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The Kid area (600 km2) is located to the west of Gulf of Aqaba in southeastern Sinai, Egypt. This area is covered by metavolcano-sedimentary successions of the Kid Group and is polydeformed. Much geological evidence suggests that granitoid rocks under plate the whole volcano-sedimentary succession. The established metamorphic evolution of the Kid Group suggests a thermal-contact type and decrease in the metamorphic grade upward in the stratigraphy. The ages of metamorphism (660±25 Ma) fall within the range of ages of volcanism, and plutonism at Kid area, i.e. 600 ± 50 Ma.
Recently, many genetically related occurrences of sulfide ore (Cu-Zn-Co, Pb-Zn-As-Ag and As-W ore) were discovered in the Kid area; 1) Um Zeriq I, II, and III, and 2) Samra I, II, III and IV and 3) Shalal. The sulfide occurrences are distributed over the whole area and are located along shear zones and at the intersections of major faults. Large-scale mineralogical zoning is revealed; close to the granitoid complexes (Um Zeriq I, Shalal), the silicate mineralogy is dominated by wallastonite, grossular, prehnite, hedenbergite, biotite and K-feldspar. At other Um Zeriq and Samra occurrences, the silicate mineralogy is dominated by garnet, biotite, chlorite, quartz, staurolite and andalusite.
The sulfide ore in Um Zeriq I and Shalal is Cu-dominated, while other Um Zeriq and Samra occurrences are Zn-Pb-As-Sb-dominated. The Cu-dominated ore comprises major chalcopyrite and bornite and minor sphalerite and cobaltite. Silver minerals are rare and represented by hessite (Ag2Te). The Zn-Pb-As-Sb ores are dominated by sphalerite, arsenopyrite, pyrite, löllingite, galena, and pyrrhotite. Four silver-minerals are identified in the massive ore, i.e. freibergite "(Ag,Zn,Fe)12Sb4S13", zoubekite (AgPb4Sb4S10), miargyrite (AgSbS2) and pyrargyrite (Ag3SbS3) in addition to another sulfosalt; boulangerite (Sb2Pb2S5). Silver minerals suggest formation at low temperatures during retrograde cooling.
On the basis of silicate and ore mineralogy, the ore bodies in the Kid area are classified as Cu-Zn-Co and Zn-Pb-Ag-As skarns spatially related to late to post tectonic Precambrian granitoid intrusions in a continental sedimentary succession. Variation in element associations is related to distance from causative plutons.
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