TITLE:
Mining Implication in the Geochemical Exploration of Fluvial Sediments of the East Nyambaka Volcanic Zone (Adamawa-Cameroon)
AUTHORS:
Roland William Edima Yana, Augustin Désiré Balla Ondoa, Lise Carole Okomo Atouba, Mefire Aminatou Fagny, Armel Zacharie Ekoa Bessa, Nkouandou Oumarou Faarouk
KEYWORDS:
Stream Sediments, Geochemistry, Mining Exploration, Volcanic Zone, East Nyambaka, Cameroon
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.13 No.5,
May
31,
2022
ABSTRACT: Geochemical characterization in stream sediments
from Nyambaka locality was carried out on ten samples collected from the study
area watershed. The distribution of trace metals in the sediments showed that
some lithophiles (Be, Sc, V, Cr, Sr, Th, U), chalcophiles (Cu, Zn, Ga, As) and
siderophiles (Mn, Co, Ni, Mo) have high average contents in the sediments
compared to their average concentration in the upper crust. From the factorial
analysis of the components, the total variance explained made it possible to
represent and capture the main information on the data and to represent them in
a graphical frame. Thus, using this graphical frame, the trace elements were
divided into four groups opposed to each other. They show an enrichment of
stream sediments in group 1 (Cr, Cu, Mn, Be, Ni, Co, Zr, Sr, Ba, Mg) and group
2 (Mo, As, Hg, V, Ag) elements more than group 3 (Ga, Sc, U) and group 4 (Au,
Th). Rare earth analysis indicates a high abundance of Lanthanide (28.1 ppm to
42.4 ppm), a high concentration of light rare earth (LREE), and depletion of
heavy rare earth (HREE). The variable LREE/HREE (7.24 LREE/ HREE 12.22) and (La/Yb)N (6.70 (La/Yb)N 11.72) ratios suggest an effect of heterogeneous
sorting of heavy minerals with variable enrichment of dense and resistant
minerals.