria and Rosetta. They contain substantial reserves of heavy-mineral sands. This paper discusses the geologic history of the Nile Valley and the possible source of heavy minerals. It describes Egypt's development of these deposits in the 1950s and 1960s and provides mineralogical and chemical analyses of these beach deposits for comparison with current heavy-mineral sand production. The economics of extracting the minerals ilmenite, magnetite, hematite, zircon, rutile and monazite are addressed within the context of the current investment climate in Egypt.