Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi recently directed to maximize the added value of the economic minerals extracted from the black sands in Egypt, stressing that the extracted minerals will bring the country the greatest economic and investment benefit.
Dr. Magdy Allam, head of the Union of Arab Environmental Experts, said: “The black sands are heavy black coastal sediments that accumulate at the mouths of rivers such as the Damietta and Rashid branch, and Egypt has a large number of sites rich in this important wealth.”
special devices
In his interview with Sky News Arabia, Allam added, “In the black sands, there are a large number of very important and heavy metals, which are separated in their places of existence with special devices.”
The head of the Union of Arab Environmental Experts stressed: “If yellow sand is of great importance for the uses of construction and glass industry, black sand has a radioactive capacity and has a much greater price because of its rare chemical and physical elements.”
11 locations
And according to what was announced by the Nuclear Materials Authority in its last aerial survey, Egypt has nearly 11 sites on the northern coasts where black sand is spread in very high concentrations.
In his interview with Sky News Arabia, Allam added that “the Egyptian state has established a private company for the uses of black sand in partnership with the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces, and tenders are also being arranged for the optimal use of it.”
major industries
The environmental expert pointed out that: “Among the important activities that include black sand is the manufacture of aircraft structures, cars, prosthetic teeth, paints, and a large number of important industries in Egypt.”
According to a previous report of the Energy and Environment Committee of the House of Representatives, the Egyptian black sands contain a large number of important economic minerals, including radioactive uranium, zircon and monazite.
At the same time, economic researcher Ahmed Abu Ali says: “The biggest challenge in Egypt now is with regard to black sand, because it has not made optimal economic exploitation, like many countries that own these treasures, the most important of which are Australia, India, Brazil and the United States.”
The danger of urban sprawl
In his interview with Sky News Arabia, Abu Ali indicated that: “This important mineral wealth has been exposed at times to the danger of urban sprawl, which is increasing year after year, along with difficulties over the past decades, until the file began to flourish in recent years and pay attention to it.”
He noted: “The Egyptian state recently developed a plan to benefit from the black sand by signing a partnership contract with one of the companies specialized in this field and to start exploiting that black sand and making it a great wealth for Egypt that generates hundreds of millions in income annually.”
And the economic researcher added in his interview with Sky News Arabia: “A strategy has been developed that depends on giving an added value to the mineral ores extracted from these sands during the next 5 years, based on building integrated industrial complexes for added value on which different industries are based.”
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