A sample from the Great Nile (near Khartoum) has been investigated by Mössbauer spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, analytical electron transmission microscopy and X-ray diffraction aiming to evaluate potential iron-containing sinks for heavy metal adsorption. The phyllosilicate fraction is dominated by highly-oxidized illite/smectite and the oxide fraction is dominated by defective goethite and hematite (as evidenced from low ordering temperatures and line broadening effects).