Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of carbonaceous shale, magharet el miah formation, El Gor area, southwestern Sinai, Egypt

الملخص EN

This paper is concerned with studying the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of carbonaceous shale in El Gor area.

The sediments under investigation belong to Magharet El Miah Formation of the Carboniferous age.

El Gor area is located in southwestern Sinai between longitudes 33° 15' and 33° 20' E and latitudes 29° 01' and 29°05' N.

Mineralogical analyses for the bulk sample using XRD and ESEM revealed dominance of kaolinite compared to illite.

Quartz, calcite, gypsum and goethite represent the non- clay minerals.

Zircon, monazite, garnet, pyrite, barite, illmenite, rutile and sphene have been detected as accessory minerals.

The geochemical data of bulk samples reflect the enrichment of Al2O3, SiO2, Zr, Ba, Sr, V, Cr and Ni.

The major oxides reflect the dominant mineralogical composition and the weathering history of the source rocks.

The LREE are more enriched than HREE due to the dominance of monazite.

The radiometric study reveals that eU content is 13ppm, while chemical uranium content is 47.5ppm.

This suggests a disequilibrium state with secondary enrichment of uranium.