MAPPING OF HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION ZONES AROUND WADI ZUBEIR, NORTHERN EASTERN DESERT, EGYPT USING AIRBORNE GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETRIC, AEROMAGNETIC AND REMOTE SENSING DATA

Airborne geophysical and satellite imagery were used to map hydrothermal alteration zones by analyzing the acquired data to provide accurate and reliable results. In the area around Wadi Zubeir, located in northern Eastern Desert of Egypt, airborne magnetic and spectrometric data, also satellite data were used to map hydrothermal alteration zones. The airborne radiometric data processed and gridded to generate the concentration maps of Potassium (K in %), Uranium (eU in ppm), Thorium (eTh in ppm) and ratios of K/eTh were computed to map the distribution of radioactive elements. The delineated geology and hydrothermally altered zones led to the identification of altered minerals. The altered zones were noted to be associated with mineralization in the granitic rocks. The delineated structures aided the design of the geologic map of the study area. The aeromagnetic data analyses performed to improve the quality of data for better understanding of the subsurface geology were reduction to the pole, total horizontal derivative, analytical signal, and tilt derivative. There are two main hydrothermal alteration zones have been identified. They show a spatial correlation with surface prospects and mineral occurrences, granite rocks, and main trends. Mapping of hydrothermal alteration zones associated with mineralization is of paramount importance in searching for metal deposits.