Pre-collisional geodynamic context of the southern margin of the Pan-African fold belt in Cameroon

International audienceWe reassess the geodynamic context close to the Congo craton during the pre-collisional period of the Pan-African orogeny from whole-rock major and trace element compositions and isotopic data obtained in the westward extension of the Yaounde series (Boumnyebel area, Cameroon). The series consists of metasediments (micaschists, minor calc-silicate rocks and marbles) and meta-igneous rocks (hornblende gneisses, amphibolites, metagabbros, pyroxenites and talcschists) recrystallized under high-pressure conditions.Chemically, the micaschists correspond to shales and greywackes similar to the Yaounde high-grade gneisses. 87Sr/86Sr initial ratios (0.7084–0.7134), moderately negative εNd(620 Ma) values (−5.75 to −7.81), Nd model ages (1.66 < TDM < 1.74 Ga) and radiometric ages point to the conclusion that the Yaounde basin was filled with siliciclastic sediments derived from both reworked older continental crust (Palaeoproterozoic to Archaean in age) and Neoproterozoic juvenile volcanogenic material. This occurred in the same time span (625–1100 Ma) as the deposition of the Lower Dja, Yokadouma, Nola and Mintom series (Tonian–Cryogenian). Dolomitic marble associated with mafic/ultramafic rocks and characterized by high Cr (854–1371 ppm) and Ni (517–875 ppm) contents, are considered to result from chemical precipitation in relation with submarine magmatic activity.Talcschists (orthopyroxenitic to harzburgitic in composition) show primitive-mantle-normalized multi-element patterns with significant negative Nb–Ta anomalies, and slopes similar to that of average metasomatically altered lithospheric mantle. These rocks could be mantle slices involved in the collision tectonics. Amphibolites show the compositions of island-arc basalts with systematic negative Nb–Ta anomalies, 87Sr/86Sr initial ratios mostly <0.7047 and positive εNd(620 Ma) values (+1.41 to +6.58). They are considered to be the expression of incipient oceanisation to the north of the Congo craton during the early Neoproterozoic. Hornblende gneisses show andesitic compositions, with high 87Sr/86Sr initial ratios (0.7105 and 0.7125) and low εNd(620) values (−14.0 and −20.7) suggesting that their genesis involved juvenile and recycled older crustal materials. Syn-metamorphic metagabbro (Mamb) and metadiorite (Yaounde) intrusions show negative Nb–Ta negative anomalies but enrichment in light rare-earth and large-ion lithophile elements, suggesting a metasomatized mantle source. Overall, meta-igneous rocks seem to be representative of distinct magmatic events that accompanied the evolution of the Yaounde sedimentary basin, from opening and oceanisation to convergence and closure in relation with the collisional process.These data suggest that the Yaounde basin should not be considered as a back-arc basin, but more likely represents the expression of extensional processes to the north of the Congo craton, which led to rifting, fragmentation and limited oceanisation. In this view, the Adamawa-Yade block may represent a micro-continent detached from the Congo craton during the early Neoproterozoic

Preliminary geological study and physicochemical characteristics of talc of Boumnyebel (Centre-Cameroon)

Two talc schist occurrences were discovered in the Boumnyebel area, embedded in the Pan-African mica schist, at the junction between Archean, Eburnean and Neoproterozoic formations in Cameroon. They have been analysed by different techniques such as chemical analyses, XRD, DRIFTS, DTA and TG. The talc schist of the northern deposit contains talc (up to 95 wt %) with chlorite, goethite and lepidocrocite as minor minerals. The talc schist of the southern deposit has up to 88 % of talc and is speckled with dark green phenoblasts of amphiboles (coexisting prismatic tremolite and magnesio-riebeckite). Due to its high talc content, the amphibole-free talc schist is economically attractive. Chemical analyses show that most of the rocks consist of SiO2, MgO and Fe2O3, except the sample from the southern deposit that displays some amounts of Al2O3 and CaO. Among trace elements, Ni, Co and Cr are as high as in serpentinized peridotites, and suggest a protolith of ultrabasic nature. Chromium concentration in tremolite reaches 6178 ppm; most of the trace elements (Cd, Cr, Dy, Er, Eu, Ga, Gd, Ho, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sm, Sn, Sr, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Zr) are compatible with a tremolite lattice. The regional metamorphism yielded garnet micaschist nappes and thus belongs to the upper greenschist facies. Based on the high talc contents of the rocks and occasional coexisting tremolite an