6th FEBRUARY, 2010

AMOO K. OBAFEMI 10234452

MINERAL RESOURCE AND WEALTH OF WEST AFRICA

Geological mapping in Precambrian regions of the world, combined with the distribution of ages
infers that most of the Earth’s continental crust was formed by the end of the Archaean. In fact,
the West African sub-region is believed to been in existence before 2500Ma but was eventually
affected by later orogenies with associated crustal increments. Some of the rocks then evolved to
form part of the Lower Proterozoic West African craton representing the timespan from about
2500 to 1800. This provinces (Archaean and Proterozoic) as well as other reworked domains of
West Africa have over time become repositories for various mineralization depending on their
respective atmospheric and environmental conditions. Therefore the Achaean and Proterozoic
provinces, younger Mesozoic-Tertiary sedimentary basins as well as other geological domains on
the West African sub region will be the focus of this discussion as regards their respective types
of hosted minerals.

A brief introduction into the concept of mineral resources should suffice. They (mineral
resources) are those economic mineral concentrations that have undergone enough scrutiny to
quantify their contained metal to a certain degree. None of these resources are ore, because the
economics of the mineral deposit may not have been fully evaluated. Some are referred to as
Indicated resources and are simply economic mineral occurrences that have been sampled (from
locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits and drill holes) to a point where an estimate has been
made, at a reasonable level of confidence, of their contained metal, grade, tonnage, shape,
densities, physical characteristics. Others called Measured resources are indicated resources that
have undergone enough further sampling that a 'competent person' (defined by the norms of the
relevant mining code; usually a geologist) has declared them to be an acceptable estimate, at a
high degree of confidence, of the grade, tonnage, shape, densities, physical characteristics and
mineral content of the mineral occurrence. Resources may also make up portions of a mineral
deposit classified as a mineral reserve, but either have not been sufficiently drilled out to qualify
for Reserve status; or have yet to meet all criteria for Reserve status.
Mineral Resources and Wealth of West Africa

I will prefer to discuss the mineral resources and wealth of West Africa with respect to the
geological provinces, as there is a special relationship between the former and latter. The mineral
resources are italicized as presented.

The Archaean province of West Africa carries mineralization characteristic of granite-

greenstone association. These include gold, iron ores, bauxite, rutile and some others.

Most of the documented Gold here appears to be in the western greenstone belts. These are
mainly mined as alluvial gold in northern Sierra Leone artisanally, while the commercial miners
have traced the alluvial deposits back to their sources. To the east of Sierra Leone lies Liberia
which also extracts gold of similar deposits. Supracrustals belts similar to those in Sierra Leone
and Liberia occur over substantial areas of Archaean terrane further north in Guinea, hence an
inferred workable gold deposit should occur there as well.

Iron ores are very important mineral resource of the West African Archaean and are indicators of
paleo-environments. They are concentrated in the eastern supracrustals belts dominated by
banded iron formations (BIF) showing fine laminations. The largest iron ore mine is in the
Nimba belt, Liberia (known to be a major world producer) where the iron formation reaches
500m in total thickness as well as the Bomi hills, Bong range and the Mano river which forms
the border with Sierra Leone. The Nimba belt extends into Guinea where reserves were
estimated to total 2000million tonnes, substantial deposits of iron ore also occurs in western
Ivory Coast.

Rocks of the Kasila belt, Sierra Leone contain alumina-rich facies that have given rise to
secondary residual accumulation of Bauxite. The major deposit is in the Mokanji Hills as well as
Port Loko and Kakata in Liberia. Originating from the charnockitic granulites and amphibolites
of the Kasila group are placer deposits of Rutile, although they are of Tertiary-Quaternary age
and are the result of alluvial and eluvial processes. They occur all along the coast of Sierra
Leone, Banjul in Gambia and further north in Senegal.

Other minerals in this province include Chromite which is confined to the lower ultramafic units
of the greenstone belts in the western part of the domain in Sierra Leone. Nickel, Talc and
Asbestos are also associated with the ultramafic rocks, Titanium-rich magnetite occurs in mafic
rocks of the Man complex in western Ivory Coast.
Mineral Resources and Wealth of West Africa

The Proterozoic province has preserved a lot more supracrustals rocks and a better metallogenic
province than the Archaean cratonic nucleus. The major deposits include gold, manganese,
diamonds and bauxite.

Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) represents the major auriferous zone in this province on the West
African sub region. Most of the primary gold deposits are located along the Lower-Upper
Birimian boundary on the west side of the Tarkwa syncline on which the Prestea, Obuasi and
Konongo mines are located. Alongside Ghana, primary gold occurs in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso
and in southwestern Mali as well as eastern Senegal. The primary gold occurs in quartz veins and
lenticular reefs and also in some of the tuffaceous and argillaceous rocks accompanied by
sulphides, especially arsenopyrite including pyrite and pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and bornite,
galena and about 10% silver. Sedimentary gold is found in several places in the Banket
conglomerates at the base of the Tarkwaian. Modern stream channels near primary and
secondary gold districts in the Birimian and Tarkwaian contain placer gold. There are notable
alluvial concentrations in southeastern Liberia, northern Guinea (Siguiri) and southwestern Ivory
Coast, on the Sassandra River system.

At the time Manganese was discovered at Nsuta, Ghana; it was the richest manganese ore
discovery in the world. It had excellent metallurgical-grade ore and contained large quantities of
unique battery-grade ore called nsutite (type locality), almost pure MnO2 and could be used in
dry cells without processing. Very similar manganese ores are found in southern Ivory Coast on
the Mokta and the Blafa-gueto hills, northeastern Burkina Faso and in southwestern Niger. They
were derived either by some form of chemical replacement from the manganiferous phyllites and
gondites or secondary enrichment from Birimian phyllites, gondites and carbonates during the
Tertiary, occurring as residual capping on low hills and ridges.

Rocks of the Birimian in Ghana and Ivory Coast are hosts to alluvial Diamonds. The diamonds
are mostly small industrial stones, though with a significant proportion of gem quality. They
come mainly from the Birim-field of Ghana, the largest single diamond-producing area in West
Africa. They also occur further west in Ghana and southeastern Ivory Coast. In some places such
as Sierra Leone, Liberia, and parts of Mali and Guinea; primary diamonds occur in young
Mesozoic kimberlites.
Mineral Resources and Wealth of West Africa

The Bauxite deposits are formed from tropical weathering during the Tertiary and Quaternary
age but are hosted by the Birimian greenstones and aluminous phyllites and Eburnean granites
peculiar to the Proterozoic. They are mainly in Ghana and exploited at Awaso, major deposits
also occur at Kibi, northwest of Accra.

Just like in the Archaean; the nucleus of the West African craton play host to lower Proterozoic
Iron ore formation on a relatively lesser scale, and seems like there has been gradual replacement
by the oxygen favored manganiferous sediments. Such occurs in the Faleme deposit of eastern
Senegal as well as in southwestern Mali where Fe grade of 36 to 67% occur. There also exist
banded iron formation rocks in southwestern Ivory Coast, though these are believed to belong to
the Archaean supracrustals. Iron ore deposits in the lower Proterozoic are believed to be
associated with norites and gabbros with significant vanadium enrichment as occurred in
northern Burkina Faso as well as southwestern Ghana in Takoradi.

There are occurrences of other minerals in this terrane, though on a relatively smaller scale as
compared to those discussed above. They include lateritic Nickel and Cobalt near Koudougou,
Burkina Faso as well as Ivory Coast and southwestern Niger. Copper, Lead, Zinc, Molybdenite,
Antimony and Silver occurs in various combinations in the Birimian greenstones in places such
as Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Ghana. Pegmatitic granites associated with Tin, Niobium,
Tantalum, Beryllium and Lithium in various proportions in southern Burkina Faso, south east
Bamako, southwestern Mali and Niger, those which are Lithium bearing have been found near
Saltpond, Ghana. There are also Uranium deposits in eastern Senegal, with Burkina Faso hosting
some Marbles.

The young Mesozoic-Tertiary sedimentary basins of West Africa are dominated by Petroleum,
Coal and Uranium. Others include Phosphate, industrial materials including Limestone,
Kaolinitic clays, Gypsum and Salt. Some metals present in smaller quantities are Lead, Zinc,
Iron and Manganese.

Oil and gas are of the greatest importance in this terrane economically, and the Niger Delta of
Nigeria quickly comes to mind. As the Nigeria—Cameroun border cuts across the southeastern
extremity of the Niger Delta basin, there are oil fields off the shore of Cameroun also, as well as
the Bakassi peninsula and Sao Tome and Principe. The Tano basin in the Cape three points area
Mineral Resources and Wealth of West Africa

in Ghana has recently yielded promise and there are speculations that the entire Gulf of Guinea
could be productive. These are the areas of significant amount of oil and gas currently; however
there are other areas with lesser quantities even as exploration goes on.

The lower Benue trough hosts major deposits of Coal, especially in Enugu Nigeria. There are no
other important coal fields in this region because of the unsuitable environment of the dominant
Cretaceous-Tertiary terrane, although some have been reported in the Cretaceous sands of Togo,
Benin and Ivory Coast. Deposits of lignite occur among the Tertiary sediments of the Niger
Delta as well as the Iullmedden and Chad basins.

Major deposits of Uranium is found in Niger, occurring in Carboniferous sandstones and clays of
mainly fluviatile origin in the northern Iullmedden basin, copper can be produced as a by-
product.

Other resources in this basin include Phosphate, usually deposited in the warm shallow seas of
Togo and Senegal. The phosphate horizon in the Eocene sediments of the Dahomey basin
extends from Togo across Benin to southwestern Nigeria. Also, there are some deposits in the
Iullmedden basin in Sudanese strait, Tilemsi valley in Mali and the Niger valley. There are
plateau forming Ironstone deposits in Lokoja, Nigeria, sandy and clayey lateritic ironstones near
Enugu, Manganese ore in Mali, Lead and Zinc sulphides associated with Copper in the Benue
Trough, Limestone and Gypsum which are used in the cement industry in places such as southern
Benin, Nigeria, southern Niger and Senegal.

The aforementioned resources represent the natural wealth of the sub region and are well
distributed as stated. However, they may also occur, though in relatively insignificant quantities,
in some other geological domains such as the Pan African domain and a few other sedimentary
domains.

For decades, the West African subregion has produced mineral resources in billions of tonnes,
ounces and barrels to other part of the continent and world. Still there exists billions of more
reserves and maybe even more with further exploration. It is without doubt that West Africa is
one the richest part of the world as regards mineral resources and plays host to leading exporting
countries in respective resources.
Mineral Resources and Wealth of West Africa

REFERENCES

 Wright, J.B, Geology and Mineral Resources of West Africa,

 www.wikipedia.org/mineral resource classification