Beni

Beni-Suef University.
Faculty of Sciences.

Level Fourth
Semester 2
Department
epartment Chemistry Geology
Course Name Phanerozoic of Egypt
Code G401
National ID 29611242200053
course Summer course

RING COMPLEX IN EGYPT.

Supervisor DR.Gouda Abt_Eltawab

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 List of Content.
page number Content
1 TITLE RESEARCH
2 LIST OF CONTENT AND KEY WORD
3 ABSTRACT
3-11 RESEARCH TOPIC
13 REFERENCES

Key words.
1- Ring complex 4- Mishbeh
2- Abu Khruq 5- Mansouri
3- Gezira 6- Tarbtie

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 1-Abstract
The ring complex is rocks consisting of Basalt ,Andisite,Rhyolite,and
Nepheline syanite and their volcanic equivalents. This rocks are rich with
Al . They are circular to elliptical in plane, a few kilometers in diameter.
They’re all arranged in concentric fashion . Their age is Jurassic to upper
cretaceous related to the early stage of Syrian arc system. The Ring
complex in Egypt is intrude a dominantly proterozoic basement of
gneisses ,meta sediments , island arc volcanics and older granitoides.
They’re associated with the east African rift system (ElRamly et al 1971).
The first Ring complex in Egypt is Abu Khruq (found as mass of
nepheline syenite).(Akaad and El Ramly 1962).
The first to identify Abu Khruq is Barthoux (1922).

Objectives:-

1-TYPES OF RING COMPLEX

2-GEOCHRONOLOGY OF THE RING COMPLEXES

3-TECTONIC SETTING AND PETROGENESIS

1-TYPES OF RING COMPLEX

They are classified into five groups according to:

1- Their magmatic differentiation reflected in the variety of rocks they include.

2- The degree of development of the ring nature and complexity of the structure.

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Group one (Abu Khruq type)

Is well defined ring nature with wide range of rock types with Ne.

1- Abu Khruq
2- El Naga
3- Nigrub

Abu Khruq ring complex.

This includes volcanic rocks and subvolcanic intrusions forming a number of

incomplete ring-dykes of
various alkaline syenites as well as cones, sheets and stockZlike bodies of different
nepheline syenites.
The volcanic rocks are present mainly in the summit area and west of it. They
include flows of alkaline trachytes and rhyolites as well as pyroclastics and
ignimbrites of similar composition. They also occur as roof pendants or rafts
intruded and uplifted by the later syenite intrusions. The subvolcanic intrusions
include an incomplete ring-dyke of alkaline syenite which forms the outer parts
of the complex in the north, east and west. These syenites contain aegirine-augite
and small amounts of quartz in addition to their main constituent, perthitic
orthoclase. They clearly cut through, uplift and alter the cone volcanics
Nepheline syenite, as foyaite, forms a conical intrusion in the north-eastern part of
the central mass, while ditroites and umptekites predominate in the north and
south. The nepheline syenites enclose xenoliths of the cone volcanics of varying
dimensions. Essexite gabbro (albite-oligoclase, perthitic orthoclase, aegerine-augite
and/or diopsidic augite and biotite, in an ophitic texture) forms some separate arc
shaped outcrops, believed to represent a lopolith which was cut by the later intrusion
of the syenites.
Abu Khruq is cut by a number of ring, radial and NW-trending faults (Fig.1).

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Group two ( Gezira type).

Is well defined ring nature with wide range of rock types with out Ne .

El Gezira

El Gezira ring complex

This complex measures some 3.5 km across, and is built up of an outer ring of cone

volcanics that include agglomerates and flows of trachybasalt and trachyte.

This is followed inwards by an inner ring of alkaline syenite. A body of essexite

gabbro occurs between the two rings, probably as a lopolith. A finer grained variety

of this essexite gabbro occurs as a body of essexite diabase taking part in the

formation of the volcanic cone. The central mass is of alkaline syenite intruded into

the volcanics. A small stock of pegmatoidal alkaline syenite occupies the north-

eastern part of the complex. Several microsyenite dykes intrude the complex with

varying attitudes (Fig. 1).

 Group three ( Mishbeh type ).

Is poorly defined ring nature with limited range of rock types with Ne .

1- Mishbeh

2- Wadi Dib

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Mishbeh ring complex .

This is a relatively large complex, about 10 km across, and is built up of an outer

thick ring-dyke of alkaline syenite, enclosing four smaller ring masses within.

The ring nature is only indicated by ring fractures, and the whole of Mishbeh is

essentially a mass of alkaline syenite. Remnants of the volcanic cone are

preserved only in the north-western part of the complex and are represented by

agglomerates of trachytic composition. The south-eastern inner ring structure has

a core of country rocks enclosed within the syenite dyke. Nepheline syenites

occur as a small stock of umptekite and ditroite cut by litchfieldite veins that

contain more than 50% nepheline (Fig. 1).

Group four ( Mansouri type).

Is poorly defined ring nature with limited range of rock types with out Ne.

1- Mansouri

2- Hadayib

3- Umm Risha

Mansouri ring complex

This is an almost continuous mass of alkaline syenite with no central or ring

wadis and no successive rings of varying composition.

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The cone volcanics are represented by vent agglomerates of trachytic

composition as well as some flows and tufts in its vicinity (Fig.a1).

In the neighbourhood of Mansouri, the biggest occurrences of carbonatites in the

country are known. They form a broken ring to its north, an arcuate body, 3 km

long and 300 m wide, to its south-east and many stocks to its west and south-west. A

number of carbonatite dykes occur in the wadi to the north-west of the ring complex.

These do not extend through the syenite mass and therefore it is reasonable to

assume that the carbonatites are older than the ring complex.

The carbonatites are mainly s6vites, but some magnesite-forsterite varieties occur

, and these are usually yellow to green in colour, due to the serpentinization of the

olivine. In the carbonatite mass west of Mansouri a banded variety is present where

calcite bands alternate with black bands of titanomagnetite rich in Nb. In a recent

study, niocalite, CagNb (Co, F)3 (SIO4)2 was identified in some of these carbonates

(Hashad 1980).

Group five ( Tarbtie type) .

Is Ring dyke with limited range of rock types with out Ne.

1- Tarbtie south

2- Tarbtie North

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Tarbtie South ring complex

This is the simplest of all types, being composed of a mass of trachybasalt

agglomerates and flows intruded by a mass of alkaline syenite and surrounded by a

number of ring-dykes of the same syenite .

2-GEOCHRONOLOGY OF THE RING COMPLEXES

The ring complexes in Egypt were earlier believed to be of Late Mesozoic to early
Tertiary age (El Ramly et al. 1971) . with K-Ar whole-rock ages ranging from 41 to
87 Ma (El Ramly 1963). It was assumed that all the ring complex of Egypt were of
the same age.
The K-At ages on mineral separates (biotite and hornblende) yielded ages that range
from 554 Ma (for Wadi Dib) to 89 Ma (for AbuKhruq), i.e. from the Cambrian to
cretaceous.

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Rb-Sr ages were obtained for some of the complexes (Fig. 2) and are in good
agreement with the K-Ar ages. It is interesting to note that samples obtained from
the different rock units in any one complex yielded very close ages (within 2 Ma).
This indicates that all the units of a given complex were emplaced within a relatively
short span of time.
The episode of alkaline magmatism in Egypt lasted for a considerable span of time
(from 554 to 89 Ma). In this respect, the Egyptian province is similar to that of
Garder in Greenland (200 Ma), the St. Lawrence (600 Ma) and the East African rift
system (250 Ma) (Currie 1970). During this time span, magmatism was episodic.
Lutz (1979) was the first to suggest, on the basis of simple statistical tests, that a
period of 52 Ma separates each episode from the next. So, if we start with the 38 Ma
(age of the most recent complex in the Uweinat area) and go back in time to 554 Ma
(age of Wadi Dib complex), 11 intrusive cycles are obtained. These are tabulated
with the ages of the complexes believed to have formed during the culmination of
each cycle in table 1.From table 1 it is clear that some of these cycles are not
represented by intrusives. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that such intrusives were
formed but do not crop out on the present day surface of erosion.

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 Predicted age Observed age Complexes
38 89 Abu Khruq
90 91 Al Kahfa
141 139 Nigrub
191 142 Mishbeh
245 145 EL Naga
296 229 El Gezira
348 351 Tarbtie
399 404 Zagrat
451 503 Niam
510 554 Wadi Dib

Table 1.Comparison of K-At ages and ages predicted from a 51.6 Ma period.

Fig 2. Distribution of tectonic zones in eastern desert of Egypt (after Garson and Krs1976).

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This cyclic nature of alkaline magmatism is not unique to the ring complexes of
Egypt, analogues were observed in the White Mountains and the Monteregian Hills
of New England and Canada (Foland and Faul 1977). No simple and clear
geographic pattern of distribution of the ages is readily available .

Never less The ring complexes of Nigrub E1 Fogani (139 Ma), Mishbeh (142 Ma),

El Naga (145 Ma) and E1 Gezira (229 Ma), which lie along a N 60°E lineament,

display an increasing age sequence as one moves away from the present day Red

Sea rift.

3-TECTONIC SETTING AND PETROGENESIS.

El Ramly et al. (1971) stated that the distribution of the ring complexes in Egypt
follows certain trends.
For example,the Abu Khruq, El Kahfa, Zargat, Niam, Nigrub, El Tahtani and Nigrub
E1Fogani complexes lie along a NW-trending line, and those of Mansouri, E1 Naga,
Mishbeh and Nigrub El Fogani lie on a NE-trend. The largest ring complexes are
those found where the two trends intersect. It was also stressed that ring complexes
are "restricted to crests of anticlines due to the high degree of fracturing along these
crests" (El Ramly et al. 1970, 1971).
Garson and Krs (1976) subsequently suggested that the distribution of the ring
complexes in Egypt is controlled by N60°E crustal block faults and shear
zones, and N30°W deep-seated tectonic zones related to the opening of
the Red Sea (Fig. 2). The best example for these features is the N60°E
trend along which lie the ring complexes mentioned in the previous
paragraph.

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On a global scale, most of the continental provinces of alkaline rocks are
located in cratons, i.e. tectonically stable regions of the crust (Sorensen
1974). Moreover, the association of most of these alkaline provinces with
zones of rift is well established, e.g. East Africa, asia, the Rhine and the
Monteregian Provinces. These zones of rift are the fractured crests of
crustal arches. Hence, the Egyptian ring complexes can be related to
swells or arches in the crust essentially distributed at random, but
with some alignment along lines of weakness which probably existed
since Precambrian times and which suffered frequent rejuvenation. In this
connection, it is interesting to note that El Sharkawi and El Rabfia (1976)
related the alkaline rocks of the Nuba Mountains in the Sudan to a NE-
trending fault, along which earthquakes took place as recently as 1966.
The cause of the swells and updomings of the crust is thought to be an
intraplate mantle hot spot (Wright 1973) where parts of the plate
overlying positive thermal anomalies are heated by the rising convection
columns in the mantle (Briden and Gass 1974).
From a petrogenetic point of view, it may be suggested that in the crustal
swells referred to above, magmas were produced in a manner similar to
that proposed by Bailey (1970, 1972) These magmas differentiated deep
in the crust and it was the individual differentiates that moved
to their sites of emplacement. This is indicated by textural features such as
flow structure, the short time span of emplacement of the different rock
units in each complex. (El Ramly etal. 1971).

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References.
1- Bailey, D. K. 1972. Uplift, rifting and magmatism in continental plates. Leeds
Univ. J. Earth Sci.
2- Barthoux, J. C. 1922. Chronologie et description des roches ign6es du Des6rt
Arabique. Mere. Inst. D'Egypte, le Caire 5.
3- Currie, K. L. 1970. A hypothesis on the origin of alkaline rocks suggested by the
tectonic setting of the Monteregian Hills. Can. Miner. 10, 411420.
4 - E1 Rarely, M. F. 1963. The absolute ages of some basement rocks from Egypt.
Geol. Surv. Egypt Pap. 15, 13 pp.
5 - E1 Ramly, M. F. and Hussein, A. A. A. 1982. The alkaline ring complexes of
Egypt. Geol. Surv. Egypt Pap. 63, 16 pp.
6 - El Ramly, M. F., Budanov, V. 1., Hussein, A. A. A. and Dereniuk, N.
E. 1970. Ring complexes in the south Eastern Desert. In: Studies on some Mineral
Deposits of Egypt (Edited by Moharram, O. et al. ), pp. 181-191. Geol. Surv. Egypt.
7 - Garson, M. S. and Krs, M. 1976. Geophysical ~nd geological evidence of the
relationship of Red Sea tranverse tectonics to ancient features. Bull. geol. Sac. Am.
87,169-181.
8- Hashad, M. H. 1980. Contribution to the mineralogy and geochemistry of some
carbonate rocks in the basement complex of Egypt. Ph.D. Thesis, Fac. Sci., AI
Azhar Univ., Cairo.
9 - Lutz, T. M. 1979. Strontium and oxygen isotope relations and geochemistry of
Abu Khruq complex, Egypt. Implications for the Petrogenesis of the alkaline rocks
of the Eastern Desert, Egypt. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Philadelphia, U.S.A.
10 - Serencsits, C. M., E1 Ramly, M. F., Faul, H., Foland, K. A. and Hussein, A. A.
A. 1979. Alkaline ring complexes in Egypt: their
ages and relationship to tectonic development of the Red Sea. Ann. geol. Surv.
Egypt9, 102-116.
11 - Sorensen, H. 1974. The Alkaline Rocks. John Wiley, London.
Wright, J. B. 1973. Continental drift, magmatic provinces and mantle
plumes. Nature, Lond. 244,565-567.

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