ORIGINAL PAPER Subsurface structural features of the basement complex and mineralization zone investigation in the Barramiya area, Eastern Desert of Egypt, using magnetic and gravity data analysis Ahmed Saleh 1 & Mohamed Abdelmoneim 2 & Mohamed Abdelrady 2 & Mohamed Al Deep 1 Received: 18 February 2018 /Accepted: 10 October 2018 /Published online: 7 November 2018 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2018 Abstract In the Barramiya area, the majority of gold deposits are generally related with the quartz veins that associated with shear zones cutting the crystalline basement rocks. The quartz vein system is controlled by shear zone and general faults. The present study is to delineate the general faults, shear zones, geological limits, and basement rock relief, using airborne magnetic and gravity data analysis at the Barramiya gold mine and surrounding area, Eastern Desert of Egypt. To achieve our goal, we have applied on magnetic and gravity data the following techniques: reduction to pole (RTP), analytical signal, tilt derivative, total horizontal derivative, 3D Euler deconvolution, downward continuation, and source parameter imagining power spectrum techniques. The analytical signal used to map the types of rock boundaries. Tilt derivative and total horizontal derivative filters helped to delineate fractures and the contact zones of the formations that host the main Barramiya shear zone. 3D Euler deconvolution techniques helped to delineate the fault trends which represented at the following direction: NNE–SSW and NNW–SSE. The average depths of both regional and residual causes have been estimated by applying downward continuation, source parameter imagining, and power spectrum techniques. According to the results of the present study, the depth of the basement rocks is relatively high (~ 80-m depth) in the western part of the study area and the basement rocks cropped out in the surface at the rest of the area. Our results are coinciding with the previous geological studies. Keywords Magnetic . Graviry . Barramiya area . Eastern Desert of Egypt Introduction The study area is laying between longitudes 33° 45 E and 33° 55 E and latitudes 25° 00 N and 25° 10 N, and it covers nearly 700 km 2 (Fig. 1). The Barramiya gold mine is a known land- mark in central Egypt located in the western part of the Barramiya district (Fig. 1). It was one of the largest and most productive gold mines in Egypt before production stopped in 1964 and key target of this study. There are approximately 95 known gold mines in Egypt (Hume 1937; El Ramly et al. 1970; Sabet et al. 1976; Marten 1986). The ancient Egyptians have exploited gold-bearing quartz veins from open pits and underground mines despite their primitive technology. We have analyzed aeromagnetic and gravity data to assist in the exploration of mineralization zones and delineation of sub- surface structural features. Interpreting RTP magnetic and gravity data using Geosoft program and various filters were applied to the aeromagnetic data by downward continuation, source param- eter imagining techniques, tilt derivatives, total horizontal deriv- ative, analytical signal, and 3D Euler deconvolution techniques. Geological setting El Ramly et al. (1970) classified the basement rocks in Egypt into three parts: north, central, and southern Eastern Desert ac- cording to granitic rock types and presence of serpentines and gneisses where the percentage of granites is higher in the north and south than those found in the central Eastern Desert. Gneisses are more common in the southern part than elsewhere, and serpentines are rarely rare in the north. The Barramiya area is * Ahmed Saleh ahmedsmmus@yahoo.com 1 National Research Institute for Astronomy and Geophysics, Helwan, Cairo, Egypt 2 Faculty of Science, Department of Geology, Assuit University, Assuit, Egypt Arabian Journal of Geosciences (2018) 11: 676 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-018-3983-7