Dietrich D. Klemm

Gold of the Pharaohs - 6000 years of gold mining in Egypt and Nubia

Abstract The legendary wealth in gold of ancient Egypt seems to correspond with an unexpected high number of gold production sites in the Eastern Desert of Egypt and Nubia. This contribution introduces briefly the general geology of these vast regions and discusses the geology of the different varieties of the primary gold occurrences (always related to auriferous quartz mineralization in veins or shear zones) as well as the variable physico-chemical genesis of the gold concentrations. The development of gold mining over time, from Predynastic (ca. 3000 BC) until the end of Arab gold production times (about 1350 AD), including the spectacular Pharaonic periods is outlined, with examples of its remaining artefacts, settlements and mining sites in remote regions of the Eastern Desert of Egypt and Nubia. Finally, some estimates on the scale of gold production are presented.

The building stones of ancient Egypt - a gift of its geology

Abstract Building stones and clay-rich Nile mud were ancient Egypts main raw construction materials. While the mud was easily accessible along the Nile river valley, the immense quantities of the different stone materials used for construction of the famous pyramids, precious temples and tombs needed a systematic quarrying organization, well arranged transport logistics over extreme distances and a high standard of stone masonry. The petrography, occurrence, and main applications of the 11 most popular stone types used in ancient Egypt are described in this contribution. Rough estimates of the scale of this mining activity, based on the volume of many different ancient quarry sites, all over Egypt, reveal that the monuments known today represent only a small fraction of the amount of building stones mined during the long, ancient Egyptian history.

Gold and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt and Nubia

Archaeological Chronology fo Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt and Nubian Sudan.- Value of Gold in Ancient Egypt.- Analyses of Gold and Observations on Ancient Egyptian Goldsmithing.- Summary on the Sequential and Spatial Distribution of Ancient Gold Producing Sites in the Egyptian and Nubian Eastern Deserts.

The formation of Palæoproterozoic banded iron formations and their associated Fe and Mn deposits, with reference to the Griqualand West deposits, South Africa

Abstract This paper models the physico-chemical conditions of a Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic marine basin in which the sedimentary sequence of BIF, Fe and Mn ores of the Lake Superior-type formed. The model is based on Eh-pH diagram stability fields for Fe, silica and Mn solubilities (taken from the literature) and on field observations of the lithological sequences. BIF formation took place in epicontinental marine basins with free access to the ocean. The main Fe source for BIF formation was ocean enriched with about 6–10 ppm ferrous Fe of hydrothermal geochemical affinity. Land-derived Fe influxes into the BIF-forming basins certainly contributed, but the lack of clastic sedimentation precludes estimation of element budgets. The main silica source for formation of chert layers is sea water. If silica was precipitated by evaporation, the silica concentration of the BIF-forming sea must have been close to saturation (15–20 ppm). Biogenic silica concentration from a possible silica undersaturated sea may not be excluded. These inferred BIF-forming conditions fit the global occurrence of Lake Superior-type BIF in general, whereas special sedimentary environments were probably responsible for the formation of highly enriched laminated Fe ore at the Maremane Dome and in the Sishen-Kathu mining district in Griqualand West, and for the FeMn ores in the Kalahari field. Formation of laminated Fe ore in the Maremane Dome and in the Sishen-Kathu areas were restricted to local deeps within the BIF basins, caused by karst collapse in the underlying Campbellrand dolomites. In such deeps, increased pH values relative to the normal BIF-forming sea caused sufficiently increased silica solubility, resulting in the almost exclusive sedimentation of colloidal Fe precipitates. In the Kalahari field, the BIF sedimentation pile became silica-depleted when approaching the Mn layers. This was genetically controlled by the increased pH of sea water and increased silica solubility. Under such increased pH conditions, Mn oxides become stable for precipitation if minimum Mn activity is achieved in the sedimentary basin. The sedimentation sequence of low silica BIF - kutnahoritic BIF - jacobsitic BIF - braunitic Mn ore can be explained, using combined Eh-pH diagrams, as reflecting a precipitation path of increasing redox potential in a pH environment slightly above 9. These conditions were achieved by closing the access of the basin to the open ocean, resulting in the reduction of water level by evaporation and thereby increasing salinity and pH. Precipitation of low silica BIF followed and, in the presence of sufficient Mn activity with increasing Eh in the precipitating water stratum, deposition of the Mn mineral associations occurred.

Ore-Controlling Factors in the Hg-Sb Province of Southern Tuscany, Italy

The various geological parameters which are responsible for the formation of the mercury and antimony deposits in southern Tuscany are studied.

Intrinsic oxygen Fugacity measurements on chromites from the Bushveld Complex and their petrogenetic significance

AbstractOxygen Fugacity measurements were carried out on chromites from the Eastern Bushveld Complex (Maandagshoek) and are compared with former measurements on chromites from the western Bushveld Complex (Zwartkop Chrome Mine). These results together with those of Hill and Roeder (1974) yield the following conditions of formation for the massive chromitite layers:Western Bushveld Complex (Zwartkop Chrome Mine)

Geology and ore genesis of the manganese ore deposits of the Postmasburg manganese-field, South Africa

\begin{gathered} Layer{\text{ }}T(^\circ C) p_{O_2 } (atm) \hfill \\ LG3{\text{ 1160}} - {\text{1234 10}}^{ - {\text{5}}} - 10^{ - 7.6} \hfill \\ LG4{\text{ 1175}} - {\text{1200 10}}^{ - 6.35} - 10^{ - 7.20} \hfill \\ LG6{\text{ 1162}} - {\text{1207 10}}^{ - 6.20} - 10^{ - 7.50} \hfill \\ \hfill \\ \end{gathered}

Gold Production Sites and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt

Eastern Bushveld Complex (Farm Maandagshoek)