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Platinum-group element geochemical constraints on mantle heterogeneity and petrogenesis along the Cameroon Volcanic Line

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Abstract

The present study reports petrographic and geochemical data on peridotite xenoliths from the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). The main aim of the study is to discuss the evolution of the upper mantle beneath the CVL and Au-PGE behavior. Major element compositions were determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and trace elements by inductively coupled plasmas-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after acid digestion. For Au-PGE compositions, NiS fire assay associated with ICP-MS was used. The peridotite samples are mainly made up of olivine, pyroxene, and spinel with quartz and serpentine in the serpentinized samples. They are classified as spinel lherzolites and serpentinized lherzolites showing protogranular texture at times deformed in porphyroclastic texture. The high Mg, Fe, Cr, Ni, Co, and low REE contents are characteristic of the upper mantle subjected to partial melting. The rare earth elements show variable degree of fractionation express by the (La/Yb)N values. The lherzolites have not experienced the same REE enrichment/depletion despite their common origin. PGE show depletion in the upper mantle beneath the CVL compared to the primitive mantle data. Low Al2O3 and high IPGE/PPGE ratios confirm the melting of the mantle, especially at Nyos and Kapsiki. The variable IPGE/PPGE, Cu/Pd and Cu/Pt ratios highlight the heterogeneity of the mantle. There is significant affinity between PGE, but they show no relationship with Au. The mantle beneath the continental part of the CVL shows similar petrogenesis. The imprints of serpentinization are expressed by the modification of the chemical compositions of Kapsiki and Darang samples. Serpentinization causes a decrease in Mg, Cr, Ni, and Co and an increase in Fe, Ba, Sr, V, Zn, Y, Zr, Ga, and REE contents.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr Nguihdama Dagwai for field work assistance in the Kapsiki area and Mrs Njimanu Njong Vanisa for English style improvement. We are indebted to Renaud Merle who greatly improved the final manuscript. Many thanks are also given to the Editor-in-Chief (Abdullah M. Al-Amri) for his constructive criticism.

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  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Franck K. Djokgoue Yonga, Elisé Sababa & Paul-Désiré Ndjigui

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  1. Franck K. Djokgoue Yonga
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Correspondence to Elisé Sababa.

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Djokgoue Yonga, F.K., Sababa, E. & Ndjigui, PD. Platinum-group element geochemical constraints on mantle heterogeneity and petrogenesis along the Cameroon Volcanic Line. Arab J Geosci 16, 598 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-023-11711-8

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