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The Neoproterozoic granitic rocks of Mount Abu Kibash and Tulayah in the central Eastern Desert of Egypt are of geodynamic interest and provide us with important information about the evolution and growth of the northern part of the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS) continental crust. They are primarily composed of granodiorites and syenogranites based on new field, mineralogical, and geochemical analyses. The granodiorites are marked by an enrichment of LILEs such as Sr, K, Rb, Ba compared to HFSEs like Nb, Ta, Ti and show a higher concentration of LREEs relative to HREEs. This composition suggests a subduction-related setting and aligns with the characteristics of subducted I-type granites in the ANS. Chemistry of the analyzed primary amphiboles in the investigated granodiorites support a calc-alkaline nature, mixed source and subduction-related setting. The granodiorites represent an early magmatic phase in this setting, likely formed from a mix of mantle-derived mafic magmas and lower crust material, with subsequent fractional crystallization. On the other hand, syenogranites exhibit high SiO2 (72.02–74.02 wt%), total alkali (7.82–8.01 wt%), and Al2O3 (13.79–14.25 wt%) levels, suggesting their derivation from peraluminous (A/CNK > 1) parental magmas. Their REE-normalized patterns are flat with a pronounced negative Eu anomaly, typical of post-collisional A2-type granites worldwide. These rocks originated from the partial melting of a juvenile lower crustal source (tonalite) in a post-collisional setting, driven by lithospheric delamination that facilitated mantle upwelling and underplating to the lower crust. Interaction between the upwelled mantle and lower crust led to fertilization (enrichment with HFSE and alkalis) of the lithosphere before partial melting. Fractional crystallization coupled with less considerable crustal assimilation are the main magmatic processes during the evolution of these rocks. The transition from subduction to post-collisional setting was accompanied by crustal uplifting, thickening and extensional collapse of ANS continental crust that caused emplacement of large masses of A-type granites in the northern ANS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with widespread Egyptian Tertiary basaltic rocks, Mir Tertiary basaltic dykes from the Western Desert of Egypt show distinct mineralogical and geochemical characteristics that provide insights into the nature of their mantle source and geotectonic evolution as well as melting and crystallization conditions. Their mineralogical features (i.e., presence of orthopyroxene and lack of olivine) distinguish them from the other Egyptian Tertiary basalts. They have basaltic andesite compositions (SiO2 = 53.55–55 wt.%, Na2O + K2O = 4.64–4.8 wt.%, MgO = 2.66–3.02 wt.%) with tholeiitic character. Temperature of crystallization ranges from 1,112°C to 1,140°C for plagioclase; from 1,085°C to 1,123°C for clinopyroxene; and from 1,034°C to 1,090°C for orthopyroxene. These results are in harmony with petrographic observations which suggest early crystallization of plagioclase, followed by simultaneous crystallization of plagioclase and clinopyroxene, and soon thereafter by orthopyroxene crystallization. Titanomagnetite–ilmenite intergrowths indicate oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) of −12.09 and −9.4 log units, suggesting crystallization at relatively oxidized conditions. Their temperature ranges from 959°C to 1,125°C, suggesting that the titanomagnetite joins the crystallized phases at early stages and continued until later stages. Mir basaltic andesite (MBA) has low Ni (15–27.9 ppm), Cr (19.8–48.5 ppm), and Sc (20–25 ppm) concentrations together with high FeOt/MgO ratios (3.18–3.58) relative to primitive basalts, arguing for their evolved nature. They have sub‐chondritic Nb/Ta ratios (15.5–17) similar to ocean–island basalts and higher than those of continental crust, ruling out a significant effect of crustal contamination. The high La/Nb (>1.4) with the negative Nb, Ta, and Ti anomalies on the primitive mantle‐normalized patterns most likely indicates that their primary magma was derived from partial melting of a mantle source previously metasomatized by influx of subduction‐related slab fluids/melts. Moreover, the super‐chondritic Zr/Hf ratios (39.55–55.21) and the negative K and Ti anomalies point to carbonate metasomatism of their mantle source. This inference is further supported by their high (K2O + Na2O)/TiO2 ratios (>1) which are comparable with experimentally produced carbonated peridotite melts. The high Zr/Y (average 9.75) and La/Yb ratios (8.6–10) of the MBA suggest that they were generated via low degrees of partial melting. Indeed, modelling calculations indicate generation by lower melting degrees (<10%) of a garnet‐bearing lherzolite mantle source. The melting region was at the garnet stability field suggesting a deeper origin (exceeds ~85 km) for MBA. Field and geochemical characteristics of the Egyptian Tertiary volcanism proved that it is spatially and temporally related to extension that has occurred during Red Sea rifting. Extension most likely due to the NE–SW tensional stresses which reactivated the old fractures and triggered mafic magma generation through passive upwelling of the asthenospheric mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Podiform chromitites hosted in serpentinites (after harzburgite and dunite) and talc-carbonate rocks from the Abu Meriewa–Hagar Dungash district (MHD), Eastern Desert of Egypt, together with metagabbros, pillow metavolcanics, and metasediments, form an ophiolitic mélange formed during the Neoproterozoic Pan-African Orogeny. The chromitites show massive, disseminated, and nodular textures. Chromite cores in chromitites have high and restricted ranges of Cr# (0.65–0.75) and Mg# (0.64–0.83), implying primary compositions not affected by metamorphism. Therefore, they are used as reliable indicators of parent magma composition and tectonic affinities of these highly metamorphosed rocks. On the contrary, the altered rims are high-Cr, low-Fe3+ spinel (rather than ferritchromit) enriched in Cr, Fe, and Mn, and depleted in Al and Mg (Cr# = 0.75–0.97, Mg# = 0.29–0.79), due to equilibration with interstitial silicates during regional metamorphism up to transitional greenschist–amphibolite facies at about 500–550°C. The primary chromite compositions suggest derivation from a high-Mg tholeiitic, to possibly boninitic, parental magma in a supra-subduction zone (arc–marginal basin) environment, similar to the spatially associated metavolcanic rocks. The MHD chromitites are most probably formed by melt–rock interaction mechanisms. The high Cr# of the investigated chromites suggests high degrees of partial melting of a depleted harzburgite source by interaction with primitive basaltic melt of deeper origin followed by mixing. Such Cr-rich chromites are common in chromitites from the Eastern Desert of Egypt, implying broad thermal anomalies, possibly linked to an important geodynamic feature of the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS) evolution. This could revive interest in models that involve asthenospheric uprise, related to plume interaction or most probably due to oblique convergence of arc terranes during early evolution of the ANS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]