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Volume 35 Issue 1
Feb 2024
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Article Contents
Landry Soh Tamehe, Huan Li, Sylvestre Ganno, Zuxing Chen, Yanick Brice Lemdjou, Safiyanu Muhammad Elatikpo. Insight into the Origin of Iron Ore Based on Elemental Contents of Magnetite and Whole-Rock Geochemistry: A Case of the Bipindi Banded Iron Formations, Nyong Complex, SW Cameroon. Journal of Earth Science, 2024, 35(1): 16-28. doi: 10.1007/s12583-022-1622-4
Citation: Landry Soh Tamehe, Huan Li, Sylvestre Ganno, Zuxing Chen, Yanick Brice Lemdjou, Safiyanu Muhammad Elatikpo. Insight into the Origin of Iron Ore Based on Elemental Contents of Magnetite and Whole-Rock Geochemistry: A Case of the Bipindi Banded Iron Formations, Nyong Complex, SW Cameroon. Journal of Earth Science, 2024, 35(1): 16-28. doi: 10.1007/s12583-022-1622-4

Insight into the Origin of Iron Ore Based on Elemental Contents of Magnetite and Whole-Rock Geochemistry: A Case of the Bipindi Banded Iron Formations, Nyong Complex, SW Cameroon

doi: 10.1007/s12583-022-1622-4
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  • Corresponding author: Huan Li, lihuan@csu.edu.cn
  • Received Date: 31 Oct 2021
  • Accepted Date: 22 Jan 2022
  • Available Online: 01 Mar 2024
  • Issue Publish Date: 29 Feb 2024
  • The Bipindi iron ore district is located in the central section of the Nyong Complex at the northwestern margin of the Congo Craton in Southwest Cameroon. This iron district contains numerous iron mineralization hosted by the Mewongo, Bibole, Kouambo, and Zambi banded iron formations (BIFs). These BIFs contain magnetite as the main iron ore mineral associated with pyrite, and gangue minerals are quartz with minor chlorite and amphibole. The origin of iron ore from these BIFs was investigated using a combination of in-situ magnetite and whole-rock chemistry. The studied BIF ore samples have a narrow range of TFe between 30.90 wt.% and 43.20 wt.%, indicating a low-grade ore. The geochemical signatures of magnetite such as low contents of base metals (e.g., Cu, Co, V, and Zn) and low Co/Zn ratios < 0.85 indicate a hydrothermal origin. Combined with the geochemical features of these BIFs, e.g., high Fe/Ti and Fe/Al ratios (mean > 600 and > 75, respectively), we suggest that magnetite was derived from a mixture of seawater and ~0.1% low-temperature hydrothermal fluids in an oxidizing environment. Collectively, low-temperature hydrothermal and later metamorphic fluids were necessary for the transformation of the protolith Nyong Complex BIFs to iron ore.

     

  • Electronic Supplementary Materials: Supplementary materials (Tables S1–S3) are available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-022-1622-4.
    Conflict of Interest
    The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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