The Hangaliya Gold Mine
 Gebel Nugrus, Marsa Alam, South Eastern Desert, Egypt
Richard De Nul: Churchilllaan 330, 2900 Schoten, Belgium

Early History

The earliest remains of gold production in the Eastern Desert of Egypt date from the time of the ‘Earliest Hunters’ in the middle of the fourth millennium BC. During this time only small nuggets were picked from the wadi grounds.

Discoveries of gold artefacts dating back as far as the Predynastic time (about 3500 BC) demonstrate that gold production must have taken place in Ancient Egypt as well. About 250 gold production sites are known. At that time gold was mined using open pits with some underground activities.

During Old and Middle Kingdom times (2700 BC – 1794 BC) mining techniques and prospecting methods became more productive. These early mining sites have been so intensively overprinted by later operations that today no older remains are visible. Workings of open trenches of a depth up to about 25 m. are realistic estimates.

From the Old Kingdom times it was known that gold has to be found in the auriferous quartz veins. During the New Kingdom times (1550 BC – 1070 BC) miners followed the quartz veins into the granite and formed underground workings

Further improvement on workings in the wadi and ore processing gave employment to hundreds of workers. Many mines were related to the Farao who represented a very important religious symbol. It is believed that miners were made up of prisoners, captives, slaves and a lot of miserable men.

The lumpy ore was crushed down to about bean-sized particles with a double-sided stone anvil of about 30 x 30 cm and a rounded stone pestle of 0.5 – 2 kg weight. Selection of the gold-bearing quartz and the barren fragments were done exclusively by eye.

The latter material was dumped and reworked in modern times using the cyanide leaching methods. The Egyptians knew four kinds of quality for the gold; the best quality, or ‘gold for the balance’ and then second ‘best gold’. Lower quality was called ‘gold of second quality’ and lastly ‘white gold or electrum’ which is an alloy of gold and over 40% of silver.
From the New Kingdom times on, old mining became more and more industrialised.

The Western section of the Hangaliya Gold Mine as seen in February 2008. That the workings were extensive is illustrated by the size of the dump.  

The upper entrance can be seen just above the ruined building. The accessible adit is situated on the right side of the image.

Stone flour mills to crush the ore and inclined gold washing tables to separate the ore became commonly used. The length of these tables varied between 2.2 and 4 m, with a width of about 40 to 60 cm. The highest point is about 80 to 100 cm, corresponding with an inclination angle of 15 to 20°.

The milled quartz was spread on the covering by men and mixed with water. They kneaded it with their fingers and dabbed it with sponges until the lighter particles were removed and gold remained behind.

After further washing, gold was transferred to the ‘cooks’, who, received it by weight, mixed it in clay pots with lead, salt, silver and bran. The crucible was carefully sealed and heated continuously for five days and nights.

At the end of the table the water was recovered and the quartz tailings were deposited close by. Most likely the covering of these inclined tables was made of sheepskins.

No sophisticated ventilation of the underground workings was developed, limiting the maximum depth of operation to about 30 m. This is the maximum depth for maintaining a sufficient oxygen level by normal circulation for men and burning oil lamps.



 

Gold production collapsed completely by the end of the Ramsesside period (12th century BC), and seems to have been suspended throughout the entire Late Period until early Ptolemaic (Greek) times. It is very likely that in Greek and also in Roman times essentially no new prospecting strategies were developed. Only the known New Kingdom Pharaonic mining sites located close to the desert roads in the triangle between Berenice, Quena and Safaga region were mined. Fortifications against the aggressive local desert tribes, later called Blemmyes by the Romans, guaranteed some safety for the workers.

The Ptolomees introduced important improvements in milling, ore processing and underground mining techniques, resulting in a 5 times more effective method than before.

During Roman and Byzantine times, gold production decreased dramatically due to continuous attacks by the desert tribes. Gold mining in the Eastern Desert dropped to almost zero. Even important settlements such as El Fawakhir became inhabited during Byzantine times (6th century AD).

From the early Arab times only ancient mining sites, mainly around Marsa-Alam and the very southern desert of Egypt became reactivated. The peak of the early Arab mining activities took place from the late 10th to the 11th centuries AD.

It is uncertain why the Arab gold production stopped around 1350 BC. Maybe the mines reached their lowermost ventilation levels. Around this time the Christian Kingdoms in the nearby Nubia collapsed and their population converted to Islam.