Zr-Y-Nb-REE mineralization associated with microgranite and basic dykes at EL Sela shear zone, South Eastern Desert,...

El Sela shear zone occurs in the younger granite rock of Gabal El Sela area, south Eastern Desert, Egypt near the Sudan Frontier. It comprises lines-arranged intrusions trending ENE-WSW and extend for about 1.5 km in length and reach up to 40 meters in width. These lines-arranged intrusions include multi-phase quartz veins, altered microgranite and altered basic dykes. These dykes hosting or acting as a source for uranium, rare metals (Zr, Y, Nb and Ga) and light rare earths (La, Ce, Sm and Nd) mineralizations. They show highly alteration, uranium enrichment and a strong enrichment in some rare metals and light rare earths contents (Zr = 644, Y = 133, Nb = 136, Ga =184, La = 50.19, Ce = 105.47, Sm = 24.81, Nd = 78.91 ppm and and ∑ LREEs = 259.38.). The chondrite normalised rare earth elements trends indicate strongly fractionated rare earth elements pattern with significant enriched of LREE according to HREE in both altered microgranite and altered basic dykes. Field radiometric measurements of the studied altered microgranite dyke revealed that eU reach up to 359 ppm with an average 78 ppm, while in the altered basic dyke reach up to 1625 ppm with an average 144 ppm.