A OPEN PIT MINING AÇIK OCAK MADENCİLİĞİ

M. Coli, M. Baldi
1997; Aston et al., 2000; Klemm et al., 2001;
Sidebotham et al., 2008; Harrell & Storemyr,
2009; Bloxam, 2010), and common
knowledge, were taken into account in order
to create a general historical, social and
economic framework for our research, and
also to date quarries and mines and stone
working technologies (Bessac, 1986; Herz &
Waelkens, 1988; Rockwell, 1990; Waelkens
et al., 1992; Bessac, 1993, 1998; Bessac et
al., 1999; Matthias, 2002; Giampaolo et al.,
2008).
We focussed our research on the
relationships between geology, quarrying
and mining activities with the aim of
recovering ancient excavation techniques.
In our fieldwork, we performed a field
survey of the whole area, all the data
referring to quarrying and mining activity
were implemented, by means of a Palm-PC,
in a GIS, based on Google Earth® images,
with the GPS position in WGS84 coordinate
system.
2 GEOLOGICAL CONTEXT
In the surveyed area (Fig.1), the Precambrian
basement, igneous and metamorphic rocks of
the Neoproterozoic (1,000-542Ma) Arabian-
Nubian Shield, outcrops all along the Middle
Eastern Desert Ridge, below the Meso-
Cainozoic sedimentary cover.
Figure 1. Geological sketch map of the area
surrounding the Wadi Hammamat
(highlighted) in the Eastern Desert Ridge
(modified from Fowler & Osman 2001).
The Precambrian outcrops in a broad
structural high which is bounded by
Cretaceous to Miocene continental to
shallow-water formations on both the east
and west sides, Holocene continental
deposits are present in the Nile Valley and
on the Red Sea coastal plane (Said, 1962;
Said Ed., 1990; Tawadros, 2001; Sampsell,
2003). In the core of the ridge, south of the
Wadi Hammamat there is the Sibai Dome,
while the Meatiq Dome lies at its north
(Eliwa et al., 2006).
In the Wadi Hammamat area, where there
are with the most important historically
exploited natural resources, there are
outcrops of the clastic deposits of the
Hammamat Group, of metabasites of the
Ophiolitic Melange and of granitic bodies.
The Hammamat Group is intruded, and
locally contact metamorphosed, by the
younger granite bodies, as the Um Ba’anib
and the Atallah felsic plutonic complexes,
intruded until about 550Ma (Akaad &
Noweir, 1969; Essawy & Abu Zeid, 1972;
Unzog & Kurz, 2000; Eliwa et al., 2006) and
the Um Had granitic pluton (Akaad &
Noweir, 1980). Faults and dikes, related to
the late granitic intrusion, cross-cut the older
metabasites and granites.
The Hammamat Group was deposited in a
major fluvial system of continental
proportions (Wilde & Youssef, 2002)
developed in fault-bounded basins formed
due to N-S to NW-SE directed extension
(Abdeen & Greiling, 2005).
The Hammamat Group is subdivided into
two formations: the upper Shihimiya Fmt.
and the lower Igla Fmt.. The Shihimiya Fmt.
comprises, from top to bottom, the following
members: Um Hassa Greywacke, Um Had
Conglomerate, Rasafa Silstone. The Igla
Fmt. is composed by arenites,
conglomerates, wakes and red-purple to
brick-red haematitic siltstones.
The Hammamat Group (Akaad & Noweir,
1969) consisted, originally, of immature to
sub-mature interbedded sequences of
mudstones, siltstones, quartz arenites,
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