Neogene
clayey deposits. Minerals and sedimentary implications, Red Sea, Egypt
Ramadan K. Bekir and
Abdulla M. Hassan
Fac. Sciences, Sohag, South Valley Univ., Egypt |
The clayey deposits, associating the Oligocene-Pleistocene siliciclastics, are detrital in
origin. Their clay minerals are a mixture of montmorillonite, kaolinite, chlorite and
illite in a general decreasing order of abundance. Such abundance is greatly affected by
nature of source rocks and the climatic conditions prevailing.
The clayey sediments of the northern part have the higher contents of montmorillonite and
chlorite, while those of other parts include higher content of kaolinite. Illite content
is almost uniform.
The chemical composition of the clay mineral fraction shows approximate value of the Si/Al
ratio and variable ratios of Al/Fe and Al/Mg, reflecting a limited transformation of some
clays into other ones particularly chlorite- and/or montmorillonite.
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