Abstract
The pre- to post-Late Neoproterozoic geological histories in the south to southwestern part of Mamfe Basin (SW Cameroon) were reported following analysis of the zircon crystals from their host rocks. A genetic model was developed for the zircon host rocks’ formation conditions, and the registered post-emplacement events were presented. The obtained ages were correlated with the data available for rocks in the Cameroon Mobile Belt, SE Nigeria, and the Borborema Province of NE Brazil. Separated zircons from Araru black to whitish gneiss, Araru whitish-grey gneiss, and Mboifong migmatite were analyzed for their morphology and texture U-Th-Pb composition, and U-Pb ages. Published U-Pb zircon ages for Otu granitic pegmatite, Babi mica schist, and Nkogho I-type anatectic granite were updated. Zircon ages in Araru black to whitish gneiss; Araru whitish-grey, Mboifong migmatite, Babi mica schist, Nkogho I-type anatectic granite, and Otu granitic pegmatite date the Eburnean tectono-magmatic/metamorphic event in Cameroon and SE Nigeria. The Late Paleoproterozoic to Early Mesoproterozoic ages record extensional (continental rift) settings and anorogenic magmatism in the Borborema Province in the NE of Brazil. These ages date collisional phases between the São Francisco–Congo and West African cratons and the Saharan metacraton with metamorphism and magmatism in Cameroon. They also date the Kibarian tectono-magmatic/metamorphism and PanAfrican tectono-magmatic/metamorphism in SE Nigeria. The Late Paleoproterozoic to Early Mesoproterozoic ages date the Cariris Velhos orogeny in the Borborema Province in NE Brazil, with Early Tonian crustal rifting, magmatism, and metamorphism and the collisional phase of the Brasiliano orogeny with syn-collisional plutons and extensive shear zoning and post-collisional granite intrusions.
Highlights
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]
Heavy mineral concentrates with the studied zircon crystals were separated and preconcentrated at the Department of Earth Sciences (University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon)
They are from the crushed samples of the Araru black to whitish gneiss (AR1 zircons were sampled), Araru whitish-grey (AR2 zircons were sampled), and Mboifong migmatite
Summary
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 helps for provenance studies and paleogeographic reconstitution (e.g., [19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29]).Coupled with zircon morphology-textural analyses and U-Th composition helps to better understand geological processes [3,5,6,19,30,31,32,33]. 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 helps for provenance studies and paleogeographic reconstitution (e.g., [19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29]). They can host syngenetic and/or inherited magmatic zircon features useful for their characterization, petrogenetic, and tectonic reconstitutions [3,5,19,30,31]
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