Fertile high-K magmatism and hydrothermal alteration zone associated with porphyry copper mineralization in Samra area, SE Sinai, Egypt

Abstract

Abstract This study combines remote sensing and geochemical data to evaluate the porphyry copper mineralization in the Samra region of southeastern Sinai, Egypt. The Wadi Samra area, located within the Kid metamorphic belt and Tarr Complex, comprises volcanic flows, pyroclastics, breccias, tuffs, mudstones, schists, and albitic intrusions. These rocks are intruded by high-K calc-alkaline granitoids. The study utilizes Landsat-8 spectral bands and ASTER data to analyze the distribution of ferrous and ferric iron oxides within copper belts. The Tarr Complex, located in the Wadi Samra area, is characterized by three distinct deformation phases, with thrust faults dipping toward the northwest controlling the contacts among rhyodacitic tuffs, pyroclastics, albitite, and porphyritic dacite. Porphyry copper mineralization in the Samra area of southeastern Sinai occurs within a volcano-sedimentary sequence intruded by high-K calc-alkaline granitoids. Mineralization styles include quartz veins, stockworks, disseminated sulfides, and alteration zones associated with primary (pyrite, chalcopyrite, bornite) and secondary (malachite, azurite) copper minerals. The granitoids linked to this mineralization—mainly quartz-diorite and granodiorite—are classified as I-type, magnetite-series rocks formed from hydrous magma at temperatures between 800 and 900 °C and 20–30 km depths. These geochemical and petrological characteristics suggest favorable conditions for porphyry copper with minor gold mineralizations.