Ariab (Arabic: أرياب) is a region of Sudan, located in the Nubian Desert. It is inhabited by the Beja people, and is home to the country's only commercial gold mine, run by French giant Areva. Gold mining has historically been crucially important for the desert region since Pharonic times.[1][2]
The Canadian company LaMancha Resources (TSX:LMA) operates the Hassai open pit mine, and from May, 2011, plans to expand operations, once additional electrical and water resources are in place.[3]
Wadi Ariab is oriented E-W. Gold mineralization is associated with a zone of massive sulphide mineralization in a marine rhyolite environment. According to Klemm and Klemm, the gold would have been "undetectable to ancient prospectors" due to its "extremely fine grain" nature. Furthermore, "no traces from ancient mining are known", and the 7 current opencast mines were discovered with modern geophysical prospecting methods.[4]
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- ^ "A golden deal for French firm in Sudan". YouTube.
- ^ "Sudan Vision Daily News Paper Official Website - ARIAB GOLD MININGAS AN INTEGRATED INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ LaMancha website
- ^ Klemm, Rosemarie; Klemm, Dietrich (2013). Gold and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt and Nubia. Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 382–383. ISBN 9783642225079.