Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Eteké Eburnean Gold Deposit (Gabon)

Abstract

The Gabon geology offered favorable and natural environments for the formation of various types of mineralization. The Etéké gold district, aim of this study, is located in the Ngounié province (southern Gabon) on the western edge of the Chaillu massif. Geologically, the gold mineralization is associated with the Eburnean orogeny and hosted in the Archean greenstone belts. Also, this deposit is covered by a significant vegetation cover and a very extensive lateritic weathering profile, which hinders the most accurate study. Through this paper, we aim to propose a genesis pattern of this mineralization via a multidisciplinary approach. To do this, a petrographic, metallogenic, and geochemical characterization has been established in the different sectors of the Etéké deposit. The studied deposits display varied facies which are encased in granitoid. They are essentially formed of abundant granitoid, and amphibolite compared to the volcano-sedimentary formations. These rocks display magmatic textures, affected by metamorphism, and not sufficiently preserved. Based on our multidisciplinary approach, the studied samples collected from the core’s boreholes allowed us to decipher a volcanogenic and metamorphosed origin of the gold genesis.