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Arabian Journal of Geosciences (2018) 11:674

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-018-4020-6

ORIGINAL PAPER

3-D magnetic inversion and satellite imagery for the Um Salatit gold
occurrence, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt

Hassan Mohamed1 & Hakim Saibi2 & Mohand Bersi3 & Sami Abdelnabi4 & Baher Geith1 & Hamdy Ismaeil1 &
Thomas Tindell5 & Hideki Mizunaga5

Received: 1 March 2018 /Accepted: 18 October 2018

# Saudi Society for Geosciences 2018

Abstract
The Um Salatit is a gold occurrence situated in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. The studied area is characterized by an
intensive imbrication zone of serpentinites and metavolcanic rocks. The integrated use of aeromagnetic and spectral reflectance
remote sensing data has proven effective for mapping geology related to ore deposits. Spectral reflectance maps have been
produced to discriminate various rocks, such as serpentinites, gabbros, and metavolcanic rocks. 3-D inversion of aeromagnetic
data acquired over the Um Salatit study area produced a 3-D magnetic susceptibility model showing magnetic bodies surrounded
by less magnetic host rock. The magnetic features are elongated ENE-WSW parallel to the major thrust fault and mapped the
Um Salatit serpentinized rocks. Remote sensing data allows investigating surficial geological features and mapping the
mineralized areas. Remote results, in conjunction with 3-D inversion of aeromagnetic data, demonstrate that gold occurrence in
the study area was effectively restricted to the highly magnetic zone interpreted as host rocks.

Keywords 3-D inversion . The Um Salatit . Gold occurrence . Remote sensing. Magnetic

Introduction et al. (2001) investigated rocks of the Arabian–Nubian shield

(eg, serpentinites, basalts, clastic sedimentary rocks) and
Geophysical potential methods continue to have diverse suggested that exposed gold concentrations of 20–50 ppb
applications in ore prospecting, crustal imaging, as well as were associated with mafic rocks and clastic sediments,
environmental studies (eg, Abdelrahman and Essa 2005; whereas concentrations close to 200 ppb were associated
Balkaya et al. 2017). with the serpentinites. Previous sample analyzes showed the
Since ancient times, the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt highest gold values to be in close proximity to Al-Barramiya
has been well known as a gold mining area with 90 gold old gold mine and Gabal Um Salatit (Botros 2004; EGS 1978),
deposits and occurrences (Fig. 1) Botros (2004) and Klemm both of which are located in the same Um Salim belt of
serpentinized ophiolite rock.
Much geophysical exploration has been conducted in the
* Hakim Saibi Central Eastern Desert of Egypt due to the presence of
judi.saibi@uaeu.ac.ae mineral resources. Ancient Egyptians extracted gold from
quartz veins of various sizes and placer deposits in open-pits
1
Geophysics Department, Egyptian Nuclear Materials Authority, New and under-ground workings. At present, there is no
Cairo, Egypt production, and activities are concentrated on the evaluation
2
Department of Geology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates of the old gold mine dumps and tailings. Botros (2004), Gunn
University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates and Dentith (1997) showed that host rocks of gold deposits
3
Department of Earth Sciences, Ferhat Abbas University, can have strong magnetic responses. Metavolcanics, mafic,
Setif, Algeria and serpentinite rocks exhibit large amplitude magnetic
4
Geophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, anomalies and are well de-lined by modeled magnetic data El-
Cairo, Abbasia 11566, Egypt Sadek (2009). Botros (1993), and Osman and Dardir (1989)
5
Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, found that in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt, high
Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan concentrations of gold occur in alteration zones.
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674 Page 2 of 18 Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674

Fig. 1 General location map of the study area. a The location of the Um Salatit gold occurrence, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt. b Elevation map of the
study area

Nabighian et al. (2005), Oldenburg and Pratt (2007),
and Azizi et al. (2015) demonstrated that aeromagnetic
method is widely used during mineral exploration as it is
economical and provides lateral and vertical distribution of
magnetic sources over large areas. The primary aims of
such magnetic surveys are to identify structures that may
be mineralized and to detect the presence or absence of
magnetic minerals, which may be associated with
processes that create gold deposits. Aeromagnetic data
in conjunction with geological data were the primary tools in

Fig. 2 Geologic map of the Um

Salatit gold occurrence area,
Central Eastern Desert, Egypt
(EGS 1978)
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Table 1 Sentinel 2A mission and Landsat OLI spectral bands (Barsi et al. 2014)

Bands Central Bandwidth Spatial OLI Equivalent Band

Numbers wavelengths (nm) Resolution (Wavelength/ Resolution)

(nm) (m)

B1 443 20 60 Aerosols (0.43 – 0.45 / 30)

B2 490 65 10 Blue (0.45 – 0.51 / 30)

B3 560 35 10 Greens (0.53 – 0.59 / 30)

B4 665 30 10 Red (0.64 – 0.67 30)

B5 705 15 20 -

B6 740 15 20 -

B7 783 20 20 -

B8 842 115 10

NIR (0.85 – 0.88 / 30)

B8A 865 20 20

B9 945 20 60 -

B10 1380 30 60 Cirrus (1.33 – 1.34 / 30)

B11 1610 90 20 SWIR1 (1.57 – 1.65 / 30)

B12 2190 180 20 SWIR2 (2.11 – 2.29 / 30)

discovering the Far West Rand Goldfields in the
Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa, one of the most
productive gold systems in history (Roux 1970).
3-D interpretation of magnetic data has become common
practice in the mineral exploration industry. The objective of
3-D interpretation is to provide a reliable understanding of the
magnetic susceptibility and remanence properties of rocks
that hosts gold-bearing veins with a particular emphasis on the
relationships between magnetic physical properties, alteration,
and mineralization.
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Fig. 3 B4, B3, and B2 naturel
color-composite of the Sentinel 2A
sensor. This composite regional
map features such as
lineaments and wadis
Remote sensing is an important tool that can help in
mineral exploration by mapping the different minerals by
using their reflectance characteristics (Saibi et al. 2018). In
this paper, spectral reflectance data are used for lithological
mapping of different rock units. In this study, we aim to map
the ultra-mafic rocks and provide new litho-structural
information using multispectral images.
3-D inversion of aeromagnetic data, in conjunction with
remote sensing data, has been used to evaluate the potential
of gold occurrence in the study area. The results from this
study can support future gold exploration plans.
Geology
The study area covers approximately 84 km2 in the Central
Eastern Desert of Egypt (Fig. 1). Basement rocks in this area
are similar to those of the Arabian Shield on the Arabian
Peninsula (El-Gaby et al. 1984; ÿahin 2016). Prior to the
opening of the Red Sea, the basement was formed by the
cratonization of the Arabian Shield, with obduction of an
island arc terrane over the continental margin from 715 to
640 Ma (Stoeser and Camp 1985). During the orogeny, thrust
faults and related fractures formed, which became conduits for gold-bearing
Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674
fluids. The basement rocks are typically metamorphosed to
greenschist to amphibolite facies.
Pan-African derived ophiolites and island arc rocks in the
area consist of talc-carbonates and actinolite schists (El-Gaby
et al. 1988). Gold deposits in Egypt can be classified into (1)
stratabound deposits, (2) non-stratabound deposits, and (3)
placer deposits (Botros 2004). These deposits are divided
into vein type mineralization, which is considered the main
target for gold in Egypt, as well as disseminated-type
mineralization hosted in hydrothermally altered rocks, which
has recently been recognized as a new target for gold in
Egypt. Field studies and geochemical exploration by the
Egyptian Geological Surveys (EGS) in the 70s (EGS 1977,
1978) indicate that the Um Salatit gold occurrence is a vein-
type deposit hosted in sheared ultramafic rocks.
Salem et al. (2012) showed that the host rocks in the Um
Salatit deposit are of moderate to high relief and consist of
complete to dismembered fragments of ophiolitic rocks.
These rocks make up about 75% of the exposed rocks in the
study area (Fig. 2). Talc carbonate rocks trend east-northeast
in the study area (Fig. 2). Chlorite and actinolite schists are
usually recognized along shear zones (Salem et al. 2012).
Ophiolitic serpentinites embedded in the metavolcanic
sed-imentary matrix are possible sources for gold in the vein-
type deposits hosted in the island arc volcanic and volcaniclastic
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Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674
Fig. 4 B8, B4, and B2 false color-
composite of OLI image showing
the serpentinite and mafic
metavolcanic formations
rocks and/or the granitic rocks surrounding them (Dardir and
Elshimi 1992; Takla and Suror 1996).
The Al-Barramiya-Um Salim belt is covered by ultramafic
rocks (Khudeir et al. 1992; Salem et al. 2012), which may host
the gold bearing rocks particularly at the intersection of quartz
veins (Harraz et al. 2012; Salem et al. 2014; Zoheir and
Lehmann 2011).
Remote sensing
The Central Eastern Desert in Egypt is characterized by
abundant clear skies and a lack of vegetative cover, favorable
conditions for the use of remote sensing data for geological
map-ping. This study utilizes multispectral instrument (MSI) data
collected during the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel
2 missions (T36RXN tile surveyed on November 19, 2016).
The sensor provides high spatial resolution multispectral
images (Table 1) that can be downloaded from the Sentinels
Scientific Data Hub (https://scihub.copernicus.eu) and
processed (resampling and calibration) using ESA Sentinel
application Platform (ESA-SNAP software) available from
the website of ESA (https://step.esa.int/main/download/).
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This study also utilized Landsat 8's Operational Land
Imager (OLI) images (path 174, row 43), which are already
corrected for atmospheric components using FLAASH model.
The images were recorded on September 9, 2016 and are
available from www.earthexplorer.usgs.gov. These data were
processed using Harris Geospatial Solutions ENVI 5 software.
Several derivative products were generated (color-composites,
band ratio, principal component analysis (PCA),
and Sobel convolution filter) to map the spectral responses of
different geological features covering the Um Salatit area.
Image processing
Color-composites
The natural color-composite consists of displaying the three
visible bands in red, green, and blue (RGB) channels. The
products provide colored images for visualizing and
extracting the terrain, large scale structures and regional dis-
continuities. The Sentinel natural color-composite (B4, B3,
and B2) with 10-m spatial resolution provides the best quality
for mapping lineaments (faults, dykes, and structural features)
(Fig. 3).
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Fig. 5 a Spectral profiles of the
main geological features in the
study area from OLI data. b
Ratios spectral profiles of the
main geological features
False color-composites show combinations of any three
bands in an RGB image. The B8, B4, and B2 composite from
OLI image was selected for the ability to discriminate between
different lithological units (Fig. 4).
Band ratioing
The band ratioing technique is widely used in remote sensing
for detecting and isolating specific units (Sanchez and
Canton 1998). It consists of dividing one spectral band by
another spectral band from the same image. The four
outcropping rock types have different spectra (Fig. 5). The
absorption bands are well visible at the red-near infrared
region, with fluctuations caused by Fe and OH in the NIR
and SWIR, respectively. The ophiolite gabbro, mafic
metavolcanics, and serpentinite car-bonates have absorption
around 1.9–2.2 ÿm caused by the OH hydroxyls and
carbonate minerals (Warner et al. 2009; Gupta 2003;
Croudace and Rothwell 2015). The alkaline granite unit
presents a small absorption in the SWIR domain, with this
absorption caused by clay minerals. According to the
metavolcanic spectral profile, if we divide the reflectance value in gabbro
Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674
the ratio. However, when dividing the values from SWIR1 by
values in NIR from the same formation, we will get high
values. If we divide values from NIR band by values in Red
band, we obtain low values, so when displaying the three
ratios in RGB mode, the color of mafic metavolcanics will be
shades of green. The other formations will have different
ratios values and different colors in RGB image, because of
the absorptions in these four domains. If we choose ratios
on visible domain, the ratios will have similar values and
shades of gray in the RGB image. According to this analysis,
the ratios SWIR2/SWIR1, SWIR1/NIR, and NIR/red are
selected from the OLI image dataset to map lithologies (Fig. 6).
The OLI color-composite ratio image displayed in RGB
mode (Fig. 6) discriminates well between lithological units.
The magenta color in the north corresponds to the alkaline
granite; the same formation appears southward in the Wadi
Bayzah plain. The serpentinite and talc-carbonates rocks
highlighted in dark red color are mapped over a large area
north and south of the Wadi Gabel Um-Salatit, northward of
Gabel Um-Salatit, and southward of Gabel Um-Salim. The
mafic metavolcanic rocks appear yellow and the ophiolitic
SWIR2 in bylight yellowincolor.
the value SWIR1, we will get low value of
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Fig. 6 OLI SWIR2/SWIR1,

SWIR1/NIR, and NIR/Red ratios
displayed in RGB mode. AG:
alkaline granite; STC:
serpentinite, talc-carbonates
rocks; BMV: basic metavolcanic
rocks; OG: ophiolitic gabbro;
Wd: wadi deposits; dotted black
lines: quartz veins

Principal component analysis
PCA in geological remote sensing is done to obtain
information about all lithological units using a restricted
number of bands. This transformation is a powerful
technology for the analysis of correlated multidimensional
data (Gupta 2003; Lillesand et al. 2015). PCA transformation
was applied to both OLI and Sentinel images. For the OLI
image, six bands were used (SWIR2, SWIR1, NIR, red,
green, and blue), while only four bands were used for the
Sentinel image (B8A, B4, B3, and B2). The eigenspectrum
plot of the data is presented in Fig. 7.
The first three components issued from both OLI and Sentinel
images are displayed in RGB mode in Figs. 8 and 9,
respectively.
This transformation yielded pertinent results especially for
the Sentinel PCA where the lithological limits are well
detected (Fig. 10), forming a preferred base map for digitizing.
Filtering
Filters were used in geological mapping to extract lineaments
(faults, dykes, veins). These discontinuities are characterized
by an abrupt change of pixel values. A directional filter with a
3*3 kernel (Moonon et al. 2015) was applied to the NIR OLI
band, which provided the best visual aspect (Horn 1982).
Two orientations were selected, NW-SE (135°) and EW (90°).
The extracted lineaments (Fig. 11) show a high concentration
in the north and present a NE preferential trend.

3-D inversion of magnetic data

Aeromagnetic data

In 1984, a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey was

Fig. 7 Eigenspectra of the OLI data
conducted over the study area (Um Salatit) by the Aero-
Service Division, Western Geophysical Company of America, USA.
The aeromagnetic data were acquired using a proton
magnetometer with a resolution of 0.01 nT at a nominal 120-
m ter-rain clearance. This survey was conducted along
parallel flight lines oriented NE-SW with 1-km line spacing
and a sampling interval of approximately 91 m. The tie lines
were conducted at 10-km line spacing. The data were corrected for the IGR
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674 Page 8 of 18 Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674

Fig. 8 PC3, PC2, and PC1 from

OLI image displayed in RGB.
AG: alkaline granite; STC:
serpentinite, talc-carbonates
rocks; BMV: basic metavolcanic
rocks; OG: ophiolitic gabbro;
Wd: wadi deposits; dotted black
lines: quartz veins

Fig. 9 PC3, PC2, and PC1 from

Sentinel image displayed in RGB
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Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674
Fig. 10 Surficial geological maps
derived from mostly from the
Sentinel 2 PCA. The formation
limits and structural
discontinuities are well-mapped.
Dashed pink box represents the
aeromagnetic study area
(International Geomagnetic Reference Field), and the effects
of diurnal magnetic variation were removed. The total field
data were reduced to the pole (RTP) in the frequency domain
(Baranov 1957) using an average inclination of 34° and dec-
lineation of 2.7°.
The RTP data are characterized by high and low magnetic
anomalies distributed throughout the study area (Fig. 12).
The RTP map shows an elongated high amplitude positive
magnetic anomalies associated with metavolcanics and
serpentinized rocks. These rock types normally have high
susceptibilities (Saad 1969). Low magnetic anomalies char-
acterize wadi deposits and older granitoids (Fig. 12). A previous
aeromagnetic study of the Um Salatit gold occurrence
showed that the gold occurrence coincided with cross-cutting
fractures, and that high amplitude positive magnetic
anomalies corresponded to known gold mineralization (El-Sadek
2009).
Inversion
The inversion of geophysical data is a powerful method for
estimating the geological structure beneath cover (Williams
2008). In this section, we apply 3-D magnetic inversion to
help exploration targeting near the Um Salatit gold
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occurrence. Non-uniqueness means that there are infinitely
many models that can reproduce the data, but many of these
are unreasonable for specific applications. To minimize the
number of accepted models, the requirements for a feasible
models are considered. The first process seeks to establish a 3-
D magnetic-susceptibility model that can generate a magnetic field
anomaly fitting the observed magnetic data to within a degree
justified by the estimated uncertainties. The second is that
recovered model should be consistent with the geology, any
prior knowledge of the subsurface geology, or physical property
distribution and can explain the measured magnetic response.
This often requires that the model be smooth in all
spatial directions. The regularization parameter ÿ is chosen
such that it makes some balance between the functional misfit
term and stabilizer (Li and Oldenburg 2003; Mehanee and
Essa 2015). The digital elevation model (DEM) (Fig. 13)
shows that the area is of moderate to high relief. The RTP data
and SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) of a resolution of
30 m were the primary data sources used to predict the
distribution of the magnetic susceptibility contrast of the study
areas.
Three-dimensional magnetic inversion was carried out
using the algorithm of (Li and Oldenburg 1996). The calculations
start from the following linear relation,
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674 Page 10 of 18 Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674

Fig. 11 a Extracted lineaments

draped in shaded relief SRTM. b
Directional 135, directional 90,
and NIR images displayed in
RGB mode. c Applied directional
135° filter on NIR band

dobs ¼ Nope ð1Þ The first integral component measures the closeness of the
final model to the reference model, while the last three integrations measure
where d is the vector of the real data acquired in the study area;
the smoothness of the difference between the
G is the sensitivity matrix, which quantifies the contribution of
recovered model (m) and the reference model (mref) in the
the susceptibility in the cell to the data vector; k is the susceptibility in the
three orthogonal axes. ws, wx, wy, and wz are the weightings
cells. The inverse problem is formulated as an
functions. ÿs, ÿx, ÿy, and ÿz are coefficients that affect the
optimization problem seeking a solution that minimizes both
relative importance of different components in the objective
a numerical measure of the model and the misfit between the
function. The alpha constants are equal to 1. The functions
observed and calculated magnetic field anomaly data. The following objective
ws, wx, wy, and wz are spatially dependent weighting
function model was used, in order to quantify
functions. wr (z) is a depth weighting function. The starting model
various characteristics of the model (Li and Oldenburg 1996). was zero.
2
2 ÿ
ÿmð Þ¼ m ÿsÿVws wrðÞÞz
mÿmref
ð½ dV þ ÿxÿvwx wrð Þz ð Þ mÿmref dVþ The depth weighting function (w(z) is wz) is incorporated into
ÿx
2 2 magnetic inversion to overcome the kernels (G) rapid decay,
ÿ ÿ
dV þ ÿzÿvwz dV:
ÿyÿvwy wrð Þz ð Þ mÿmref
ÿz
wrð Þz ð Þ mÿmref which forces most of the susceptible material to occur near the
ÿy
surface (Li and Oldenburg 1996).
ð2Þ
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Fig. 12 Sun-shaded color images

of aeromagnetic-intensity map,
reduced to the pole, Um Salatit
gold occurrence area, Central
Eastern Desert, Egypt

Next, the misfit between the measured and calculated data
can be calculated using Eq. (3):
2
ÿd ¼ Wd Gmÿdobs
where Wd is a diagonal matrix for the standard deviation of the
noise attributed to the entire data set; GM is the predicted
response of the 3-D magnetic susceptibility model.
The recovered magnetic susceptibility model can be found
by solving the following optimization problem:
ÿ ¼ ÿd þ ÿÿm
where ÿ is the objective function and ÿ is the parameter trade-off
to balance the importance of low data misfit versus a small
objective function model.
ð3Þ To ensure positive susceptibility, non-linear constraints have been implemented
included in the inversion process; therefore, Eq. (4) becomes:
ÿ ¼ ÿd þ ÿÿm þ ÿÿM j¼1logmj ð5Þ
where ÿ is a positive constant, and the third term is a barrier to
prevent taking on negative values. More details and discussion
about several non-linear constraints are available in Li and
ð4Þ
Oldenburg (1996).

Fig. 13 Digital elevation models

(DEM) for the Um Salatit gold
occurrence
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674 Page 12 of 18
Table 2 Discretization parameters of the base and padding volume
Base Horizontal padding Vertical padding
Dimensions (cells) 23 5 5
Cell expansion ratios 1.08 1.5 1.5
For the inversion, the subsurface near Um Salatit was
discretized into cuboid cells with dimensions of 200, 200,
and 50 m in the x, y, and z directions, respectively. In order
to obtain sensible values, larger cells outside the region of
interest is used to allow for mathematically smooth transitions
the edges of the domain. The cell size increases
by the given cell expansion ratios shown in Table 2. The
resulting volume consists of 115,200 cells, and the number
of data points input into the inversion is 2099. Each cell is
assumed to have constant magnetic susceptibility, and the
magnetization is assumed to lie in the direction of the
Earth's magnetic field. Hence, there is no remanent
magnetization considered in our calculation.
Magnetic field data usually have regional or long wave-
lengths, which are generated by geological features outside the
region of interest. A linear trend background was removed
from the observed data; therefore, the inversion process will
focus on the localized anomalies. The best fit linear trend
parameters of the observed data are calculated automatically.
Physical properties of rocks and minerals are critical
link between the geological and geophysical interpretation
(Williams 2008). Table 3 shows the magnetic susceptibility
values for some rocks and minerals in the world, which also
occur in the study area. For this method to be successful, there
must be a physical property contrast between the geology
materials. Low magnetic susceptibility values have been
observed for siltstone/carbonates rocks, quartz, pyrite, and
oliv-ine minerals (Table 3). Magnetic susceptibility values for
serpentinite varies between 0.0031 and 0.075 SI. Saad (1969)
demonstrated that the serpentinized rocks have highly variable
magnetic anomalies that are related directly to spatial variation
in susceptibility.
Table 3 Magnetic susceptibility of rocks and minerals compiled by
(Clark and Emerson 1991; Hunt et al. 1995)
Rock types Maximum susceptibility (SI units)
Gabbro 0.001–0.09
Granite 0–0.05
Silt/Carbonates 0.0012
Serpentinite 0.0031–0.075
Olivia 0.0016
Pyrite 0.005
Quartz 0.000017
Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674
Figures 14, 15, 16, and 17 show the resulting 3-D
magnetic susceptibility distribution. From the geology
mapping, remote sensing analysis, and 3-D magnetic in-
version results, the steep magnetic gradient surroundings
the elongated positive magnetic anomaly (Fig. 12) ap-pears
to be caused by serpentinite masses that occur in
the form of dipping or steeply inclined sheets and lenses,
located along thrust faults. The serpentinites are elongated
in the ENE-WSW direction. Physical property information and
inversion results demonstrate that the background
rocks hosting the magnetic targets (eg, serpentinized
rocks) have relatively high magnetic susceptibility be-cause
the surrounded area of the Um Salatit is covered
by serpentinite rock.
Based on mapping and expected physical properties,
the most prominent features in the magnetic
susceptibility model correlates with the location of the
serpentinite and metavolcanic rocks. Gunn and Dentith
(1997) showed that magnetic anomalies associated with
gold mineralization may be due to either magnetite, pyr-rhotite,
or serpentinite all of which are characterized by
high magnetic susceptibility. This is especially empha-sized in
other orogenic gold deposits with similar minerals
assemblages.
The inversion results are presented as a series of slices
at different positions along eastern, northern, and depth
directions in Figs. 15, 16, and 17, respectively, to show
the location of the high magnetic susceptibility zones.
Figure 15a–d shows slices at different x = (906,000,
907,500, 909,500 and 912,000). The high magnetic
susceptibility zone is spatially well correlated with the
serpentinite and/or metavolcanic rock mapped at the sur-face
and with the remote sensing interpretation, while the
low magnetic susceptibility zone corresponds to the wadi
deposits and older granitoid rocks. Similarly, Figure 16a–
d shows slices at different y = (274,500, 276,000, 277,500,
and 278,500). Two smaller high susceptibility zones are
present at 278500 m and are also interpreted as bearing
caused by serpentinized rocks. The deeper-seated anomalous
body is clearly visible from depths of 500 to 2000 m
(Fig. 17a–d). The large susceptibility is evident at
depth 1000 m and decreases gradually at depth 2000 m.
Slices through the 3-D model show highly concentrated
Susceptibility volumes that correspond to mapped
serpentinite at the surface and, based on the inversions,
possibly extends to a depth of approximately 2000 m.
Additionally, some areas where no known gold occur-rence
have been identified during previous exploration
can be obtained clearly through slices along three directions
(Figs. 15, 16, and 17).
Figure 18 shows the inversion-inferred model with magnetic
susceptibility cut off 0.06 SI, which is able to reproduce
the observed data within reasonable misfit. A small,
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Fig. 14 Magnetic susceptibility

model for the Um Salatit gold
occurrence and hosted rocks. X
and Yaxes are in UTM (m). Z axis
(elevation above sea level) in m

discontinuous highly magnetic feature is interpreted to Tilt angle method

represent disseminated chromite in serpentinite rocks (Fig. 18).
The measured magnetic data is shown in Fig. 19a. Tilt angle (TA) method was applied to the aeromagnetic data
Figure 19b shows the calculated magnetic data for the in order to detect the fault structures at the Um Salatit.
inversion process. The predicted magnetic data compared well with The TA is calculated as (Miller and Singh 1994):
the measured magnetic data. The misfit map (Fig. 19c) shows ÿM
general agreement between measured and predicted values ÿz
TA ¼ tanÿ1 ð6Þ
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi

with maximum anomaly value being only a small percentage 2

ÿM 2þ _ ÿM
of the measured data. A small, discontinuous highly magnetic r ÿx ÿy
feature is interpreted to represent disseminated chromite in
serpentinite rocks (Fig. 18). where M is the magnetic field observed at (x, y).

Fig. 15 East-west cross sections through the susceptibility model. Slices are arranged from east (left) to west (right). a X = eastern 906,000 m, b
eastern 907,500 m, c X = eastern 909,500 m, d X = eastern 912,000 m
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674 Page 14 of 18 Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674

Fig. 16 South-north cross sections through the susceptibility model. Slices are arranged from North to South. a Y = northern 274,500 m, b Y = northern
276,000 m, c Y = northern 277,500 m, d Y = northern 278,500 m

The TA map (Fig. 20) shows sharper better defined maxi-
ma centered over the body edges.
The zero values indicate the contact between two different
lithological units along a fault. There is a major fault trending
ENE-WSW parallel to the serpentinite body (Fig. 21), which
controls the mineralization. The fault is a thrust fault between
the ophiolitic serpentinite and the island arc metavolcanic
rocks. The mineralization is controlled by this thrust fault,
and the deposit is associated with a positive magnetic anomaly
of several 100 nT.
Figure 21 shows the significant features in the susceptibility
model of 0.06 cut off overlaid by RTP observed magnetic
anomaly.
The lower susceptibility rocks NW and SE of the main
serpentinite and metavolcanic body correspond to Wadi
deposits and metagabbro rocks. Botros (2004) reported

Fig. 17 Horizontal slices at increasing depths through the susceptibility model. Slices are arranged from (0.5 to 2 km). a Z = 500 m, b Z = 1000 m, c Z =
1500 m, d Z = 2000 m
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Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674 Page 15 of 18 674

Fig. 18 3-D susceptibility model for the Um Salatit gold occurrence, overlaid by the measured, calculated magnetic field anomaly and the misfit

that the intrusion of gabbros within these serpentinites middle of the study area that strikes ENE-WSW and the lower
plays an important role in localizing the mineralization. susceptibility of rocks in the NW and SE portions of the study
The intrusion led to extensive fracture patterns in the areas that are associated with metagabbros and wadi deposits.
intrusion. The high magnetic susceptibility contrast be-tween The ophiolitic serpentinite rock in the study area forms lentic-
rock bodies along the fault zones observed in the snake bodies with ENE-WSW trend, conformable with the
magnetic anomaly data and susceptibility model is regional strike of the metavolcanic rocks.
interpreted as a potential fluid migration and mineralization The ophiolitic serpentinites that are embedded in the
pathway. metavolcano-sedimentary matrix could be considered as
possible sources for gold in the quartz vein. These gold oc-
currencies are hosted in the island arc volcano sedimentary
Conclusion rocks.
The 3-D magnetic susceptibility model suggests additional
Aeromagnetic and remote sensing methods provide source rocks at depths ranging between 500 to 2000 m (below
complementary information that is useful for mapping lithologies sea level). Small and discontinuous magnetic features have
associated with gold deposits. From remote sensing data, geo- been obtained through 3-D inversion of magnetic data in the
logical features have been delineated. An ophiolitic sequence northeast and south, where no gold occurrence has been
(serpentinite, gabbro), mafic metavolcanics, and carbonates identified previously. The northeastern feature is inferred to
were delineated using various remote sensing image represent shallow serpentinite and previous studies revealed that
there are reasonable gold concentrations associated with gab-
processing techniques. High-resolution aeromagnetic data were used
to estimate the 3-D magnetic susceptibility distribution for the bro rocks. The studied area may have substantial potential for
study area. The recovered magnetic susceptibility model was additional gold deposits to be found. Also, previous studies
validated by comparison with known and expected geology in demonstrated that ~200-ppb tons of gold can be produced
the study area. The significant feature in the susceptibility principally from serpentinite rocks (El-Sadek 2009). The re-
model are the higher susceptibility rocks concentrated in the covered magnetic susceptibility model provides new insight

Fig. 19 a Measured magnetic data, b calculated magnetic data, c misfit between measured and calculated magnetic data
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674 Page 16 of 18 Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674

Fig. 20 Tilt angle of the RTP data

for the Um Salatit gold occurrence that may be a useful one
targeting tool for focusing future gold exploration efforts.
Combining all of the above information leads to a model in
which the location of largest gold concentration should be
associated with relatively high magnetic susceptibility.
Acknowledgments We would like to thank the Department of Airborne
Geophysics of Nuclear Materials Authority of Egypt for providing aero-magnetic
data. The authors thank Dr. Bahaa Eldin Mahmoud (Geology
Department, UAEU) for reviewing and enhancing the manuscript. The
authors also thank Dr. Robert W. Avakian (Oklahoma State University
Institute of Technology, USA) for reviewing the manuscript.

Fig. 21 The susceptibility model

of 0.06 cut off overlaid by RTP
observed magnetic anomaly
Machine Translated by Google
Arab J Geosci (2018) 11:674
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