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Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of weathered materials in the gold-bearing quartz veins, Mintom area, Southern Cameroon

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Abstract

The presence and nature of gold can be better understood through mineralogical and geochemical characterization of weathered materials which derived from weathering of gold-bearing quartz veins in a granitic environment. This study was carried out in the Mintom area, located in southern Cameroon in order to boost gold extraction. It is focused on panning weathered materials of profiles on the field where gold grains were selected alongside heavy minerals using the Duplaix (1958) technique. X-ray diffraction was performed in bulk materials for mineralogical analyses. Furthermore, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP/AES), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP/MS), and electronic microprobe analyses (EMPA) on the polished gold grains were performed to respectively determine the geochemical data of gold-bearing materials and the chemical composition of gold grains with other heavy inclusions. It should be noted that coarse saprolite represents the most mineralized portion of the soil, while in certain profiles, the upper nodular and clay-sandy horizons could be barren. The heavy minerals that accompany gold are epidote, zircon, tourmaline, amphibole, rutile, andalusite, beryl, topaz, apatite, and garnet of magmatic and metamorphic origins. They are imprisoned in a matrix consisting essentially of quartz (30.3 to 64.5 wt.%), kaolinite (23 to 47.63 wt.%), smectite (19.7 to 27.3 wt.%), goethite (5.4 to 11.3 wt.%), and hematite (1.4 to 7.4 wt.%). Gold (Au) proportions in coarse saprolite samples (2280 ppb) are higher than the minimal contents of gold in a geomaterial (2000 ppb) leading them to be considered as ores. Gold in fine saprolite (from 40 to 50 ppb), glebular (from 30 to 40 ppb), and clay-sandy (from 10 to 20 ppb) horizons exceeds its background values, displaying a positive geochemical anomaly which justifies a vertical proximity to a higher grade of gold deposits. Higher gold concentration (from 97.75 to 99.51 wt.%) observed in gold grains of coarse saprolite developed from quartz veins revealed that the analyzed quartz veins of the Mintom area are mineralized rocks. However, the presence of gold pathfinders such as Bi, Mo, Cu, and S implies both primary magmatic and hydrothermal genetic conditions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the ‘‘Institut de Recherche pour le Développement’’ (IRD), France, for mineralogical analyses, ALS Chemex Analytical Laboratories, South Africa for geochemical analyses, and the SGS laboratories of Johannesburg, South Africa for electronic microprobe analyses (EMPA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Douala, P.O Box 24157, Douala, Cameroon

    Manfred Aurélien Mbenoun, Gilbert François Ngon Ngon & Joël Simon Mbaï

  2. School of Geology and Mining Engineering, University of Ngaoundéré, P.O 115, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon

    Gilbert François Ngon Ngon & Gildas Tchameni Ngouabe

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O Box 825, Dschang, Cameroon

    Michel Bertrand Mbog

  4. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Yaounde I, P.O Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon

    Paul Bilong

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  1. Manfred Aurélien Mbenoun
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Contributions

Conceptualization: M.A.M. and G.F.N. Methodology: M.A.M., M.B.M., and G.F.N. Formal analysis: M.A.M., G.T.N., and G.F.N. Investigations: M.A.M., M.B.M., J.S.M., and G.F.N. Data curation: M.A.M., G.T.N., J.S.M., and G.F.N. Resources: M.A.M., G.T.N., and G.F.N. Supervision: G.F.N. and P.B. Visualization: M.A.M., G.F.N., and P.B. Writing original draft—preparation: M.A.M., M.B.M., and G.F.N. Writing—review and editing: M.A.M. and G.F.N. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gilbert François Ngon Ngon.

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Mbenoun, M.A., Ngon Ngon, G.F., Ngouabe, G.T. et al. Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of weathered materials in the gold-bearing quartz veins, Mintom area, Southern Cameroon. Arab J Geosci 16, 105 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-11120-3

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