Distribution Characteristics of Gold Deposits in Africa and Exploration Suggestions

Sihong JIANG; Lili ZHANG; Yifei LIU; Gaofeng LI; Genyuan JI

doi:10.11872/j.issn.1005-2518.2020.04.083

Highlights

Africa is the most important gold producing area in the world，and one of the hot spots to attract gold exploration investment as well.Based on the systematic collection and processing of the advances of the previous research on typical gold deposits and regional metallogenesis in the African continent，the spatial and temporal distribution of gold deposits in the African continent is summarized briefly in this article，which made the achievements below.The African continent consists mainly of four ancient cratons （i.e.Kalahari Craton，West Africa Craton，Congo Craton，and Sahara Meta-Craton） and Neoproterozoic orogenic belts developed around these cratons，as well as some Mesozoic basins developed on the cratons.The gold deposits predominantly occur in the ancient craton，especially in the Kalahari Craton in southern Africa and West African Craton in north-western Africa，where are the world famous gold producing areas.A small proportion of gold deposits are distributed in the Neoproterozoic orogenic belts，such as the Nubian Shield，and other Pan-African orogenic belts.There are many types of gold deposits in African，including conglomerate，orogenic，VMS，intrusion-related，porphyry，epithermal and IOCG types，with the former two being the most important types.The ore-forming age of gold deposits in Africa is mainly concentrated in three periods，i.e.Archean，Paleoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic.The enrichment of huge-sized conglomerate-type gold deposits in the Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa may be mainly related to their paleo-sedimentary environment，i.e.the alluvial braided river plain，while the gold enrichment in West African Craton，as the most important Paleoproterozoic gold region in the world，mainly attributes to the large amount of carbonaceous in the strata.Although many world-class gold deposits have been found in the African continent，their prospecting potential remains significant，especially in the search for orogenic gold deposits，as both the ancient craton and the Neoproterozoic orogenic belt occurring around the craton are favorable tectonic environments for the formation of orogenic gold deposits.For the gold exploration in the African continent，it is suggested that not only pay much attention to the deep prospecting of discovered gold deposits，but also to searching for the semi-buried and buried deposits，especially in the shallow covered areas of West African Craton and Congo Craton.By means of advanced geophysical，geochemical and remote sensing，the breakthrough of gold prospecting is expected.

Cite this article

Sihong JIANG , Lili ZHANG , Yifei LIU , Gaofeng LI , Genyuan JI . Distribution Characteristics of Gold Deposits in Africa and Exploration Suggestions[J]. Gold Science and Technology, 2020 , 28(4) : 465 -478 . DOI: 10.11872/j.issn.1005-2518.2020.04.083

物化探所联合国内外4家单位开展深部矿产资源勘查评价技术研究

国家重点研发计划“战略性国际科技创新合作”重点专项项目“深部矿产资源勘查评价技术联合研究”的实施方案，日前通过专家评审。

该项目于2019年12月启动，由中国地质调查局地球物理地球化学勘查研究所牵头，联合中国科技大学、蒙古科技大学、蒙古正元有限公司和匈牙利米什科尔兹大学，开展深部矿产资源勘查评价技术研究，研发3 000~5 000 m深部矿产资源勘查技术装备，并合作构建深部矿产资源地球物理勘查技术方法组合。项目旨在发挥国家现代地质勘查工程技术研究中心地球物理探测技术的辐射带动作用，拓展地球深部探测国际合作网络，解决中蒙深部矿产资源地球物理探测技术的实用性问题，促进深部矿产资源的开发利用，助推“一带一路”倡议实施。

该项目拟解决隐伏矿体定位预测和深部矿产资源勘查评价重大问题，通过开展电性源多信息频率域电磁测量技术、高精度井中三分量磁测技术、大功率分布式井中激电测量技术及深部矿产资源空间立体探测和矿体定位预测评价技术等研究，合作研发深部矿产资源勘查技术装备原型设备及相应的数据处理解释技术，并利用这些设备在我国胶东和蒙古国典型矿集区进行试验验证。

（来源：中国自然资源报）

http://www.goldsci.ac.cn/article/2020/1005-2518/1005-2518-2020-28-4-465.shtml

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