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<p>Heavy minerals in stream sediment play a vital role in provenance studies and mineral prospection campaigns. Seventeen stream sediments and six pit samples were obtained from the Ekomedion uranium–molybdenum prospect and evaluated for their heavy mineral content. The mineralogical assemblage includes zircon, rutile, tourmaline, garnet, ilmenite, chlorite, micas, and kyanite; ultra-stable minerals are the most abundant. This mineral assemblage revealed a great diagnostic of the catchment geology that is observed to be deeply weathered in the field. Geochemical signatures for representative ilmenite megacrysts were obtained and analyzed. Measured TiO<sub>2</sub> concentrations range from 27.00 to 60.92&#xa0;wt.%, while Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> content is from 18.35 to 44.77&#xa0;wt.%. Other oxides like SiO<sub>2</sub> (below detection limit -bdl to 50.42&#xa0;wt.%), MgO (3.29 to 14.61&#xa0;wt.%), CaO (bdl to 8.89&#xa0;wt.%), and Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (bdl to 10.46&#xa0;wt.%) also show high concentrations. High silica is linked to the visible quartz observed in some ilmenite grains. This, together with the high iron content of the ilmenites, pointed to their crystallization from a late-stage silicate-rich melt generated from the crust. The studied ilmenites also show characteristics of kimberlitic ilmenites envisaged from high MgO and high concentrations of V, Zn, Zr, and Ni. However, the textural and mineralogical composition of the ilmenite grains shows no genetic link to a kimberlite melt. The study reveals that the enrichment of these elements and alteration of ilmenite to rutile was achieved through metasomatic alteration by magmatic-hydrothermal fluids derived from mafic melts along the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). In conclusion, this study reveals a sediment drained from the Ekomedion catchment geology and the implications of metasomatic alteration on Mg enrichment in Fe-rich ilmenites and ilmenite to rutile transformation.&#xa0;This transformation highlights the magmatic-hydrothermal fluids as a potential tool for Ti-enrichment in ilmenite within the Ekomedion area and beyond.</p>

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Metasomatic-alteration of ilmenite to rutile in Ekomedion, SW Cameroon: Implications for provenance

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年3月13日

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  • Victor Fonabe Embui,
  • Cheo Emmanuel Suh,
  • Mary Immaculate Neh Fru,
  • Carine Tabe Atemson,
  • Ngambu Aloysius Afahnwie,
  • Jean Bassahak

摘要

Heavy minerals in stream sediment play a vital role in provenance studies and mineral prospection campaigns. Seventeen stream sediments and six pit samples were obtained from the Ekomedion uranium–molybdenum prospect and evaluated for their heavy mineral content. The mineralogical assemblage includes zircon, rutile, tourmaline, garnet, ilmenite, chlorite, micas, and kyanite; ultra-stable minerals are the most abundant. This mineral assemblage revealed a great diagnostic of the catchment geology that is observed to be deeply weathered in the field. Geochemical signatures for representative ilmenite megacrysts were obtained and analyzed. Measured TiO2 concentrations range from 27.00 to 60.92 wt.%, while Fe2O3 content is from 18.35 to 44.77 wt.%. Other oxides like SiO2 (below detection limit -bdl to 50.42 wt.%), MgO (3.29 to 14.61 wt.%), CaO (bdl to 8.89 wt.%), and Al2O3 (bdl to 10.46 wt.%) also show high concentrations. High silica is linked to the visible quartz observed in some ilmenite grains. This, together with the high iron content of the ilmenites, pointed to their crystallization from a late-stage silicate-rich melt generated from the crust. The studied ilmenites also show characteristics of kimberlitic ilmenites envisaged from high MgO and high concentrations of V, Zn, Zr, and Ni. However, the textural and mineralogical composition of the ilmenite grains shows no genetic link to a kimberlite melt. The study reveals that the enrichment of these elements and alteration of ilmenite to rutile was achieved through metasomatic alteration by magmatic-hydrothermal fluids derived from mafic melts along the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). In conclusion, this study reveals a sediment drained from the Ekomedion catchment geology and the implications of metasomatic alteration on Mg enrichment in Fe-rich ilmenites and ilmenite to rutile transformation. This transformation highlights the magmatic-hydrothermal fluids as a potential tool for Ti-enrichment in ilmenite within the Ekomedion area and beyond.