ガーナ,南部アシャンティ帯の原生代プリンスタウン・グラニトイド岩体に関する主成分地球化学

The Pateoproterozoic metavolcanic rocks of the southern Ashanti greenstone belt of Ghana are intruded by three major suites of granitoids, locally called Prince's Town, Dixcove and Ketan plutons. The Prince's Town pluton is the largest intrusive body in the Axim area, and tends to separate the Axim volcanic branch from the Cape Three Points branch. The Pluton consists of granitic to dioritic rocks, which are generally massive but occasionally display alignment of ferromagnesian minerals. The rocks contain mainly plagioclase, K-feldspar, quartz, amphibole, biotite and opaques. The feldspars are mostly sericitized and saussuritized, and alteration of amphibole and biotite to epidote and chlorite is common. Accessory minerals include apatite, sphene and zircon. The geochemical data indicate that the rocks are tonalitic to granodioritic in composoition, metaluminous (ASI<1) and have I-type characteristics. The granitoids have the SiO2 content of 63-70% ; total iron, as Fe2 O3 of 3.10-5.80% ; (Na2O+K2O) content of 5.01-6.96% and Na2O/K2O ratios from 1.34 to 2.70 ; and are characterized by Mg# ranging from 53 to 48. The Fe*(=FeOtot/FeOtot+MgO) and modified alkali-lime index (MALI) of the rocks indicate that the Prince's Town pluton is dominantly magnesian and calcic in nature. Higher values in molar CaO/(MgO+FeOtot) coupled with low molar AI2O3/(MgO+FeOtot) may suggest their derivation from partial melting of metabasaltic to metatonalitic sourcc, with a possible contribution from metagreywacke, but preclude any contribution from metapelitic sources. The Birimaian metavolcanic rocks are the likely source material candidate for the rocks. CIPW norm calculations yielded a crystallization temperature of～650-685℃ and a pressure of 4-7kb for the rocks, suggesting a lower crustal souree. The Prince's Town plutonic rocks also show characteristice of plutons emplaced in a volcanic are tectonic setting environment. This observation is largely consistent with previous studies conducted on granitoids from other parts of the southern Ashanti greenstone belt c and the belt-type granitoids of Ghana as a whole

Second-generation gender bias in corporate Ghana: A case study of two banks

Undergraduate thesis submitted to the Department of Business Administration, Ashesi University, in partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, May 2020The aim of this study was to understand women’s experiences with secondgeneration gender bias in the Ghanaian banking sector. Women’s rate of advancement in leadership roles is currently higher than their rate of advancement into executive management roles in the workplace. Second-generation gender biases or implicit biases are one of the poorly addressed factors explaining the low percentages of women’s advancement into executive level management roles. First-generation gender biases are the intentional and visible acts of discrimination against women, but implicit gender bias is more obscure and almost invisible. It occurs when a person consciously rejects gender stereotypes but still unconsciously makes evaluations based on those stereotypes. The aim of this study was achieved using a qualitative approach to compare and contrast women’s experiences in two banks in Accra, Ghana. A thematic analysis using Evetts’ (2000) three-dimensional framework consisting of cultural, structural and action dimensions, was used to analyze in-depth interviews with 12 female employees from the two banks. The results reveal the existence of implicit gender biases in the banks. However, the women did not perceive it as injurious to their career progression as they would have viewed explicit gender biases. This study concludes that if the effects of implicit gender biases on career women are undermined, it is likely to create an environment that tolerates the bias. A tolerant environment for implicit biases will eventually have a detrimental impact on their career progression.Ashesi Universit

ガーナ, ビルム・ダイヤモンド産地のアクァティア地域に分布する沖積層の重鉱物分析

Heavy mineral analysis was carried out on Pliocene to Recent alluvial sediments from the Birim diamondiferous field od Ghana. The main objective of the study was to examine the mineral composition of heavy fractions in order to identify : (1) the heavy mineral assenblage that occur in the sediments, (2) particular diamond indicator minerals associated with the diamonds, and (3) the provenance of the alluvial sediments. The heavy minerals are essentially composed of staurolite, ilmenite and magnetite in varying proportions, with trace amounts of leucoxene, rutile, garnet and zircon. The heavy mineral assenblage and chemical composition of ilmenite and gamet suggest their derivation from phyllites and schists which reflect directly the composition of the basement rocks developed in the study area. The absence of diamond indicatior minerals such as apatite, pyrope garmet, chromian spinel, and picroilmenite in the heavy fraction is unlikely to be due to their destruction during intense weathering and/or diagenesis but rarher their non-occurrence in the area

ガーナ，アシャンティ火山帯南部に分布する古原生代変火山岩類のSr-Nd 同位体組成

Neodymium (Nd) and strontium (Sr) isotopic data are presented for Paleoproterozoic metavolcanic rocks in the southern part of the Ashanti volcanic belt of Ghana. The metavolcanic rocks are predominantly basalts/basaltic andesites and andesites with minor dacites. Two types of basalts/basaltic andesites (B/A), Type I and Type II, have been identified. The Type I B/A are stratigraphically overlain by the Type II B/A, followed by the andesites and the dacites. The analyzed volcanic rocks commonly have low initial (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratios consistent with previous studies on Paleoproterozoic rocks from the West African craton. The LREE-depleted, tholeiitic Type I B/A exhibit back-arc basin geochemical signatures and show high positive epsilon Nd (i.e., ε(Nd) (2.1 Ga) = +3.89 to +7.21), which suggest a long term depleted source and also indicate that they were produced in an entirely oceanic environment devoid of influence of continental crust. The isotope signatures are thus consistent with the previously published trace element data of the Type I basalts/basaltic andesites in suggesting that their parent magma was generated from a depleted mantle. The Type I B/A have Nd model ages (T(DM2)) of 1.83–2.09 Ga similar to their formation ages, suggesting that they were juvenile at their time of formation. The andesites and the Type II B/A andesites show LREE-enriched patterns and exhibit characteristics of subduction zone-related magmas, and show initial ε(Nd) (2.1Ga) values of –1.15 to + 1.35 and Nd model ages (T(DM2)) of 2.32–2.58 Ga. The LREE-enriched dacitic porphyry also exhibits characteristics of subduction zone-related magmas, and have initial ε(Nd) (2.1Ga) value of –2.24 and Nd model ages (T(DM2)) of 2.64 Ga. The Nd isotopic data confirms the juvenile character of the Birimian crust, but also suggests some contributions of a pre-Birimian crustal material (or Archean?) in the genesis of some of the metavolcanic rocks. Our isotopic result is consistent with the island arc complex model which views Paleoproteozoic terranes of West Africa in the context of subduction–accretion processes

Geochemistry of Pegmatites associated with the cape coast granite complex in the Egyaa and Akim Oda areas of southern Ghana

The Cape Coast granite complex, which is associated with  metasedimentary rocks of the Birirmian in Ghana, is characterised by various minor intrusions that include pegmatites. The pegmatites, which are feldspar-rich, occur within, and at the margins of the granite batholiths and the surrounding schists. The major and trace element compositions of the pegmatites sampled from Egyaa and Akim Oda areas have been determined. The data indicates that the pegmatites from these areas have granitic compositions. The rocks are medium-K to high-K, calc-alkaline, S-type granitoids that are peraluminous and magnesian. Lower values of molar CaO/ (MgO + FeO &lt;sub&gt;tot&lt;/tot&gt;) coupled with higher values of molar Al&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;/(MgO + FeO&lt;sub&gt;tot&lt;/sup&gt;) suggest their derivation from partial melting from metapelitic sources, with the Birimian metasedimentary rocks being the likely source material. The rocks are depleted in Rb, Ba, Nb, Ce and Ti but rich in U, K, La, Hf and Y relative to primitive mantle. The data suggest that the pegmatites from these areas are late orogenic, and were emplaced at upper to middle crustal levels in a volcanic arc geotectonic environment

Geochemical Characteristics of Granitoids (Ho Gneiss) from the Pan – African Dahomeyide Belt, Southeastern, Ghana: Implications for Petrogenesis and Tectonic Setting

The Pan-African Dahomeyide belt exposed in Southeastern, Ghana, consist of granitoid gneisses locally known as Ho gneiss. These rocks are thought to be part of the West African Craton (WAC) which was reworked during the Pan-African Orogeny, and may be time equivalent with the Kara gneisses. Petrographical and whole rock geochemical analyses have been used to evaluate the characteristics, petrogenesis and mode of emplacement of the granitoids. The new data reasonably suggest that the Ho gneiss consist mainly of biotite augen gneisses of both mafic and felsic rock suites. Geochemically, these rocks show tonalitic to quartz monzonite but mainly granodiorites affinities. They are metaluminous to weakly peraluminous, I-type, magnesian to ferroan and calcic to alkali calcic. With these varying features, the granitoids mimic mantle derived magma source which mixed or mingled with crustally derived melt. The rocks display varying REEs and trace elements patterns but, their LREEs and LILE enrichment with  the noticeable enrichment in Rb, Ba, K and especially Pb and negative Ti, Ta, Nb observed among majority of the samples are typical signature of ‘‘arc rocks’’ or continental crustal materials. Their incompatible trace element ratios, such as Th/U (1.07 – 13.87), K/Rb (272 – 574.47), Th/Yb (0.79 – 15.09), Ta/Yb (0.25 -0.64 ), Ce/Pb (mainly 1.62 – 7.88 ) and high Ba/Nb (19.55 – 314.17, with TA = 1565.00), are similar to those of the continental crust. The rocks are characterised by subduction related Sr/Y content (&lt; 100), except sample MA8 that shows high concentration of Sr/Y (227.71). The magnesian affinity reflects relatively hydrous, oxidizing source which is consistent with origins that are broadly subduction related. Their high – K nature also points to an important petrogenetic role of remelting and differentiation of arc – accretionary complex crust. These geochemical signatures are likely to be related to metasomatism of the sub – continental lithospheric mantle via crustal recycling. In conclusion, the granitoids may have from melting of igneous source in a subduction related environment. Keywords: Pan-African belt, Dahomeyide, Southeastern Ghana, Ho gneisses, Geochemistry, petrogenesi

Boron carbide amorphous solid with tunable band gap

Boron carbide BxC (x = 1/6 − 10) powders were synthesized through a microwave-assisted carbothermic reduction reaction as a potential clean energy material. Their crystallographic structures and optical properties were characterized. X-ray diffraction and electron diffraction indicated that the synthesized BxC powders were amorphous. Electron energy-loss spectroscopy demonstrated that the composition of boron and carbon was in amorphous materials, and their chemical bonding were disclosed from Raman scattering spectroscopy. UV–vis absorption spectroscopy indicated that the bandgap of the bulks varied from 2.30eV to 3.90eV, tuned by the boron/carbon element ratio. The synthesized powders were potential photovoltaic materials. A short-range ordering model was established to explain the optical properties

Palaeotectonic setting of the south-eastern Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier, West Africa: new insights from igneous trace element geochemistry and U-Pb zircon ages

New U-Pb zircon ages and geochemistry from the eastern Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier are presented and integrated with published data to generate a revised tectonic framework for the westernmost Birimian terranes. The Falémé Volcanic Belt and Kofi Series are highly prospective, hosting several multi-million ounce gold deposits and a significant iron ore resource, but remain under-researched. It is therefore important to constrain the fundamental geological setting. The igneous rocks of the eastern Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier are dominantly of high-K calc-alkaline affinity, with fractionated REE patterns and negative Nb-Ta anomalies. The plutonic rocks in the Falémé Belt are dioritic to granodioritic in composition, with moderately fractionated REE patterns and metaluminous A/CNK signatures. Felsic, peraluminous granite stocks, dykes and plutons with fractionated REE patterns and negative Eu, Ti and P anomalies intruded both the Falémé Belt and Kofi Series. Albitisation masks the affinity of some units, although use of the Th-Co diagram shows that prior to albitisation, all igneous units belonged to the high-K calc-alkaline series. New U-Pb age data for the Boboti and Balangouma plutons indicate crystallisation at 2088.5 ± 8.5 Ma and at 2112 ± 13 Ma, respectively. Inherited zircons in the Boboti pluton indicate magmatic activity in the Falémé Belt at 2218 ± 83 Ma coincided with the oldest dated units in the Mako Belt to the West. Systematic changes in Dy/Yb, Sm/La, Nb/Zr, Rb concentration, Eu-anomaly and ɛNdt over ∼200 Ma reveal that the tectonic setting in the KKI evolved from a volcanic island arc environment to an active continental margin. Crustal thickening, as a result of a shift to collisional tectonic setting, combined with magmatic differentiation, led to the generation of peraluminous, granitic melts with a significant crustal component. A small suite of more basic intrusive and extrusive rocks on the eastern margin of the Dialé-Daléma basin are highly metaluminous and display limited LILE enrichment, with normalised HREE values close to unity. The Daléma igneous rocks may have formed in an extensional back arc, related to the arc system