U-Pb Zircon Age: Preliminary Data Evaluating the Earth History Recorded by Two Basement Rocks (Granitic Pegmatite and Mica-Schist) in Mamfe Basin (Sw Cameroon, Central Africa)

Abstract

Zircon crystals from two basement rocks (granitic pegmatite and mica-schist) in the Mamfe Basin were studied to provide petrogenetic and geochronologic constraints, therefore were characterized and dated by LA-Q-ICP-MS analytical techniques, after their internal textural features were determined.Zircon crystals with oscillatory zoning from the granitic pegmatite exceed 200 µm are mainly euhedral to prismatic. The U (≤169 ppm), Th (≤240 ppm), and Th/U (0.6-1.7) are within the range of zircon crystallized in crustal magmatic environment. Zircon crystals from the mica-schist are ˂100 to ˃200 µm in size, have magmatic (e.g., euhedral prismatic with oscillatory zone) and metamorphic (e.g., form round soccer ball, sub-hedral with overgrowth) features. The U (23-687 ppm), Th

New Insights into Pre-to-Post Ediacaran Zircon Fingerprinting of the Mamfe PanAfrican Basement, SW Cameroon: A Possible Link with Rocks in SE Nigeria and the Borborema Province of NE Brazil

“…It was suggested [102] that rifting in the Mamfe B Upper Albian to Lower Cenomanian due to the sub-crustal contractio that led to the westward displacement of its depositional axis. Spre mid Jurassic, and as the lithosphere cooled, the shallow depression deed, rifting that formed the Mamfe Basin is thought to have been acc tectonic subsidence that was in response to thermal recovery of the lit the thermal disturbance that led to the stretching and thinning of th Basement rocks around the Mamfe Basin consist of gneisses, migmatites, g syenites, and mica schists (Figure 2) that recorded ductile and brittle cataclastic magmatic/metamorphic events [5,6,[36][37][38]106]. The dominant strike direction for rocks is E-W with occasional swings to the N and S [36,37,106].…”

“…Basement rocks around the Mamfe Basin consist of gneisses, migmatites, granites, syenites, and mica schists (Figure 2) that recorded ductile and brittle cataclastic tectonomagmatic/metamorphic events [5,6,[36][37][38]106]. The dominant strike direction for foliated rocks is E-W with occasional swings to the N and S [36,37,106].…”

“…Most gneisses belong to the Central African Mobile Zone or Cameroon Mobile Belt [37]. A recent study of the Otu granitic pegmatite (very coarse-grained to inequigranular) and Babi mica schist (slaty to weakly foliated and lepido-grano-porphyroblastic) show that they are, respectively, composed of: (1) microcline, orthoclase, mono to polycrystalline quartz, biotite, and clinopyroxene and (2) muscovite, biotite, and mono to polycrystalline quartz [5,38]. The obtained U-Pb zircon ages (ca.…”

“…Zircon geochronology is one of the key methods used to determine the ages of geological processes, including magmatic crystallization, different post-crystallization episodes [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], fingerprinted metamorphism [2,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14], and hydrothermal activity [15][16][17][18]. It also helps for provenance studies and paleogeographic reconstitution (e.g., [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]).…”

Trace Element and U–Pb Core Age for Zircons from Western Meiganga Gold Placer, Cameroon: Their Genesis and Archean-Proterozoic Sources

“…Zircon in particular plays a prominent role in provenance studies of displaced and accumulated clastic materials [16][17][18]. Detrital zircon can be used to make inferences about the source history, for paleogeographic and tectonic reconstitution [19][20][21][22][23][24]. The use of trace-element geochemistry of trace-element geochemistry and U-Pb dating to characterize and interpret the provenance of detrital zircons is well established for constraining source parameters, a commonly used technique in sedimentological and tectonic studies [17,18,25,26].…”