GEO-DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES SURROUNDING THE UPPER – EGYPT RED SEA DESERT ROAD, EASTERN DESERT, EGYPT

The new desert road connecting Upper Egypt to the Red Sea cuts through five geo-morphological units, namely Nile valley, Eocene plateau, Wadi Qena, Red Sea hills, and Rea Sea coastal area. The Nile Valley unit is occupied by fluviatile-lacustrine deposits (clays, limestones, Sands, conglomerates). Most of these sediments have industrial implication (e.g. bricks and cement, concrete, road materials and building stones).

The second unit is composed of Eocene limestone. The upper part othis limestone is characterized by its pure composition and suitable for chemical industries (e.g cement, and metallurgical industries). This limestone covers a huge surface area with thicknessup to 50 meters and suitable for mining processes.

The third geomorphological unit is Wadi Qena which represents one of the largest wadis in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Huge surface areas suitable for land reclamation exist in the wadi. Groundwater occurs within the wadi in two main aquifers (Quaternary and Nubian Sandstone aquifers). The Quaternary and the Nubian aquifers attain an average thickness of 20 and 200 meters, respectively. The former is recharged by the rain water while the second aquifer contains fossil water. Groundwater extraction management plan is required to maintain the land reclamation activities in the area. The sedimentary rocks exposed in both sides of the Wadi Qena contain considerable amount of industrial rocks and minerals (e.g. Limestone and chalk; clays; Phosphate and glass sands).

The forth sector of this road cuts through the basement complex of Egypt which composed mainly of igneous and metamorphic rocks. These rocks contain many metallic and non-metalic mineral deposits as: Radioactive mineral deposits; Iron ore deposits; Molybdenum; Tungsten; Copper and gold. There are also indications for the occurrence of the rare earth elements (REE) which are used in many important industries as the manufacturing the solar cells. Feldspars are found are found as wadi deposits and pegmatite veins.

Huge quantities of gypsum and anhydrite were recorded at Red Sea costal area which could support many chemical industries. The Miocene carbonates which exposed very close to the Red Sea coast represent important source for dolomite which is very important for many industries. Huge amounts of coarse aggregates occur as alluvial fans and wadi deposits.