Petrography and Mineralogy of the Quartz and Quartz-Feldspar Sulphide Veins in the Pan-African Syenitic Massif of Guider (North Cameroon)

Abstract

In the syenitic pluton of Guider (593 ± 4 Ma) in the NorthWest Cameroon domain of Central African Fold Belt, mineralized N-S to NE-SW vertical or sub-vertical quartz and quartz feldspar veins has been recently identified. In this contribution, we present petrography and mineralogy of these veins, in order to constrain their genesis and emplacement mechanisms based on detailed field work, petrographic studies and chemical characterization of minerals by using an electron probe microanalyser (EPMA). Field observations and vein microstructures show that the emplacement of the veins has been controlled by the dextral N-S trending strike-slip shear zones related to the regional D2 deformation phase. The results of mineralogical analysis reveal the co-presence of silicates and metallic minerals that include magnetite, il-menite, pyrite, bismuthite, galena (very rare) and sulphide complexes (BiPbS, BiAgPbS, FeBiPbCuS, BiFe(TeS), FeBiPbS, BiPbCuS). The gangue is represented by quartz (quartz 1, quartz 2 and quartz 3), feldspars, sericite, chlorite, yellowish brown clay minerals, and hematite. The textural relationships between sulphides, quartz and alteration products show that the mine-ralization is essentially syn-to late-D 2 and suggest that syenitic country rock and dextral shear zones have played an important role in the metallogenesis of these veins. This mineralization shows characteristics for copper-bearing calc-alkaline deposits, but differs from these by its more extensive alteration and its abundance in hematite. Substitutions of Al(IV) by Si(IV) in sericite associated with the sulphide mineralization and cataclastic deformation suggest that the temperature of trapping of the fluids is between 230˚C and 275˚C.