Field and petrographic studies of the Makenene area in the Central African Fold Belt in Cameroon reveals several features testifying the mafic and felsic magmas interactions and their coeval nature. They are: (1) the Mafic Magmatic Enclaves (MMEs) scattered throughout the Makenene granitoid pluton and displaying sub-rounded shape and back veining, (2) flow structures consisting of schlierens at the tails of MMEs, folded MMEs along with felsic host granitoids with hinge indicating the flow direction, (3) irregular or cuspate boundary between MMEs and host granitoids, (4) quenching of apatite and biotites minerals, (5) MMEs enclosing other MMEs or felsic host granitoids. The mafic magma injection operated during at least four stages (from early to late crystallization state of the host magma) leading respectively to the formation of homogenized granitoid; sub-spherical MMEs scattered in the pluton; dismembered dyke and undisturbed synplutonic mafic dyke. The Makenene area registered four deformation phases (D1 to D4). The first two deformation phases occurred before the magmatism and migmatization events. The third phase is coeval to the magmatism and the migmatization period (at the Eburnean orogeny (2.08-2.07 Ga)). The fourth phase is related to the Panafrican orogeny.
Abstract The Tikar plain is located on the Cameroon Central Shear Zone. It is also part of the North Equatorial Pan-African Belt. It is formed of granitoids intruded in places by mafic and intermediate dykes. The mafic dykes are essentially banded gabbros composed of plagioclases, pyroxenes, amphiboles, biotites and opaques. Their textures range from porphyroblastic to porphyritic. The intermediate dykes are monzonites and monzodiorites and are characterized, respectively, by cataclastic and mylonitic textures. The minerals identified are amphiboles, potassium feldspar, pyroxenes, epidotes, sphenes and opaques. Seritization reaction is mostly present on the mafic and intermediate dykes, while chloritization is much more pronounced on the intermediate dykes. The Tikar plain dykes are high-k calc-alkaline to shoshonitic. They are characterized by low to moderate SiO 2 content (42.08–61.96 wt%), low to high TiO 2 (0.47–2 wt%) and low Ni (1.48–99.18 ppm) contents. The mafic dykes show fractional trends with negative anomalies of Zr, U and P and positive Rb, Ba, Ta, Pb and Sr in multi-element diagrams, while the intermediate dykes present negative anomalies of Nb, Ta, Zr, Sr P and Ti and relative positive anomalies of Rb, Ba and Pb. The rare-earth elements (REE) patterns show positive Eu anomalies for the mafic dykes and negative anomalies for the intermediate dykes. The REE spectrum of all the dykes shows enrichment in LREE with relatively flat HREE, which can indicate arc magmatism. In the Zr–Ti/100–Sr/2 diagram, the mafic dykes plot in the island arc tholeiite and calc-alkaline basalt fields. The Th, Nb and LREE concentrations indicate that the subducted lithosphere with crustal component contributed to generation of the intermediate dykes of the Tikar plain. The geochemical characteristics of the mafic to intermediate dykes suggest their derivation from a various degree of partial melting in the garnet spinel facies, probably between depths of 80 and 100 km. The collision between the Central African Fold Belt and the northern edge of the Congo craton resulting in crustal thickening, sub-crustal lithospheric delamination and upwelling of the asthenosphere may have been the principal process in the generation of the intermediate dykes in the Tikar plain. The magma for the mafic and intermediate dyke would have migrated through the faults network of the Central Cameroon Shear Zone before crystallizing in the granito-gneissic basement rocks.
Abstract In the Central Cameroon Shear Zone, several studies were focused on granitoids and very few on mafic rocks. Here we report the petrography, geochemistry and mineralogy of the Mfengou-Manki mafic rocks in order to constrain their petrogenesis and tectonic settings and the role of lithospheric and asthenospheric mantle sources in their genesis. The studied mafic rocks are subdivided into columnar jointed basalts and mafic dykes. Clinopyroxene thermobarometry indicates that the mafic dykes crystallized at a temperature of 1071 to 1193 °C and a pressure of 4 to 12 kbar while the columnar jointed basalts emplaced at a temperature of 1064 to 1152 °C and 2 to 13 kbar pressure. The mafic dykes and columnar jointed basalts present high La/Sm, Sm/Yb, Nb/Yb and Th/Yb ratios, indicating garnet to spinel transition zone mantle source. The multi-element diagram of the mafic dykes display enrichment in Nb, Ta, Pb and Ti and depletion in Th, U, Ce and Zr compared to that of the columnar jointed basalts (slight depletion in Nb and Ta and pronounced depletion in U, Pb and Zr and enrichment in Cs, Ba and Rb) indicating the little involvement of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle to the formation of the columnar jointed basalts. The Nb/La ratio > 1 for the mafic dykes and < 1 for the columnar jointed basalts also suggest the derivation of the mafic dykes from the asthenospheric mantle and the columnar jointed basalts from the mixed lithospheric-asthenospheric mantle due to the sub-continental lithospheric mantle delamination under the Central Cameroon Shear Zone.
The first phase is marked by the S1 foliation. The second phase is marked by fold (F2), lineation (L2), and boudins (B2). The third phase is marked by subvertical foliation (S3), shear (C3), and lineation (L3). The fourth phase is essentially a brittle phase. Granites present mostly magmatic deformation features; meanwhile, granite mylonites and gneisses present submagmatic to nonmagmatic deformation features. Mylonitization occurred during a ductile-brittle transition phase. Coarse-grained granites emplaced in the lower crustal level, while protomylonites and mylonites occurred in the middle crust and ultramylonites in the upper crustal level. Fine-grained granite was filtered and channeled through the middle crust shear zone areas to be settled on an upper crustal level as irregular spot within the ultramylonites and gneisses. Granites and granites mylonites were syntectonically emplaced during the D3 sinistral shearing phase.
Pyroclastics which are known natural pozzolanic materials due to amorphous contents, are present in several areas of the Mbepit Massif in West Cameroon. In this work natural pozzolan from three zones namely Pouoloum, Njimbouot and Nkouonja were characterized. A comparative study was then developed to attest the effect of these pyroclastics as partial substitution in portland cement. The mixtures were made at different pozzolanic proportions (00%, 10%, 15%, 25% and 35%) of substitution of the cement. The compressive and flexibility strength was carried out at 7, 28 and 90 days on mortar specimens (4 × 4 × 16 cm3). The results revealed apozzolanicactivity index of 81.99 %, 83.47% and 74.54% respectively for rock sample from Pouoloum (PCB), sample from Njimbouot (PCC) and sample from Nkouonja (PCN). After 90 days, for a substitution rate of 25% compressive strength are respectively 55.69 MPa, 60.4 MPa, 53.34 MPa for PCB, PCC and PCN. According to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C618 classification, the pyroclastics are in accordance with all the criteria to be classified as pozzolan. Independent of the substitution rate, the mechanical performance increases with age in PCB, PCC and PCN. However PCC is most reactive than PCB and PCN. This may be due to the amorphous reactive content in this material and can be linked to the eruptive dynamisms which were more explosive in some areas than in others. The amorphous content is 32.01%, 36.99%, 24.84% for PCB, PCC and PCN respectively. These results also prove that Natural Pozzolan is interesting in the manufacture of composite cement CEM II, CEM IV in accordance with EN197-1 or can be added in mortar for buildings and sustainable environmental management.
Magba granitoids are made up of granites, orthogneiss, migmatites, metagabbro, mafic dykes and mylonites with respectively porphyritic, porphyroblastic, grano-lepido-porphyroblastic, and cataclastic texture. Mafic dykes and metagabbro occur as intrusives into the mylonitic and granitic rocks. Magba rocks were subjected to whole rock geochemistry analyses and results show that those rocks have the chemical composition of gabbro, monzodiorite, monzonite syenite, quartz-monzonite, granodiorite and diorite. The rocks are metaluminous, display high-K, calc-alkaline to shoshonitic affinities and plot on the field of volcanic arc granites and are formed by differentiation of I-type magma. They are largely situated within the syn-collision to within plate fields, show a subduction—to collision-related magmatism, and suggest their emplacement during the syn—to post-collisional phase of the Pan-African orogeny.