Identification of Economic Minerals in Sand Deposits from Northern Saudi Arabia's Border Region

Mohammd Tashkandi; Anas El Sherif; Salah El Balakssy

doi:10.48084/etasr.17914

Authors

Mohammd Tashkandi Engineering College, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1636-5122
Anas El Sherif Engineering College, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4270-0377
Salah El Balakssy Nuclear Materials Authority, Cairo, Egypt https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8272-7937

Volume: 16 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 36632-36646 | June 2026 | https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.17914

Received: 2 February 2026 | Revised: 11 March 2026 | Accepted: 19 March 2026 | Online: 18 May 2026

Corresponding author: Anas El Sherif

Abstract

To identify and characterize economic minerals in sand deposits in the Northern Border Region of Saudi Arabia, surficial sand deposit samples from selected areas were collected. The samples exhibited friable characteristics and heterogamous grain-size distributions, consisting mostly of pebbles, granules, sand, and fines less than very coarse silt. Heavy liquid separation, magnetic separation, and microscopic examination using a binocular stereo microscope and an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) were performed. Mineralogical experiments revealed that the studied sand deposits displayed a relatively narrow range of total heavy contents, such as magnetite (0.76%), ilmenite (0.45%), leucoxene (0.039%), rutile (0.232%), and hematite (0.76%). Moreover, some accessory minerals, such as zircon (0.103%) and garnet (0.004%), as well as scarce monazite, were distinguished. Magnetite (0.76%) and ilmenite (0.45%) minerals were predominant. The variation in the heavy mineral content of surficial sand deposit samples along the northern periphery of Saudi Arabia indicates a significant diversity in the region, particularly within the major paleo-wadis of the Arabian Peninsula in the northern Najd and Hijaz areas. This diversity may reflect the economic significance of the northern border region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Consequently, it could play a crucial role in the construction and development of mineral processing projects.

Keywords:

economic minerals, heavy liquid separation, magnetic separation, microscopic examination

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