Hegab Mahmoud Abd El-Rahman
National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Cairo, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 26;14(1):19739. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69147-3.
Uranium exploration plays a pivotal role in meeting global energy demands and advancing nuclear technology. This study presents a comprehensive approach to uranium exploration in the Gebel Duwi area of the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt, utilizing remote sensing and airborne gamma-ray spectrometric data. Multispectral remote sensing techniques, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF), and Band Ratioing (BR), are employed to identify lithological units and hydrothermal alteration zones associated with uranium deposition, such as iron oxides, argillic, propylitic, and phyllic alterations. Additionally, airborne gamma-ray spectrometry data provide insights into the spatial distribution of radioelements, including uranium (eU), thorium (eTh), and potassium (K), as well as radioelement ratios (eU/eTh, eU/K, and eTh/K). The uranium migration index map (eU-(eTh/3.5)) and the F-parameter map (K*(eU/eTh)) have been generated to investigate the movement of uranium within various geological zones and characterize anomalous uranium concentrations. Statistical analyses, including mean (X), standard deviation (S), and coefficient of variability (C.V.), are conducted to identify uranium-rich zones. The integration of these datasets enables the generation of a uranium potential map highlighting areas of elevated concentrations indicative of uranium mineralization. Field observations and mineralogical analyses of collected samples validate our findings, confirming the presence of minerals associated with uranium mineralization in mapped high-potential areas. The significance of minerals like Fe-Chlorite, Fe-Mg-Chlorite, ferrihydrite, goethite, calcite, muscovite, dolomite, actinolite, vermiculite, and gypsum in indicating potential uranium mineralization processes underscores the importance of our results.
铀矿勘探在满足全球能源需求和推动核技术发展方面发挥着关键作用。本研究提出了一种综合方法，利用遥感和航空伽马射线能谱数据，对埃及中东沙漠的盖贝尔杜维地区进行铀矿勘探。采用了多光谱遥感技术，包括主成分分析（PCA）、最小噪声分离（MNF）和波段比值法（BR），以识别与铀矿沉积相关的岩性单元和热液蚀变带，如氧化铁、泥质、青磐岩化和叶蜡石化蚀变。此外，航空伽马射线能谱数据提供了有关放射性元素空间分布的信息，包括铀（eU）、钍（eTh）和钾（K），以及放射性元素比值（eU/eTh、eU/K和eTh/K）。生成了铀迁移指数图（eU-(eTh/3.5)）和F参数图（K*(eU/eTh)），以研究铀在不同地质区域内的移动情况，并表征异常铀浓度。进行了包括均值（X）、标准差（S）和变异系数（C.V.）在内的统计分析，以识别富铀区。这些数据集的整合使得能够生成一张铀潜力图，突出显示指示铀矿化的高浓度区域。对采集样本的实地观察和矿物学分析验证了我们的发现，证实了在绘制的高潜力区域中存在与铀矿化相关的矿物。诸如铁绿泥石、铁镁绿泥石、水铁矿、针铁矿、方解石、白云母、白云石、阳起石、蛭石和石膏等矿物在指示潜在铀矿化过程中的重要性强调了我们研究结果的重要性。
