The Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) said on Tuesday that Egypt is one of richest Arab countries in terms of possessing black sand as it possesses a geological reserve estimated at 1.3 billion cubic metres.
In a report Tuesday, it said Egypt possesses 11 sites of black sand and heavy metals on 400 kilometres extending from Rashid on the Mediterranean to Rafah.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi inaugurated last October a Black Sand plant in Burullus city in Kafr el Sheikh governorate.
The Black Sand plant in Kafr el Sheikh is the first of its kind worldwide, with the most advanced mining equipment.
The plant is part of mega national projects which aim to optimize the use of Egypt’s natural resources and attain added value of minerals extracted from black sand.
The extracted minerals are used in the micro industries, a matter which pave the way to support national economy and attain overall development.
The report explained that minerals are separated and extracted from black sands at the sites. The extracted minerals then are used in strategic products and important industries such as: the manufacture of aircraft and automobile structures, petroleum pipelines, nuclear radiation materials, and others, which makes it a national treasure for the country to be reckoned with.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Morocco and Oman are the richest countries with black sand reserves.
In Egypt, that black sand comes from the Nile River, and accumulates on beaches in the form of sediments or sand dunes as a result of the collision of the Nile water with the Mediterranean waters.
It spreads along the coast in the east, starting from the city of Rashid to Rafah, with a length of 400kms.
The reserve is 1.3 billion cubic metres, with an average 3 per cent concentration of heavy metals, so it is considered the largest reserve of black sand in the world.
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