Raslan reported in 2001 that a unique occurrence of zircon (Hf-rich) and dark Li-mica (zinnwaldite) was recorded in the altered uraniferous gneiss at Wadi Abu Rusheid area, southeastern Desert of Egypt. Heavy-minerals mineralogy for the studied samples revealed that zircon and zinnwaldite can reach 7% and 20% by weight of the original rock sample respectively.
Zircon is the main radioactive mineral responsible for both U and Th contents in the studied samples. Detailed microscopic examination, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were used to identify and describe the studied minerals. Li-mica of dark color is the most dominant mineral followed by zircon in all size fractions.
Beside these minerals, some columbite grains occur in much lower amount. Physical upgrading of these minerals were carried out using gravitative and magnetic separation techniques. Applying the proposed flowsheet, it was possible to attain a good concentrate for each mineral with an acceptable recovery. It is recommended to subject both of the final concentrates to hydrometallurgical treatments to extract the important metals.
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