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Emerald mine, Gebel Zabara, Red Sea Governorate, Egypti
Regional Level Types
Emerald mineMine
Gebel ZabaraMountain
Red Sea GovernorateGovernorate
EgyptCountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
24° 46' 18'' North , 34° 43' 5'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
24.77167,34.71833
GRN:
N17E23
Type:
Mine
Köppen climate type:
BWh : Hot deserts climate
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Marsa Alam10,000 (2014)36.7km
Mindat Locality ID:
440848
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:440848:5
GUID (UUID V4):
0


Emerald mines supposedly once owned by "the Queen of Sheba".

Walters (1996), page 40:

"For many centuries, the mine lay deserted and unworked because its location had been lost. The site was rediscovered after an Egyptian civil service department engaged a French traveller and explorer called M. Caillaud to find the ancient site. He located the mine in 1818 and made notes and drawings of the tools that he found lying abandoned there. It seemed reasonable to him, he said, to assume that miners of a later period had discovered the mine and continued to work the tunnels long after the Queen's miners had ceased to dig."

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.


Mineral List


3 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

Select Rock List Type

Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Beryl
Formula: Be3Al2(Si6O18)
ⓘ Beryl var. Aquamarine
Formula: Be3Al2Si6O18
ⓘ Beryl var. Emerald
Formula: Be3Al2(Si6O18)
ⓘ 'Chlorite Group'
ⓘ Epidote
Formula: (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
ⓘ Quartz
Formula: SiO2
ⓘ 'Tourmaline'
Formula: AD3G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘQuartz4.DA.05SiO2
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘEpidote9.BG.05a(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
ⓘBeryl
var. Aquamarine		9.CJ.05Be3Al2Si6O18
ⓘ9.CJ.05Be3Al2(Si6O18)
ⓘvar. Emerald9.CJ.05Be3Al2(Si6O18)
Unclassified
ⓘ'Chlorite Group'-
ⓘ'Tourmaline'-AD3G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
BeBeryllium
Beⓘ Beryl var. AquamarineBe3Al2Si6O18
Beⓘ BerylBe3Al2(Si6O18)
Beⓘ Beryl var. EmeraldBe3Al2(Si6O18)
BBoron
Bⓘ TourmalineAD3G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z
OOxygen
Oⓘ Beryl var. AquamarineBe3Al2Si6O18
Oⓘ BerylBe3Al2(Si6O18)
Oⓘ Beryl var. EmeraldBe3Al2(Si6O18)
Oⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Oⓘ QuartzSiO2
Oⓘ TourmalineAD3G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z
AlAluminium
Alⓘ Beryl var. AquamarineBe3Al2Si6O18
Alⓘ BerylBe3Al2(Si6O18)
Alⓘ Beryl var. EmeraldBe3Al2(Si6O18)
Alⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
SiSilicon
Siⓘ Beryl var. AquamarineBe3Al2Si6O18
Siⓘ BerylBe3Al2(Si6O18)
Siⓘ Beryl var. EmeraldBe3Al2(Si6O18)
Siⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
Siⓘ QuartzSiO2
CaCalcium
Caⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
FeIron
Feⓘ Epidote(CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

AfricaContinent
African PlateTectonic Plate
Arabian Plate
Egypt
North Africa

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Sheba
Grundmann, Günter; Morteani, Giulio (1993) "Smaragdminen der Cleopatra": Zabara, Sikait und Umm Kabo in Ägypten ["Emerald Mines of Cleopatra": Zabara, Sikait and Umm Kabo in Egypt]. Lapis, 18 (7/8). 27-39; 90
Walters, Raymond J. L. (1996) The Power of Gemstones. Carlton Books Ltd.p.45
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