Emplacement timing, temperature, and redox conditions of the Kambélé auriferous pluton, Batouri gold District, SE Cameroon

Enerst Tata; Cheo Emmanuel Suh; Akumbom Vishiti; Elisha Mutum Shemang; Kevin Ijunghi Ateh

doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2021/021013

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Episodes 2022; 45(2): 161-172

Published online June 1, 2022

https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2021/021013

Emplacement timing, temperature, and redox conditions of the Kambélé auriferous pluton, Batouri gold District, SE Cameroon

Enerst Tata^1*, Cheo Emmanuel Suh^2,3, Akumbom Vishiti⁴, Elisha Mutum Shemang⁵, Kevin Ijunghi Ateh¹

¹ Department of Mining and Mineral Engineering, National Higher Polytechnic Institute (NAHPI), The University of Bamenda, P.O. Box 39 Bambili, North West Region, Cameroon
² Department of Geology, Mining and Environmental Science, The University of Bamenda, P.O. Box 39 Bambili, North West Region, Cameroon
³ Economic Geology Unit, Department of Geology, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, South West Region, Cameroon
⁴ Department of Civil Engineering, The University Institute of Technology (IUT), University of Douala, P.O. Box 8698 Douala, Littoral Region, Cameroon
⁵ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapaye, Botswana

Correspondence to:^*E-mail: etata75@gmail.com

Received: July 23, 2020; Revised: June 10, 2021; Accepted: June 10, 2021

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The Kambélé auriferous pluton in south-eastern Cameroon is within the Central African Fold Belt (CAFB). New zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages, REEs patterns, zircon Ce⁴⁺/Ce³⁺ ratios, and Ti-in-zircon thermometry, have been used to decipher the timing of mineralisation, redox conditions and emplacement temperature of the pluton. Cathodoluminescence images of 12 representative zircon grains from the Kambélé pluton reveal two types of zircon grains: type 1 grains are characterized by dark cores, serrated margins and poorly defined zonation; type 2 grains are euhedral to subhedral, elongated, with core to rim zonation and with darker rims indicative of a pristine magmatic source. The zircon grains are depleted in light rare earth elements. Chondrite-normalised REE patterns show undefined Ce anomalies and negative Eu anomalies indicating moderately oxidised to reduced conditions. Zircon U-Pb age of the granitoid is constrained to Neoproterozoic with a mean age of 589±36 Ma indicating gold mineralisation during the Pan African orogeny. Crystallization temperatures range from 525–1033°C with a mean temperature of ~712°C, concomitant with granitoid emplacement temperatures within the Adamawa Yadé Domain of the CAFB.