Geology of Ghana 2011-2012 PDF

UNIVERSITY OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY, TARKWA, GHANA
FACULTY OF MINERAL RESOURCES TECHNOLOGY
GEOLGICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
LECTURE NOTES:
GEOLOGY OF GHANA
[COURSE NOs: GM259, MN259, MR259]
COMPLILED BY: DR. J. A. YENDAW
GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING DEPT

Gology of Ghana Compiled by Dr. J.A. Yendaw
KEY REFERENCES
Kesse, G. O., (1985). The Mineral and Rock Resources of Ghana. A.A.
Balkema, Rotterdam/Boston. 610p.
Leube, A., Hirdes, W. and Mauer, R., (1986). The Birimian Supergroup
of Ghana: Depositional Environment, Structural Development and
Conceptual Model of an Early Proterozoic Suite. Technical Cooperation
Project No. 80.2040.6: Ghanaian-German Mineral Prospecting Project.
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INTRODUCTION
Western Africa is underlain by crystalline rocks that outcrop over about 55 percent of the
subcontinent, elsewhere being buried under sedimentary rocks. Volcanic rocks constitute a
third, small group of surface rocks.
The crystalline rocks, collectively referred to as the West African shield or craton which has
remained stable since about 1.7 Ga, comprise three main types of rock assemblage namely:
The basement complexes which comprise highly deformed and contorted gneisses,
migmatites (metamorphosed and banded mixed rocks), quartzites, and amphibolites.
The supracrustal formations of phyllites, schists, banded ironstones, quartzites, and

greenstones originally laid down upon preexisting basement complexes as sedimentary
and volcanic formations, but have been folded, faulted, and metamorphosed during one
or more episodes of orogenic deformation.
The granitic intrusions, varying from several to hundreds of square miles in area, which
intruded into basement complexes and supracrustals at the end of major tectonic events.
The West African shield (Fig. 1) consists of three age provinces. The oldest part, whose
assemblages are Archean with reactivation ages older than 2.5 billion years, lies in Sierra Leone,
Liberia, and Guinea and is called the Liberian Craton. The central part - in Cte dIvoire,
Ghana, and Burkina Fasois dominated by the Birimian supracrustals, which were deposited
during the Proterozoic era and tectonized in the Eburnian event of 1.8 to two billion years ago. In
the east, beneath Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Chad, and Niger, the shield contains Archean-age
basement complexes and Proterozoic supracrustals, which were deformed and the basement
reactivated between 650 and 500 million years ago during the Pan-African thermotectonic event.
In the far west, the Rokelide and Mauritanide metamorphosed and deformed rocks of Guinea and
Sierra Leone show ages of 550 to 350 million years. The Liberian Craton and the central part
which together form the Man Shield cover the southernmost third of the West African Craton.
As elsewhere in Africa, the shield rocks contain abundant and diverse mineral resources
including iron ore, gold, rutile, bauxite, chromite, manganese, diamonds, copper, lead, zinc, and
uranium, though many occurrences are small and low-grade.
The sedimentary rocks lie on the shield in broad, shallow (a maximum of five km thick) basins to
the north and in narrow, deeper (a maximum of 12.5 km thick) basins along the coast. The rock
types include shales, sandstones, conglomerates, and limestones, which were originally deposited
in vast lakes, deltas, and shallow seas. There were three long periods of sedimentation, although
each period contained phases of erosion.
The oldest formations span the later Proterozoic to Paleozoic eras, from about one billion to
about 350 million years ago, and include sediments of two glaciations, for during parts of this
time the western African region lay close to the South Pole. These older formations were laid
down in the Volta and Taoudeni basins (the latter one of the largest sedimentary basins in the
world), and parts were involved later in the Pan-African orogenesis. The sandstones and
conglomerates are now very hard and resistant and form prominent escarpments, such as the
Volta and the Bandiagara, and plateaus, such as the Fouta Djallon and the Manding.
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Fig. 1a: Geologic-tectonic map of the Man Shield, (Modified after Tagini, 1971)
Fig. 1b: Geologic map of the West African Craton
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The second major period of sedimentation was during the Mesozoic and the early Cenozoic eras,
from 200 to 65 million years ago, when the vast inland basins of Iullmedan and Chad and the
narrower Benue basin developed. During this period the Atlantic Ocean began to open, and the
sedimentary coastal basins of Senegal, Sierra Leone, Cte dIvoire, and southern Nigeria formed
along the continental margins. Sedimentation has continued to the present (albeit with
interruptions due to vertical tectonic movements and sea level changes) on the Niger delta, in the
Chad basin, and in the coastal basins. These vast sedimentary basins contain a wide range of
mineral resources, including petroleum and natural gas (the Niger delta being among the largest
fields in the world), coal, phosphates, gypsum, uranium, and zinc.
Since the Pan-African event, igneous activity has been spatially limited. Four occurrences of
volcanic rocks are worthy of note, however and these include:
First, intrusions of basic and ultrabasic magma which occurred as sills, plugs, and dykes
in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Cte dIvoire during the early stages in the breakup
of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwanaland and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean
(200 to 175 million years ago). Today the thicker intrusions produce bold cliffs and small
plateaus.
Second, approximately 92 million years ago kimberlite dykes and plugs were intruded
from the upper mantle, also in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. Now deeply eroded,
they were the source for the diamond placer deposits in those countries.
Third, between 340 and 145 million years ago large caldera volcanoes were built in Niger
and Nigeria along a distinct northsouth axis. Most of the volcanic carapaces have since
been eroded, and the distinctive circular and ring-shaped granite plutons that fed the
volcanoes have been exposed as mountain and hill massifs. They are rich in cassiterite,
and their erosion has generated tin placer deposits that are mined in Nigeria.
Fourth, extensive volcanicity produced lava plateaus, volcanoes, plugs, craters, and
fumaroles along the mountain belt extending northeast from Mount Cameroon through
the Bambouto, Adamaoua, and Mambila Songola highlands, toward the Chad basin.
Although starting about 25 million years ago, this volcanicity has been particularly active
during the past one million years.
The last in the series of orogenic and crustal reactivation (deformation and metamorphism of
preexisting rocks) phases of the West African shield, the enigmatic Pan-African event, involved
convergence between the West African Plate and the Central Saharan Plate (which included the
shield rocks of Togo, Benin, Niger, and Nigeria), with rock deformation, granitization, and
mountain building. Since then the subcontinent has undergone only slow vertical tectonic
movements; these have caused profound erosion and the gradual exposure of the deeper parts of
the shield assemblages. Sediments from this erosion accumulated in the sedimentary covers
described above. After the Pan-African event, Africa was part of a supercontinent called
Gondwanaland, which also included South America, peninsular India, Antarctica, and
Australia. About 175 million years ago Gondwanaland began to break up along the lines of the
present continental coasts. Sedimentary basins and rift valleys developed along future separation
zones. There were several extensive marine transgressions across the low-lying eastern parts of
the West African region during the Cretaceous period, at the same time slow uplift dominated the
western parts of the shield. Gradually the Atlantic Ocean widened and during the past 65 million
years intensive weathering and erosion processes dominated most of the subcontinent.
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The Birimian supra-crustal rocks have been folded, metamorphosed and intruded by granitoids
during the Eburnean event (2.1 - 1.95 Ga).
Generally, the West African craton is bounded to the east and southwest by Pan-African mobile
belts.
Outcrops of the Birimian terminate against the Liberian cratonic nucleus in western Ivory Coast.
In southeast Ghana, the Pan-African orogeny has thrusted the Dahomeyan gneisses over the
Birimian terrain.
There are two schools of thoughts on the stratigraphy of the Birimian, based on
chronostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy.
The post-Birimian rock formations in the West African sub region are the Dahomeyan System
occupying south-eastern corner of Ghana, the Voltaian platform deposits in the eastern part of
Ghana, and the supra-crustal rocks covering parts of Mali, Senegal, Togo, Benin and Nigeria.
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GEOLOGY OF GHANA
About two-thirds of Ghana is dominated by Paleoproterozoic Birimian rocks consisting of five
evenly spaced volcanic belts trending northeast-southwest. The intervening basins between the
volcanic belts are filled by sediments. The remaining one-third is made up of post-Birimian
rocks (Fig 2).
Fig. 2: The Geological Map of Ghana
The supra-crustal rocks are highly deformed. However, the sedimentary rocks are particularly
characterized by extensive folding.
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The lavas are mainly of basaltic composition, though andesitic, dacitic and rhyolitic rocks are
also present. Some pattern of facies distribution is shown by the Birimian sedimentary basins
from the margins towards the basin centres.
The transition zone between the volcanic belts and the sedimentary basins is marked by a
chemical facies, which has of late been found to be the site of much of gold mineralization in
Ghana.
Previously it was thought that the Birimian sedimentary rocks were older than the volcanic
rocks. However, recent studies indicate that the volcanic belts and sedimentary basins are lateral
facies equivalents.
Both the volcanic belts and sedimentary basins are intruded by three types of granitoids differing
in age, mineralogy and chemistry, namely:
Granitoids in the sedimentary basins - the Cape Coast type - are dominated by two-mica
granites
Granitoids associated with the volcanic belts - the Dixcove-type - are dominated by
hornblende-bearing granites
The late K-rich granitoids (post-Tarkwaian) comprising the Bongo, Tongo and Banso
granitoids
Each of the Birimian volcanic belts contains meta-sedimentary rocks - the Tarkwaian Group
that lie unconformably over the Birimian. The Tarkwaian consists entirely of conglomerates,
sandstones, phyllites and slates derived from the Birimian country rocks.
The Birimian and Tarkwaian rocks occur mainly in the Eastern, Central and Western Regions,
including Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and the western part of the Northern and Upper Regions.
The Dahomeyan System occupies the southeastern corner of Ghana and occurs as four alternate
belts of acid and basic gneisses, trending south-southwest to north-northeast direction. A greater
part of the System forms a monotonous low-lying plain broken by isolated inselbergs and ridges
of mainly ultramafic intrusives and hills forming outliers of Togo rocks. The areas occupied by
the basic gneisses are flat (Accra Plains), while the areas occupied by the acid gneisses give rise
to gently undulating topography.
The Togo Series are made up of meta-sediments and Buem Formation dominated by meta-
sediments and metavolcanics, support a range of hills lying in the eastern corner of the country.
Undeformed, flat-lying Neoproterozoic clastic sedimentary rocks forming the Voltaian System
cover the eastern third of the country.
A strip of Paleo-Cretaceous to Tertiary sediments occurs along the coast. These consist of the
Accraian Series (in Accra area), the Sekondian Group (Elmina, Komenda and Sekondi areas),
Apollonian Formation (Tano and Keta areas), and the Amisian Formation (the Saltpond area).
An outline of the stratigraphic succession of Ghana is shown in Table 1.
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Table 1: The Stratigraphic Succession of Ghana
THE GEOLOGICAL PROVINCES OF GHANA

On the basis of age, tectonics and lithologic characteristics of the supra-crustal rocks, Ghana can
be divided into five geological domains or provinces (Fig. 3) namely:
1. The Western Unit, which lies at the eastern margin of the Precambrian West African
Shield or Craton.
2. The South Eastern Unit, which is at the southeastern part of the country belonging to the
Precambrian mobile belt.
3. The flat lying Central Unit made up mainly of the sediments of the Voltaian System.
4. The Coastal Basins
5. Tertiary to Recent deposits.
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Fig.3: Map of Ghana showing the Geological Provinces
1. THE WESTERN UNIT

Almost 45% of Ghana's area belongs to the shield area. This part consists of the Birimian
Supergroup which was deformed, metamorphosed, intruded by syn-and post granitoids during
the Eburnean orogeny which occurred 1800 million years ago, uplifted and eroded. The erosion
products were deposited as sediments of the Tarkwaian Group in long, narrow intramontane
grabens which formed due to rifting preferentially in the central portions of the northeasterly
trending Birimian belts.
THE BIRIMIAN SUPERGROUP
Rocks of the Birimian supergroup were deposited on an unknown Archean (Liberian)

basement. Outcrops of these rocks occur in the northern, western and southern parts of the
country. The Birimian has been folded, metamorphosed and in some places assimilated by
granitoid bodies. The folding is intense with dips commonly ranging from 30o-90o along NE-SW
axis. Dips between 70o-90o are more common than shallower ones. The metamorphism is
considered to be low-grade greenschist facies. However, grades of amphibolite facies are
common and grades up to granulite facies do occur in several localities.
Faulting tends to follow the strike of the folds and trends perpendicular to the latter. Jointing in
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these rocks has many orientations, but most commonly is parallel to fold and fault directions and
in a N-S direction. The Birimian rocks have been intruded by granitoids during and the later
stages of the Eburnean orogeny at or after the end of the Birimian deposition. Thus the Birimian
is considered to be somewhat older than 2000 million years.
Birimian Stratigraphy
The Birimian in Ghana is subdivided into a Meta-sedimentary and a Meta-volcanic unit.
(i) The Meta-Sedimentary Birimian Rocks
This makes up 55% of the area occupied by the whole Birimian. It is predominantly of pelitic
origin (from muds and silts with beds of coarser sediments). It is most often considered to have
been derived from Liberian type rocks as found in the nucleus of the West African Craton. These
rocks of Liberian age no longer exist in Ghana and it is possible that they were destroyed or
altered beyond recognition during the Eburnean orogeny.
The series is now represented by great thicknesses of isoclinally folded, steeply dipping,
alternating slates, phyllites, greywacke and argillaceous beds with some tuffs and lavas. Close to
granitic intrusives, the slates and phyllites have commonly been altered to quartz-biotite schist
while the impure sandstones have changed to granulites and quartz schists. There is evidence
for a shallow water depositional environment for the Lower Birimian rocks.
Divisions of The Meta-Sedimentary Birimian
The Meta-sedimentary Birimian rocks have been subdivided into 5 subseries as follows:
Subseries Composite Lithology
1. Upper Arenaceous Yellowish brown to buff and sometimes purple, massive meta-
sandstones, meta-greywackes and minor thin beds of meta-
siltstone.
2. Upper Argillaceous Predominantly yellowish-brown to ochre coloured rock

assemblages of phyllite, siltstone and their tuffaceous varieties.
3. Mid Arenaceous Meta-greywacke, meta-siltstone - phyllite assemblage which is

characteristically rhythmically bedded in the lower parts and is
also typically tuffaceous and manganiferous in the middle parts.
4. Lower Argillaceous Predominantly black, grey and dark grey phyllite interbedded with
greenish grey and buff-coloured tuffaceous phyllite.
5. Lower Arenaceous Lithic assemblage of meta-greywacke meta-sandstone, meta-

siltstone, phyllite and tuffaceous varieties of these rock types.
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(ii) Meta-volcanic Birimian.
The Meta-volcanic Birimian unconformably overlies the Meta-sedimentary Birimian and takes
up 20% of the area occupied by the whole Birimian. The series consists of great thicknesses of
basaltic and andesitic lavas, beds of agglomerates, tuff and tuffaceous sediments. Pillow lavas
have been observed frequently in the meta-volcanic Birimian.
The basic volcanics and pyroclastics have been altered largely to chloritized and epidotised rocks
that have been loosely grouped together as greenstones. Where the greenstones have been
subjected to dynamo-thermal metamorphism, they have been converted to hornblende schists and
amphibolites. Impure arenaceous sediments which have been recrystallised and resemble very
fine grained diorites grade with increasing grain size into diorites.
The meta-volcanic Birimian series is believed to represent a late phase of eugeosynclinal

deposition but it is also possible that some of the acid volcanic sub-series are related to island arc
type volcanic vents in association with relatively shallow water sediments that include meta-
conglomerates, quartzites, calcareous chlorite schists and graphitic schists.
Divisions of the Meta-volcanic Birimian
Presently the rocks of the Meta-volcanic Birimian have been subdivided into 3 main units on
lithologic basis as follows.
Subseries Composite Lithology
Basic volcanic Makes up the meta-volcanic Birimian and is further divided into
normal greenstones (metabasalt and metadolerite), amphibolite
greenstones spatially related granite intrusive of greenschists and
actinolite-chlorite greenschists.
Acid Volcanics Meta-rhyolites, quartz feldspar porphyry, felsites and quartz-

chlorite-schists.
Sedimentary Volcanics Meta-tuffaceous greywacke, quartzites, and schistose

conglomerate and grit.
Age of The Birimian
Based on several research works the Birimian has been dated between the Lower and Upper
Proterozoic era, i.e. Middle Precambrian.
The Post Birimian (Eburnean) granitoids (2200-1850 my)
Intruded into the Birimian are large masses of granitoids of uncertain ages but probably post-
Birimian or pre-Tarkwaian age.
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There are 3 main types namely:

1) Sedimentary-basin granitoids (previously called Cape Coast and Winneba type,
older, G1)
2) Volcanic-belt granitoids (Small masses of granitoids previously known as the
Dixcove type, G2)
3) Late K-rich granitoids (the rare Bongo potassic granitoids found mainly at the
northern part of the country previously known as G3 type).
These granitoids are related to the later stages of the Eburnean orogeny at or after the end of the
Birimian deposition.
(1) Sedimentary-basin granitoids ( Cape Coast-Type Granites)
These granitoids are at times well foliated, often migmatic, potash rich granitoids which take the
form of muscovite-biotite granite, granodiorite, porphyroblastic biotite gneiss, aplites and
pegmatites. The granites are characterized by the presence of many enclaves of schists and
gneisses. They are generally associated with Birimian metasediments. The Cape Coast granite
complex is believed to represent a multiphase intrusion consisting of four separate magmatic
pulses.
Small intrusive bodies related to the Cape Coast granite complexes

In coastal areas e.g. near Saltpond, over 80 pegmatite bodies occur and are clearly related to the
margin of the batholith from which they radiate for about 12 km. General mineralogical
composition includes quartz, muscovite, biotite, microcline, tourmaline, albite, almandine, beryl,
spessartitte and kaolin.
(ii) Volcanic-belt granitoids (Dixcove-type granite complex)
This complex consists of hornblende granite or granodiorite grading locally into quartz diorite
and hornblende diorite. This complex forms non-foliated discordant and semi-discordant bodies
in the enclosing country rocks, which are generally Upper Birimian meta volcanics. The Dixcove
granite is intruded along deep seated faults in three distinct phases which follow one another
from basic to acid; gabbro-diorite-granodiorite. The Dixcove complex has lower SiO2 and Al2O3
but slightly higher CaO contents than the Cape Coast granite. Another remarkable feature is its
higher Na2O/K2O ratio. Unlike the Cape Coast granite, the Dixcove granite is free of lithophile
elements such as Li, Be, Sn.
(iii) Late K-rich granitoids (The Bongo-type Granite)
These are porphyritic, hornblende-microcline plutonic granites that are locally found in northern
eastern Ghana. They are thought to be younger than the Dixcove granite.
The age of the granites falls into 2 well-defined groups. The granodiorite massives that intrude
the Birimian rocks give ages of about 2100 million years while the most abundant granites (Cape
Coast type) cut both the Birimian and Tarkwaian giving ages of about 1800 my.
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THE TARKWAIAN GROUP
Rocks of the Tarkwaian Group are concentrated mainly at the South-western part of Ghana in the
Tarkwa area where they outcrop in a NE-SW trending belt. The belt stretches from near Axim to
the edge of the Voltaian basin near Agogo, a distance of about 250km. It has a width of about
16km. Elsewhere in Ghana, the Tarkwaian occupies a portion of the Bui Syncline parallel to the
Cte dIvoire border at 8 N latitude. This other belt running from near Bepoasi in Brong-Ahafo
Region to Banda-Nkwanta in the Northern Region is about 140km and of average width of
0.8km. The Tarkwaian rocks consist of thick series of argillaceous and arenaceous sediments
(mainly arenaceous) in the lower members of the system.
The Tarkwaian Group is considered to be of shallow water continental origin derived from the
Birimian and associated granites. It is believed that the rocks were deposited in elongated intra-
cratonic basins bordered by granite-greenstone belts of the Birimian Supergroup. The sediments
were deposited in high-energy alluvial fans entering a steep-sided basin filled with fresh water.
They consist of coarse, poorly sorted, immature sediments with low roundness, typical of a
braided stream environment.
The Tarkwaian is thought to rest unconformably on the Birimian, though in some places, the
metasedimentary Birimian and the Tarkwaian are inter-folded due to post Tarkwaian orogenic
activity. In some localities no angular unconformity can be observed between the Birimian and
the Tarkwaian.
The Tarkwaian sediments have been subjected to low-grade metamorphism i.e. middle
greenschists to middle almandine-amphibolite facies. The higher grades are uncommon and often
associated with intrusive rocks. The common minerals are chlorite, sericite, zoisite, calcite,
quartz, limonite and chloritoid. The sediments must be regarded as integral part of the Eburnean
orogenic cycle of which they represent the final molasse stage.
Divisions of the Tarkwaian Group
The most accepted subdivisions of the Tarkwaian are provided by Junner, Hirst and Service
(1942) as shown in Table 2.
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Table 2. Divisions of the Tarkwaian by Junner, Hirst and Service

(1942).
System Series Thickness in Composite

metres lithology
Huni Sandstone Sandstones, grits and
(and Dompim 1370 quartzites with bands
phyllite) of phyllites.
Huni sandstone transitional

Tarkwa Phyllites 120-400 beds and green
Tarkwaian and greenish grey
chloritic and sericitic
phyllites and schists.
Tarkwa phyllite transitional

beds and sandstones,
Banket Series 120-160
quartzites, grits,
breccias and conglomerates.
Quartzites, grits and

Kawere Group 250-700 phyllites and conglomerates
Descriptions of the various Tarkwaian Units
Descriptions of the various units are provided below.
a) The Kawere Group consists typically of shallow water greenish grey, feldspathic,
carbonate-spotted quartzites, grits, breccias and conglomerates. The most conspicuous of the
group are the conglomerates with inter-bedded grits and quartzites.
The conglomerates normally consist predominantly of closely packed pebbles of very fine
grained, silicified Birimian greenstones in a matrix of quartz, feldspar, chlorite, carbonate,
epidote and magnetite. The quartzites and grits are normally greenish grey in colour and poorly
bedded.
b) Banket Series represents a fluviatile series with a thickness varying between 120-600m
being greater south and west of Tarkwa. It is essentially an accumulation of high energy, coarse
clastics, represented by conglomerates, grits, quartzites, which have suffered low-grade
metamorphism. Four reefs or conglomerate bands have been identified typical in the western and
southern parts of the Tarkwa Goldfields namely:
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Breccia Reef
Quartzite and grit
Middle Reef
Quartzite and grit
Basal or Main Reef
Quartzite and grit
Sub-basal Reef
Three of the units are persistent i.e. breccia reef, middle reef and a unit of basal conglomerates.
The Basal or Main reef is the most persistent conglomerate bed in the Tarkwa goldfields area and
is by far the richest in gold. Furthermore it is generally better sorted than the other reefs and
more uniform in thickness, composition, size and in distribution of pebbles. The matrix of the
conglomerates consists principally of quartz and sand (mainly hematite with ilmenite, magnetite
and rutile), minor constituents are sericite, chlorite, tourmaline, garnet, zircon and gold. Epidote
and pyrite are rare except near dykes, faults and quartz veins. A typical geological section of the
Banket Series is shown in Fig 4 below.
Fig 4. A typical geological section of the Banket Series.
c) Tarkwa Phyllites are divided into those with and those without chloritoid. The chloritoid
phyllites may or may not contain porphyroblasts of carbonate. The phyllites without chloritoid
vary from sandy to fine-grained lustrous types and may contain abundant magnetite and/or
hematite. Colour banding is common and is due to alternating bands of sericite or chlorite.
Another type of banding is due to alternating sandy and fine-grained material.
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d) Huni Sandstone and Dompim Phyllites: The sandstone is the weathered representation
of feldspathic quartzites, which are in general finer grained than the Banket Series quartzites.
They are grey, greenish or bluish in colour in outcrops and weather to pale grey and green. They
often show distinct magnetite banding and may be cross-bedded. Dendritic growth of Manganese
oxide is commonly seen.
Dompim phyllites and Dompim quartzites are now known to form part of Huni Sandstone and
the whole formation is over 1200m in thickness. The Dompim phyllites are separated from the
Tarkwa phyllites by quartzite and sandstone always.
Post-Tarkwaian Intrusions
The Tarkwaian System is associated with hypabassal acidic-basic igneous rocks which make up
approx. 20% of the total thickness of the system. Most of them are in the form of conformable or
slightly transgressive sills and a small percentage occur as dykes. The intrusives originally
consist of typical medium to coarse-grained gabbro essentially composed of pyroxene,
plagioclase and ilmenite.
The age of the Tarkwaian
The age of the Tarkwaian is unknown but the Group is derivative of the Birimian, perhaps
1650 - 1850 million years (Hastings, 1983).
Pretorius (1981) ascribe the age of the conglomerates of Ghana to the middle Proterozoic
age. According to Pretorius "Uranium mineralization in conglomerates in which detrital
uranite played an important role, did not continue beyond the end of the lower Proterozoic
and the terminal phases of anoxygenic conditions. At the same time, detrital pyrite, which is
by far the most abundant heavy mineral in the conglomerates, ceased to be a characteristic
component." The middle Proterozoic conglomerates of Ghana contain only gold, and no
uranium, and the common heavy mineral is detrital hematite, not pyrite. Gold mineralization
thus did continue into the middle Proterozoic, but in the upper Proterozoic both gold and
uranium are conspicuously absent from the clastic facies of the many sedimentary
sequences." Pretorius therefore places the Tarkwaian in Middle Proterozoic between 1600
and 2200 m.y.,i.e. 1900 m.y.
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THE MOBILE BELT
Rocks that make up the mobile belt of the eastern and southeastern Ghana consist of the
Dahomeyan System, the Togo Series and the Buem Formation (Fig 5).
DAHOMEYAN SYSTEM
The Dahomeyan System occupies the southeastern corner of Ghana, roughly that part of a line
drawn north-north east from Accra to intersect the Ghana-Togo boundary near Agome in Togo.
The system underlies the Accra Plains and has a total area of approximately 7,000 sqkm.
The system occurs as four alternate belts of felsic and mafic gneisses and all four belts trend in a
south-south west to north-north east direction from the coastal plains and enter Togo.
Fig 5. The four alternate belts of the Dahomeyan System
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The great bulk of the System forms a monotonous low-lying plain broken by isolated inselbergs
and ridges of ultrabasic intrusives and hills forming outliers of Togo rocks. The areas occupied
by the mafic gneisses are especially flat and areas occupied by felsic gneisses tend to give rise to
gently undulating topography.
The Dahomeyan System consists mainly of hornblende and biotite gneisses, migmatites,
granulites, schists, some of which are rich in garnet and a little marble. Intruded in the
Dahomeyan are granites, nepheline, syenite and dykes of porphyry, aplite and dolerite. The rocks
have suffered at least two phases of metamorphism. They have been intensely folded with the
fold axes striking SSW-NNE. Dips are generally high and are to the east.
The Dahomeyan System consists of Birimian or even younger (Mid Proterozoic) formations
which have been involved in the Pan African thermo-tectonic event. This event is responsible for
the extensive cataclasis affecting most of the system.
Stratigraphic succession of the Dahomeyan System
The stratigraphy of the Dahomeyan is shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Stratigraphy of the Dahomeyan
Page 19 of 61
The Basic Dahomeyan rocks
The mafic Dahomeyan rocks can be divided into two groups:

the metabasics and
the basic intrusives.
The Metabasics
This group of rocks is generally well exposed on the inselbergs. It consists of a thick series of
mafic rocks rich in ferromagnesian minerals consisting of such rock types as garnet hornblende
gneiss (dominant), garnet-hornblende-pyroxene gneiss, garnet-pyroxene gneiss with a few
minor layers of hornblende and biotite schist and gneiss at the base. The rocks are typically dark
in colour and strongly colour banded. The whole group has been subjected to intense dynamo-
thermal metamorphism as a result of which the rocks are recrystallized.
The group is described as being very uniform, coarse, sometimes massive but usually well
foliated garnet hornblende gneisses and granulites with distinctive pale coloured feldspathic
bands. They include some pyroxene gneisses.
The rocks weather into black or dark grey, calcareous clay and silt and usually contain white or
grey and nodular carbonate concretions. When wet, this clay is plastic but when dry exhibits
numerous shrinkage cracks.
The inselbergs represent remnants of uplifted areas during the Pan-African episode and although
erosion has played some role, these inselbergs are essentially tectonic blocks.
The Basic intrusives
Basic intrusives such as norite, pyroxenite and dolerite occur as sills, stocks, dykes and minor
intrusive bodies within and marginal to the metabasic rocks.
These intrusions form well defined topographical features - mainly linear ridges rising to nearly
100 metres high with distinct scarp faces on the western side and gentler slopes to the east. The
intrusions, in general, have a north-south strike and dip to the east at an angle between 15 and
30. They are thus conformable with the compositional layering of the gneiss in altitude.
The pyroxenites are typically medium to coarse-grained, greenish black, massive and
homogenous. They are melanocratic, monomineralic rocks composed entirely of pyroxene.
Essential minerals are both ortho and clino-pyroxene, greenish brown hornblende, with
occasional minor plagioclase and varying amounts of opaques and other accessory minerals. The
rock shows weak colour banding where plagioclase is present. Chromite is associated with these
pyroxenites.
The alkalic gneiss
This is predominantly feldspathoidal but also includes feldspathic and quartz bearing types which
occur as 7 to 20 metres thick layers near the contact of the basic gneiss with the first belt of the
acid gneiss. The rock type is classified into two distinct units namely:
Page 20 of 61
(a) nepheline gneiss and

(b) a pseudo-conglomerate designated the "Kpong conglomerate"
Nepheline gneiss group
Three varieties of this gneiss, are known namely
leucocratic,
mafic and
feldspar poor nepheline gneiss.
It is suggested that the nepheline gneisses have originated by the high grade metamorphism of a
section of alkaline tuffs and lavas. Parent rock of the nepheline gneiss might have been a
phonolitic tuff while the alkaline gneiss may have originated from trachytic and keratophyric tuffs
and similar alkaline rocks.
Kpong conglomerate
This conglomerate crops out in an almost continuous band from near the Niflo River westward
through Kpong and beyond the Tema Highway. In every locality where it crops out, it is found to
be intimately associated with rocks of the nepheline gneiss group.
It has been described as an unusual rock that consists of a calcite and biotite matrix enclosing
mechanically rounded inclusions of albite, alkalic gneiss and rare amphibolite. Pebbles appear to
have been mechanically broken and the fractures filled by carbonate material.
Acid (Felsic) Dahomeyan group and composite groups
These rocks occur in two alternate belts (Fig.5). The first acid belt lies to the immediate east of
the Togo range. This belt has a maximum width of nearly 35 km near the coastal plains of Accra
and extends in a north-northeasterly direction to Kpong where the width is reduced to a bare
minimum of 4 km. It continues further in a northeasterly direction and enters the Republic of
Togo. This belt encloses a series of disconnected, linear Togo quartzite outliers.
Another continuous belt of acid gneiss is sandwiched between the two basic gneiss belts. It
stretches in a north-northeasterly direction from east of Prampram and enters the Republic of
Togo. The average width of this belt is about 27 km.
In general, rocks of the acid Dahomeyan are composed of quartz, feldspar, epidote and mica.
Hornblende and garnet, in addition to quartz, feldspar, epidote and mica are the principal
minerals of the rocks of the composite groups.
Rock types of the acid Dahomeyan group are:

muscovite-biotite gneiss,
biotite gneiss,
muscovite gneiss,
Page 21 of 61
augen gneiss,
quartzo-feldspathic gneiss and
minor local amphibolites.
The composite group is made up of interbedded layers of biotite gneiss, biotite hornblende
gneiss, hornblende gneiss, epidote bearing amphibolite, mica-schist and minor mica bearing
quartzites.
The most predominant rock type in the first belt is the foliated biotite-muscovite-augen gneiss with
porphyroblasts of pale pink feldspar, intercalated with muscovite-biotite schist. The schistose
rocks become more abundant as the margins of the Togo outliers are approached.
The second belt of the acid gneiss can conveniently be divided into two major zones (Fig.5). The
western zone, with a width of nearly 10 km is mainly composed of biotite gneiss, whereas the
eastern zone is composed predominantly of hornblende-biotite-augen gneiss and migmatite.
Rocks of the acid Dahomeyan and composite groups do not form good outcrops in the savana.
Age of the Dahomeyan System
Some geologists refer to the Dahomeyan as the oldest rocks in the West Africa but no absolute
age determinations have confirmed this. Studies in Togo and Benin give 2 age groups. Firstly,
whole rock isochrons on ortho-gneiss yielded Birimian ages of 1700-2050 my.
On the other hand, biotite age determination on gneisses, migmatites and intrusive granites have
yielded a full range of Pan-African ages from 450-580 my. Thus at present there are no clues to
the actual age of the Dahomeyan System.
THE TOGO SERIES
The rocks of the Togo Series form a range of mountains and hills trending in northeast from the
Volta River between Kpong and Anum to the Ghana-Togo border near Palime. To the southwest
of the Volta, the range continues as far as west of Accra. The Ho-Abutia hills and a few other
small hills to the east of the main range are also composed of rocks of the same age and are
outliers of the Togo rocks. The Togo Series originally consisted of alternating arenaceous and
argillaceous sediments which have now been converted into phyllites, schists and quartzites
except in a few places where unaltered shales and sandstones are seen. Quartzite, quartz-sericite,
sericite-quartz schist, sericite schists and phyllites are predominant rocks but hornstones, jaspars
and hematite quartz schist also occur.
The Togo range is bounded by two major thrust faults; one with the Dahomeyan contact at its
eastern margin and the other at its western contact with the Cape Coast granite complex rocks,
the Voltaian and Buem sediments. The thrust fault along the Western flank has been referred to
as the western boundary fault and that along the eastern margin as the eastern boundary fault. (It
is stated that the contact at the Togo Series and the underlying Dahomeyan was originally
sedimentary. About 1.5m thick conglomeratic sandstone has been observed to occur at this
contact in several localities. Apart from this the contact is largely tectonic and it is represented
Page 22 of 61
by the Eastern boundary fault). The Togo beds have been subjected to intensive directed pressure
metamorphism resulting in intense folding, fracturing and faulting. Isoclinal folding with the
axial planes of the folds inclined to the east-south-east at 30-60 O. Recumbent folds with dips less
than 30 O sometimes occur. The general structure appears to be geosynclinal in the central and
western flanks of the Togo range. There is no evidence of intrusives. Metamorphism in the Togo
Series ranges from greenschist to amphibolite facies.
Although the Togo Series is in some places, strongly veined by quartz, particularly in the
schistose argillaceous types, there is scarcity of gold in the gravels of streams that drain the
series suggesting that the quartz veins are generally barren.
Classification of the Togo Rocks

The Togo rocks have been classified as shown in Table 4 with the youngest at the top
Table 4. Stratigraphic divisions of the Togo Series
.
Argillaceous group
The group consists of phyllonites, phyllites and chlorite schists. The highly siliceous
phyllites are termed phyllonites in more precise metamorphic terminology as they show
cataclastic textures. The phyllites range from white to greenish grey, reddish brown and
bluish black. Whenever they have been mapped, they constitute the lowest member of the
Togo Series.
Arenaceous group
The group consists of two major members namely:
cataclastic quartzites and
micaceous quartzites.
Page 23 of 61
These are of the same age. Their lithologic differentiation is one of degree of
metamorphism.
The bulk of Togo Series is composed of the cataclastic quartzites. The micaceous
quartzites occur east of the East Boundary Fault as outliers of the Togo on low hills
within the Dahomeyan, Abutia hills, other hills in the Ho-Juapong area, and low hills of
Dodowa, Afienya, Dawhenya areas, Legon Hill, Achimota Railway crossing and other
places are all capped by micaceous quartzites of the Togo Series.
Serpentinites
Serpentinites of the Togo Series occur in association with quartz-schists and quartz-
chlorite-schists in a few localities. They also occur along the thrust plane of the West
Boundary Fault at the base of the Togo. These rocks have been inter preted as alpine
serpentinites emplaced at the base of the Formation where it is thrust over the Buem group.
.
Age of the Togo
It is opined that the Togo Series is younger than the Dahomeyan System but older than the Buem
Formation.
THE BUEM FORMATION
The Buem Formation crops at the northern and northwestern parts of the Togo Series. It consists
of calcareous, argillaceous, sandy and ferruginous shales, sandstones, arkose, greywacke and
conglomerate, with basaltic, andesitic and trachytic lavas, agglomerates, tuffs and jaspars.
o
The formation is highly folded along N-S lines and the beds generally dip to the east at 10 -90
with an average of 60 -65 o.
Normally, the Buem Formation is unmetamorphosed but in the fault zone along the Buem-Togo
contact, it is frequently sheared and schistose. Small masses of basic igneous rocks (dolerite &
gabbro) intrude the formation in the vicinity of the Buem-Togo contact.
Stratigraphic Succession of the Buem Formation
Table 4. illustrates the stratigraphic succession of the Buem as proposed by Jones (1979).
Page 24 of 61
Table 4: Stratigraphic Succession of the Buem Formation as proposed by Jones (1979)

Unit Maximum Locality Description
Thickness
B7 Upper Massive Shiene Hills, Massive sandstone with

Sandstone/Iron- 6000 m Santrokofi Hills, horizons of jasper and
stone/Jasper Tafi Agome Hills, sedimentary ironstone.
Eastern Tutukpene Ironstone well develo
Hills ped at Shiene.
B6 Upper Shales 14000 m Dayi Valley, Red brown shale with
Bompa Valley sandstone horizons.
B5 Lower Massive 8000 m Kpandu Hills, Massive,structureless
Sandstone Togo Plateau feldspathic sandstone,
Western Tutukpene sometimes conglomeratic
Hills with fragments of quartz,
sandstone and shale.
B4 Limestone/ 3000 m West side of Magnesian limestone rare

Jasper/Tillite Kpandu Hills and except near Volta gorge.
Togo Plateau Jasper formed from limestone
0-500 m thick. Tillite of angular
pebbles in silty matrix only on
western scarp of Togo Plateau.
Thin volcanic horizon near
top. Thick sandstone at base.
B3 Volcanic 5000 m Low ground bet- Basal pillow lavas followed
Group ween the lake by feldsparphyric basalts.
and the western- Then oli vinephyric and
most hills from basalts. A few rhyolite
Aveme to Tapa flows. Agglomerate and
Tuff locally impotant. Some
intercalated sandstone.
B2 Lower Shale 5500 m Mostly under Brown or purple shale and
the lake sandstone
B1 Akroso 250 m Islands and Well rounded clasts up

Conglomerate peninsulas to 70 cm diameter, mostly green
along the arkosic sandstone and quartzite
centre of the but with a few pebbles of chert
lake. jasper, quartz, phyllite, granite
porphyry and limestone
(Junner & Hirst 1946).
Page 25 of 61
THE VOLTAIAN SYSTEM

The sediments of the inland Voltaian Basin cover an area of 103,600 sq km and forms the third
of the geological divisions of Ghana. Almost one-third of the area of Ghana is covered by these
horizontal sandstones, shale, mudstones and conglomerates considered to be late Precambrian to
Paleozoic age.
The system has a total thickness of between 3000-4000 m and rest unconformably on the lower
Proterozoic Birimian Supergroup and related granitoids and on the lower to middle Protozoic-
Tarkwaian Group. The latter two have been strongly eroded into a peneplain at the time of the
Voltaian transgression.
Stratigraphic Divisions
The classification of these sediments have been difficult due largely to
i) Apparent lack of fossils in the sediments as only some decorticated fragments of plants
and worm-tracks are observed.
ii) Lateral facies changes and overlaps resulting from movements during deposition.
However, the Voltaian sediments have been subdivided on the basis of lithology and field
relationships into Lower, Middle and Upper units as follows:
Voltaian Units Composite Lithology
Upper Voltaian Massive, cross-bedded sandstone series in places,

beds of shale & mudstones.
Middle Voltaian Red, greenish grey argillaceous and conglomeratic

series.
Lower Voltaian Basal sandstone Series.
Depositional history and age of the Voltaian
The Voltaian sediments were deposited on the stable West African Craton which represented the
fore land of the Pan-African Dahomeyan orogeny. Epirogenetic uplifts and glacial erosion have
resulted in two unconformities. The environment of deposition points to quite shallow marine
one with marginal lagoonal areas periodically cut off from the sea for long periods.
The thickness of sediments is about 3,000-4,000 m. The basin gradually deepens towards the
eastern margin. The age is quite controversial but the system is said to range from Upper
Proterozoic to Paleozoic (620-1000 million years).
Page 26 of 61
The Voltaian System and the Buem Formation
Some geologists point out that the Buem formation is synchronous with the Middle Voltaian
sediments but the following reasons tend to dispute this
1. The Buem formation is made up of eugeosynclinal sediments consisting of greywackes,

feldspathic sandstone, shale and volcanics (basalts, andesites, agglomerates and tuffs) whereas
the Voltaian System is made up of (unmetamorphosed) siltstone, sandstone, shale, limestones,
deposited in an interior cratonic basin.
2. The Buem formation is completely folded whereas the Voltaian System is only gently
folded.
3. In the northeast of Ghana, the Buem feldspathic sandstones, mudstones and shales dip at
50-90 to the east and are overlain unconformably by thick beds of coarse conglomerates.
4. The average dip of the Voltaian is 5 o whereas that of Buem formation is 45 o.
5. There is a complete lack of fossils in the Buem Formation.
THE COASTAL SEDIMENTARY BASIN
At several places along the coast from Aflao in the extreme SE to Newtown in the extreme SW
corners of Ghana respectively, are coastal sedimentary basins. These include from the extreme
east to the extreme west, the following;
a) Keta Basin b) Accraian Series

c) Amissian Formation d) Sekondi Series
e) Apollonian Formation (Tano Basin)
1. Keta Basin
The Keta Basin lies at the extreme SE corner of Ghana adjoining Togo. It is the westernmost
extremity of the coastal basin that extends westward from the Niger delta into eastern Ghana.
The rocks of the basin comprise mainly sands, gravels, siltstones, shales, and clays with layers of
fossiliferous limestone. The rocks near the surface have been found to have a gentle dip of about
2o towards the SE. The rocks of the basement are unknown but assumed to be the Dahomeyan,
similar to that cropping out to the north of the basin.
The Keta Basin has on the whole a tectonic block structure bounded by a fault or fault systems
on its northern flank. The trend is essentially NE-SW but in the western half of the area
becoming NNE-SSW and at the Southern part E-W.
Three onshore and on offshore oil wells have been drilled in the Keta Basin. Hydrocarbon shows
were recorded in two of them.
Page 27 of 61
Stratigraphy
Unit Lithology and thickness Age
I Beach deposits of sands & gravels (30m -60m) Recent
Unconformity Miocene
II Glauconitic, fossiliferous clays (180m)
Unconformity Eocene
III Calcareous clays interbedded with fossiliferous limestones Paleocene
(250m-700m)
IV Bentonic clays, fossiliferous
(120m 240m)
V Bluish- grey clays, fossiliferous, interbedded with

limestone (45m-60m)
Unconformity
VI Brown, reddish brown, grey, fine to medium grained Cretaceous

sandstone with subordinate shales (400m-550m)
VII Grey, greyish-white, coarse to medium grained

sandstone, gravels interbedded with mudstones, shales
(370m)
VIII Greenish grey poorly sorted sandstone, siltstone, shale Devonian
(580m)
Dolerite 70m
IX Dark grey, micaceous often varve-like shales & siltstone,
fossiliferous (610m)
The above stratigraphic sequence indicate that rocks of Devonian, Cretaceous, Paleocene,
Eocene, Miocene to recent age are all represented in this basin.
Page 28 of 61
2. Accraian Series
The Accraian Series covers an area of about 11.7 sq km in the vicinity of Accra and
unconformably overlies the Dahomeyan basement complex. The series consists of quartz-grits,
gentle folded sandstone, shale and mudstones. The total thickness of the series is unknown due to
the extensive faulting in the area which has obscured the relationship of the various rock units.
Fossils found in the series were attributed to Middle Devonian on the resemblance to North-
American fauna of that age.
The Accraian is subdivided as follows:
a) Upper Sandstone & shale formation.

b) Middle shale formation.
c) Lower sandstone formation with basal grit.
(i) Lower Sandstone formation
This extends from the headland near Osu Fishery in the east to 300m west of Christiansborg
Castle. The rocks are essentially sandstones with subordinate amounts of coarser materials such
as grits, breccias and pebble beds as well as shales. Beds are conspicuously current bedded and
some bedding surfaces are either massive or thinly bedded. The sandstones dip S-SW at 30 and
its contact with the Dahomeyan is an unconformity.
(ii) Middle Shale formation
The shales have yielded fossils which consist almost exclusively of trilobites and lamellibranch.
These are represented by cast and impressions.
(iii) Upper Sandstone-Shale formation
This interbedded formation consists of thin, fine grained quartzitic sandstones alternating with
argillaceous shales. The individual beds are never greater than 30 cm in thickness.
Age: from Lower-Middle Devonian
3. Amisian Formation
The Amisian outcrops at a number of places along the coast near the mouth of the Amisa River
which flows into the sea between Saltpond and Winneba. The Amisian consists of a series of
interbedded, soft pebbly grits, conglomerates, micaceous sandstones, arkose and greenish grey
clay. It has a general dip of 5 to 20 to the NNW. The deposits are poorly sorted and in places
strongly cross-bedded with the cross-bedding showing that the source of the materials was from
the sea. The sediments are largely derived from weathered granite, Birimian phyllites, gneisses
and Togo quartzites and pebbles.
Age
Fossil remains of brachiopods and crustaceans as well as scattered plant remains indicate Upper
Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous age.
Page 29 of 61
4. SEKONDI SERIES
The Sekondi Series consists mainly of sandstones, shale with conglomerates, pebble beds, grits
& mudstones resting with a major unconformity on a complex of granites, gneisses and schists.
The series occur as several disconnected outcrops along the coast between Cape Coast and the
mouth of the Butre River near Dixcove. It extends inland for a distance varying from 3 to 6 km
and covering an area of approximately 200 sq km. The total thickness of the series is about 1200-
1350m.
Stratigraphy
Six formations symbolized S1 -S 6 (Crow, 1952) are now recognized and the general classification
based on the occurrence of the Series at Sekondi-Takoradi is as follows:
S6 Sekondi Sandstone Thickness (m)

(b) Upper-pebbly argillaceous and feldspathic
sandstones and conglomerates
(a) Lower-massive quartzose sandstones and grits
with subordinate shales and mudstones 304,8
S5 Efia Nkwanta beds
(c) Upper-thin bedded siltstone, shale, shaly sandstone, and
some coarse sandstone with nodules, bands and lenses of chert 26
(b) Middle friable sandstone, well bedded and massive, with
interbedded mudstone and shale 96
(a) Lower-cross bedded, soft, fine-grained, pale purple, pink, grey,
green, and cream sandstone 91
S4 Takoradi Shales
Black and grey carbonaceous shales, sandy shales, and shaly
sandstone, with interbedded grit and fine-grained sandstone
with nodules of siderite and pyrite .. .. 198
S3 Takoradi Sandstone
(b) Massive and bedded friable ferruginous sandstone
with coarse-grained beds, breccia-conglomerate, and inter-bedded
shales 152
(a) Thin-bedded, brittle, micaceous sandstone with sandy shale and.
some clay shale 30
S2 Elmina Sandstone
Chocolate and purple feldspathic, micaceous sandstone, with coarse
sandstone, conglomerate, shale and mudstone near the base. 304-366
S1 Ajua Shales
Varved shales, sandy shales, and sandstones containing scattered
boulders and pebbles with a coarse boulder bed at the base 43-60
MAJOR UNCONFORMITY
Hornblende-granite of the Dixcove type. Biotite-granite of the Cape Coast
type. Biotite and hornblende-gneiss, schist, and granulite (metamorphosed
Birimian)
Page 30 of 61
S1 Adjua Shales
These are the lowest formation of the Sekondi Series and rest directly on underlying crystalline
rocks. They consist of thin bedded, black or grey shales, with arenaceous laminations and beds of
grit. The formation becomes more sandy at the top. Underlying the typical shales is a basal series
which is up to 4-6m in thickness and consists of boulder beds, conglomerates, shales and
sandstones. Scattered pebbles and boulders occur throughout the formation.
There occurs throughout the formation, coarse, clastic fragments of rocks of all types - granite,
diorite, quartz porphyry, quartz, Birimian greenstone and tuff, Tarkwaian quartzite and
sandstone. These boulders vary greatly in size and shape from round to sub-angular and angular.
The shales are varved with the varves compacted under the larger pebbles & boulders. The shales
are strongly ripple marked. No fossils are observed though.
S2 Elmina Sandstone
The Elmina Sandstone is uniform, hard, massive, medium grained sandstone with a characteristic
chocolate or chocolate purple colour due to the pink feldspars and the dark brown limonitic
cement. It is poorly bedded, well jointed and strongly cross-bedded. It tends to be coarser grained
at the base of the formation while it is thin bedded and somewhat shaly at the top.
S3 Takoradi Sandstone
This forms the lower part of the Takoradi beds. Where fresh, these massive and bedded
sandstones are cream coloured and dark, rusty brown. The mineral content is predominantly
quartz with angular grains but well sorted. The sandstone displays perfect subaqueous cross-
bedding. The base is fossiliferous yielding poorly preserved brachiopods, lamellibranchs and fish
remains.
S4 Takoradi Shales
Takoradi shales form the upper part of the Takoradi beds. These shales are hard, compact, black
or very dark grey, fissible or sandy shales rich in carbonaceous matter. The shales contain thin
bands of brittle bitumen and traces of oil. (A slight oil smell can sometimes be detected if the
shales are heated or struck with a hammer) They have been found to contain unusual sulphate
minerals such as jarosite and halotrichite. They also contain discoidal nodules of compact finely
granular, grey siderite or clay ironstone. Calcite and gypsum occur as vienlets traversing the
shale and siderite nodules and along the bedding planes. The shales are fossiliferous yielding
lamellibranchs, brachiopods, gastropods and fish remains.
S5 Effia Nkwanta Beds
These rocks are a variety of rock types and are characterised by bright colours. They are divided
into lower, middle & upper beds.
Lower Effia-Nkwanta beds are fine grained, soft, cross-bedded and ripple marked
sandstone with a characteristic floury texture on weathered surfaces.
Middle Efia-Nkwanta beds are friable, quartzose sandstone, well bedded, massive with
interbedded mudstone and shale. They are generally brighter pink or orange.
Page 31 of 61
Upper Effia-Nkwanta beds consist of well bedded, purple, pink, grey and green shales
and siltstone with some mudstone, fine grained sandstone and a few coarse grained beds.
Characteristic feature of the beds is the presence of grey and white chert which occurs in
thin bands or as rounded nodules. In either case the minerals are distributed along
bedding planes.
S6 Sekondi Sandstones
are divided into Upper and Lower beds.
Lower sandstone is thick, massive, cross-bedded, orange pink. It contains

abundant scattered fragments of chert, frequently angular flakes irregularly
oriented.
Upper sandstone is soft, argillaceous and feldspathic with pebbles: generally of a
chocolate or pink colour. The pebbles are generally well rounded consisting of
white quartz, lesser amounts of greenstone, green quartzite, phyllite and chert.
The rocks are poorly graded and are sufficiently resistant to weathering.
Structure
The Sekondi area consists of a network of tensional faults forming a mosaic of fault
blocks. Folding is virtually absent within the Series except for local flexuring close to and
resulting from the faults. There is no strongly marked tectonic direction alth ough the
larger faults show a tendency to strike parallel to the coast in northeast-southwest or east-
northeast to west-southwest directions. The faults are nearly always down-thrown on the
seaward side.
Fauna, flora and the age of the Sekondi Series
A surprising feature of the rocks of the Sekondi Series is the paucity of fossils. Fossils
have so far been found only in Takoradi Shales and in the Takoradi Sandstone. It is
certain, however, that the Sekondi Series is either Devonian or Carboniferous (Crow, 1952).
THE APOLLONIAN FORMATION
These are Cretaceous-Eocene marine sedimentary rocks which occur in the eastern portion of a
crescent-shaped basin along the Atlantic coast that occupies southwestern corner of Ghana and a
larger portion of southeastern Ivory Coast. The Ghana portion also known as the Tano Basin
covers 1,165sqkm between the mouths of the Ankobra River in the east and the Tano River in
the west (96km).
The rocks consist of alternating sands, clays and limestones. In depth, the sands and clays are
more compact and pass into sandstone and shale. Nodules of pyrite or marcasite are common in
the clays and shales.
Page 32 of 61
The only prominent stratigraphic marker of the area is a series of thin, highly fossiliferous
limestone. Boreholes drilled show the sediments dipping to the south or southwest at 1-3 and oil
shows have been recorded from this area.
Stratigraphy
Unit No. Lithology & thickness Age

I Beach deposits of loose sands with Recent
intercalation of clays and shaly clays.
(Thickness 100-215m)
Unconformity
II Fossiliferous limestone with interbedded
black shales (45-120m)
Unconformity
III Sandstone with minor shales and limestones
(610-915)
IV Main conglomerates (23-76m) Cretaceous
Unconformity
V Grey-green, fine-medium grained sandstone with
minor shales (300-325m)
VI Black carbonaceous shales (100-450m)
Unconformity
VII Siltstone with numerous pebbles & cobbles of
igneous & metamorphic rocks (225m)
VIII Greyish to greenish sandstone and shale (1200m)
INTRUSIVE ROCKS
Basic and ultrabasic igneous intrusives
Metamorphosed basic rocks probably of intrusive origin are located throughout the Birimian
and Tarkwaian areas. These bodies cut across the structures in the surrounding schists and
quartzites with the long axes of the bodies randomly orientated.
The rocks usually have large grain sizes and vary in composition from feldspar-hornblende
rocks to almost monomineralic hornblendite. Contained in the basic gneissic Dahomeyan are
typically medium to coarse-grained, greenish-black, massive intrusives, which in general, have
a north-south strike. The rocks are usually pyroxenites. These intrusions form well-defined
topographical features, generally rounded ridges rising to heights of 90 metres or above with
distinct scarp faces. The intrusions may be classified in accordance with their age and
composition as follows:
(a) Post-Devonian and post-Carboniferous basic dykes.

(b) Post-Buem and pre-Voltaian intrusions of serpentinite, pyroxenite, peridotite,
gabbro and dolerite.
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(c) Post-Tarkwaian laccoliths, sills and dykes of gabbro, norite and dolerite.
(d) Metamorphosed pre-Tarkwaian gabbro, norite, serpentinite, peridotite, pyroxenite
and dolerite.
The intrusions of groups c and d are most common and have the largest dimensions. Those
of group b are next in order of importance and those of group a are rare and small. The
intrusions of the last groups, i.e. a and b ,are metamorphosed with the degree of metamorphism
generally varying with their age.
There are two main types of dolerite dykes, (1) ordinary dolerites and (2) olivine dolerites.
These appear to belong to groups b, c and d although the age of these dykes is in doubt.
Post-Tarkwaian granitic rocks
Granites and granite gneisses cover about one-fifth of the total area of Ghana. They are
found mainly in the northern, western, southwestern and southern parts of the country and
are believed to be postBirimian and pre-Tarkwaian in age (Fig.6).
These "granites" are a heterogenous association of rocks with a wide range of chemical
and mineralogical compositon. They include aplites, diorites, granodiorites, adamellites,
syenites, granites (sensu stricto), granitic gneisses and pegmatites.
The dominant ferro-magnesian mineral may be hornblende, alone or with biotite, or
muscovite alone.
Texturally, the rocks vary from very fine-grained to coarse-grained. They may be massive,
porphyroblastic, foliated or gneissic and can show preferred orientation in the field. Some
have been severely altered whilst others are fresh and unaltered.
They vary from beautiful black and white rocks to dark greenish. Granites and granite gneisses
cover about one-fifth of the total area of Ghana. They are found mainly in the northern,
western, southwestern and southern parts of the country and are believed to be postBirimian
and pre-Tarkwaian in age (Fig.6).
These "granites" are a heterogenous association of rocks with a wide range of chemical and
mineralogical compositon. They include aplites, diorites, granodiorites, adamellites, syenites,
granites (sensus stricto), granitic gneisses and pegmatites.
Texturally, the rocks vary from very fine-grained to coarse-grained. They may be massive,
porphyroblastic, foliated or gneissic and can show preferred orientation in the field.
These "granites" have been divided into three main groups. These are (1) the Cape
Coast or (G1); (2) the Dixcove or (G2); and (3) the Bongo.
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Fig 6. Granitic Areas of Ghana
The Cape Coast granite (G1) is older than the Dixcove and is mainly a biotite and
muscovite granodiorite and pegmatites with biotite schist pendants. It occurs in very
large batholiths (such as those of Cape Coast and Kumasi) as well as in smaller masses.
The Dixcove (G2) granite is typically developed in the area between Axim, Akoko and
Takoradi and also has a wide distribution. The granite is normally a biotite and/or
hornblende granodiorite. Although the Dixcove granite has been inferred to be
younger than the Cape Coast granite, it has never been found to intrude it. However,
granites similar to members of the Dixcove suits have been observed within biotite gneiss
of the Cape Coast type in many scattered areas throughout Ghana.
In general, it has been observed that throughout Ghana, the Lower
Birimian sediments are associated with the Cape Coast complex and the
Upper Birimian volcanics with hornblende granodiorites of the Dixcove
type.
Differences between the G1 and G2 types.

The Dixcove granite is typically-unfoliated While the Cape Coast; granite is usually
gneissic and often migmatitic.
The Na/K ratio is higher in the Dixcove granites than in the Cape Coast granites.
The feldspars in the Dixcove granites are severely altered, while in the Cape Coast
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granites they can be fresh.

There is usually a large metamorphic aureole associated with the Cape Coast granites.
The Bongo granites are mainly reddish microcline granites found mainly in the Upper
Region of Ghana in the Tongo and Bongo areas. Their /relationship with the Coast and Dixcove
granites is still unknown.
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ECONOMIC MINERAL DEPOSITS OF GHANA

Mineral deposits of economic value that occur in Ghana include gold, manganese, bauxite and
diamonds. Large deposits of iron ore of medium quality are also known.
The Birimian rocks are the most important in Ghana for minerals such as gold, diamond, bauxite,
manganese and iron. For example, the following gold belts and gold districts are associated with
the Birimian rocks.
a). Prestea Belt

b). Akropong Belt
c). Obuasi Belt
d). Obuom and Konongo Belts
e). Asankragwa-Manso Nkwanta Belts
f). Tokoase and Bibiani Belts
g). Sefwi and Sunyani district Belts
h). Sekondi, Axim and Tarkwa Belts
i). Cape Coast, Saltpond and Winneba Belts
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1 GOLD
Occurrence
There is a wide spread occurrence of gold in the Birimian and Tarkwaian rocks of Ghana. The
three main types of auriferous deposits are:
i) The reef, vein or lode-type gold deposits.

ii) Auriferous quartz-pebble conglomerates.
iii) Recent alluvial and eluvial deposits all associated with rocks of the Birimian Supergroup
and Tarkwaian Group.
(i) The Reef, vein or lode-type gold deposits
This type of gold is associated with quartz veins or any gold bearing lode or dyke. This type of
gold deposit is associated with rocks of the Birimian Supergroup. It occurs in five distinct forms
as namely:
Auriferous quartz veins which cut the Birimian Supergroup
Veins and stockworks in granite porphyries which intrude the Birimian
Sulphide ores which have arisen through mineralization of the country rocks in the
Birimian Supergroup
Oxidized ores which have been concentrated by chemical and mechanical weathering of
gold-bearing veins
Pegmatite dykes associated with the granitic rocks in the Birimian
(a) Auriferous quartz veins or reefs which cut the Birimian System
This type is the most important source of gold in Ghana and occurs as intrusive veins in phyllites
and greenstones in the Birimian. The veins occur at two main places.
near or/at the contact of the Metasedimentary and Metavolcanic Birimian rocks.
as reefs within the Birimian (Prestea -Obuasi- Konongo belt)
The lodes or reefs range from a fraction of a metre to 30 metres or more in width and a few
metres to several metres in length. The lodes consist essentially of quartz with little ankerite
{CaCO3(Mg,Fe,Mn)CO3}, pyrite, arsenopyrite, sericite, graphite, galena, pyrrhotite, sphalerite
and gold. The sulphides and the gold often occur in fractures in sheared and shattered quartz. The
bulk of the gold is carried in smoky grey sheared and laminated quartz. Two other types of vein
quartz that exist are the hard, milky-white quartz which carries some gold but generally of low
grade and the barren, glassy quartz which occurs in small veins filling tension cracks in the
aforementioned types.
The host rocks are usually dull black phyllites which were originally carbon bearing muds. The
reefs are lenses generally rich in gold where they are long and wide. They are poor in gold where
they are short and narrow. The lenses are often a few 100m apart longitudinally and are up to
1000m or more in depth. There is rarely any payable ore in the channels between the lenses.
In most of the most payable reefs the gold occurs in fractures, in sheared and shattered quartz
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which readily disintegrate on weathering and rarely forms outcrops. The barren quartz often
makes prominent outcrops.
Examples of these reef type of gold deposits are found in Obuasi and Prestea.
b) Veins and stockworks in granite porphyries which intrude the Birimian
Auriferous quartz veins in Dixcove granite and porphyry and in granodiorite and diorites occur
in many parts of the country. The values are generally low. Examples can be found the former
Atta Gold Mines near Dunkwa and Mpasatia Mine near Kumasi.
c) Sulphide ores in mineralized rocks in the Birimian
Mineralised country rocks of the Birimian consisting of tuffaceous phyllites within the green
stones series have been found to be an important source of sulphide ores. The tuffs can be up to
30m or more in width and range from a few 1000m to many 1000's of metres in strike length and
carry disseminated and thin stringers of pyrite and arsenopyrite with small amounts of gold e.g.
in Prestea and Obuasi. Recent studies have shown that the mineralized Birimian tuffs occur in a
specific stratigraphic horizon.
d) Oxidised ores
These have been concentrated by chemical and mechanical weathering of gold-bearing veins.
These oxidised ores are very close to the surface in the residual above the water-table within an
average depth of about 30-80m. They are highly lateritic full of iron oxide, clays, weathered
mica and quartz pebbles. The gold is free milling and very fine, eg. Pepe (Tarkwa), Blackies &
Tom Collins (Obuasi) & Obenemasi quarry.
e) Pegmatite dykes associated with the granitic rocks in the Birimian
Lode gold can be found in pegmatite dykes a few metres or less in thickness. The gold occurs in
the free state or is mixed with pyrites eg Mankwadze - Winneba district.
Distribution of veins & lode type deposits
This type of deposits are found commonly
i) in the vicinity of the boundary between the metavolcanic and metasedimentary Birimian
rocks
ii) where metavolcanic Birimian greenstones are intruded by Dixcove granite or porphyry
iii) where metavolcanic Birimian greenstones are in close proximity to manganese deposits
iv) where the metasedimentary Birimian is intruded by Dixcove granites.
Generally the older granite (Cape Coast) and the more highly metamorphosed Birimian
rocks do not contain gold deposits.
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Areas of smoky and bluish grey mineralised quartz, containing partings, streaks & fragments of
the altered wall rocks are more favourable for gold mineralization than areas where white and
glassy quartz are found. Arsenopyrite needles and galena are good indicators of gold but in some
ores, the gold is associated with pyrite or tourmaline also. Gold frequently occurs in fractures in
sheared and shattered quartz reefs, commonly as elongated flat bodies of irregular shape and
thickness that lie along and within shear zones.
Genesis of vein and lode-type gold deposits
The mineralised reefs are associated with deep-seated overthrust fault channels and shear zones
along the margins of synclines and particularly along the contact between meta-volcanic
Birimian greenstones and metasedimentary Birimian phyllites. The quartz reefs contained in this
zone were unquestionably formed after the initial period of shearing, but shearing continued after
the reefs were formed. The gold mineralization came from external sources for, in all the
mineralized reefs, there is a very close association of gold and pyrite or arsenopyrite. It is shown
that the gold is present as minute specks within the sulphides - the gold and sulphides were
formed during the period of mineralized solutions permeating upwards through the shear zone
from a deep seated & probably magmatic source were responsible for mineralization of the
shattered zones. Thus the degree of mineralization depends not only on physicochemical factors
such as alkalinity and strength of the solution, temperature and lithology of the wall rocks, but
also on the rate of flow of the solvent through the zone it was mineralizing. In the relatively open
fracture and crushed zones, the rate of flow would have been greater than through zones of
sheared, less competent rocks such as phyllites and greenstones
ii) Auriferous quartz-conglomerates

The auriferous quartz-pebble conglomerates occur within the Tarkwaian Group. The Banket
formation is economically the most important member of the Tarkwaian Group as it contains the
auriferous conglomerates. The gold is mostly concentrated in the basal 20 cm of the lowermost
horizon and the highest contents are associated with well-sorted and well-packed hematite-rich
conglomerates which occur in the thinner horizons. These where enriched with hematite, contain
the most gold. The gold is very fine grained and free. The pay streaks are in the form lenses
better-developed and better-sorted conglomerate up to 150 m wide and 100 m in depth. The gold
content and the number of conglomerate bands are lower in the middle horizon than the
lowermost rudites and are even lower in the uppermost horizon.
These reefs have a similarity to those of the great Witwatersrand and the banket reefs of the
Transvaal, South Africa.
Origin of gold in the conglomerates

The gold in the Tarkwaian System is generally believed to be of placer origin. It is not uniformly
distributed through the Banket and very often, has its highest values along the contact. This is in
accordance with the placer origin hypothesis, since the gold would become concentrated in the
bottom parts of the pebble and shingle beds over which the river flowed. Other factors such as
the river flow rate in different parts of its course, uneven distribution at bands and sudden floods
due to torrential rain will have played their part in the patchy and uneven occurrences of the
values which are quite characteristic of the Banket deposit. The Banket reefs are essentially low
grade and mining has to be carried out in a very large scale, at a high level of efficiency if an
Page 40 of 61
economically viable operation is to be achieved.

Evidence favours the source of the gold as having been derived from the Birimian schist which
forms the basement of the Tarkwaian System. No clear origin has been defined for the abundant
hematite that is intimately associated with the gold. Uplift of folds to the east of the Tarkwaian
belt created a westerly paleo-slope toward depressed tracts developed over synclines. Erosional
debris from the positive areas accumulated in the synclinal basins and at one particular interval
of time, the process of sedimentation led to the reworking and winnowing of sand-supported
gravels to produce significant concentration of gold in the matrices of the graves.
iii) Recent placer gold deposits.
Both alluvial and eluvial gold deposits occur in Ghana. The alluvial deposits however are the
most common and occur in gravels of streams, river flats, old valleys and on terraces and in
beach sands and gravels. They are derived mainly from the primary vein and lode-type deposits
associated with the Birimian. Important alluvial gold deposits can be found in most of the rivers
draining the Birimian rocks
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DIAMOND
Diamond is the crystalline form of the element carbon developed by nature under critical
conditions of heat and pressure.
There are four principal diamondiferous areas in Ghana.
1). The Birim diamond field 2). The Bonsa diamond field
3). The Dunkwa/Jimi field 4). The Nyafomang field.
Fig 8. Location of Diamondiferous Areas in Ghana
The Birim diamond field is at present responsible for almost all the diamonds won in Ghana and
are therefore treated here. The Birim diamond field is located in the Birim valley in the Akim
Abuakwa and Western Akim traditional areas in the Eastern region. The producing mines are all
situated within 10km of the Birim River and occur along 80km stretch between Kade and the
Birim river confluence with the Pra River. More than 98% of all diamonds produced in Ghana
Page 42 of 61
have been won from the alluvial deposits in the Birim Valley and the remaining Birim valley
diamonds have been won from deposits found in rather patchy zones and a stretch from Oda to
beyond the Pra-Birim confluence. Apparently, the deposits extend nowhere more than 3-5km
from the Birim River.
Geology
The rocks of the diamond field may be classified as follows, in order of age, the oldest being at
the bottom of the table.
Superficial deposits (Pliocene to Recent) Gravels, sands, clays, laterite and soils
Basic intrusives of uncertain age Dolerite, epidiorite other basic sills and dykes
Acid intrusives of post Birimian Older and younger granite, aplite, prophyry,
pegmatite and quartz veins.
Metasedimentary Birimian Greywacke, phyllites, tuff, schists and basic

hypabyssal and extrusive green rocks
For most of its course, the Birim river flows in a more or less open valley developed in the
Lower Birimian phyllites, schists, tuffs and greywackes. The strike of the rocks in the diamond
field varies from N to E and averages a few kilometers before the Birim river joins the Pra river,
the rocks have been recrystallised and the foliations tend to conform with the direction of the
contact. Majority of dips are between 70 90O SE.
Fig 9. Divisions of the Birim River
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The Birim River in mining terminology is divided into 3 sections.
i) The Upper Birim from the Supong confluence up to the northern limit of the just above
Kade.
ii) The Middle Birim from Aduasa Narrows up to the Supong confluence.
iii) The lower Birim from Pra confluence to the Aduasa Narrows.
For the past 60 years, mining of diamonds in Akwatia areas has been concentrated in the Upper
Birim area. Three layers can be found in the Upper Birim diamond field:
1) The overburden or superficial deposits

2) The gravel horizon
3) The bed rock which consists of metamorphosed sedimentary, pyroclastic and igneous
rocks of Birimian age.
Origin of Birim diamonds
It has been established that the diamonds are of alluvial origin and their source could be local
with the approximate origin of the diamonds being identified with the greywackes of the
greywacke-phyllite series of the upper part of the Lower Birimian rocks. Several types of host
rocks have been identified. The most important ones are the breccias or greywacke with large
sedimentary fragments and a tuffaceous greywacke. Another type of host rock is the highly
micaceous greywacke.
Field and analytical work has shown that rocks which have previously been called ultra-mafic in
the Birim area are actually intensively hydrothermally altered and regionally metamorphosed
kimberlitic rocks that have now become actinolite schists. The major and minor element
chemistry fit well with kimberlite that is characterised by high concentrations of rare earth
elements (REE) enriched in the light REE. The rock appears to be a composite of kimberlite and
country rock as do other kimberlite intrusions. The name meta-kimberlite is therefore applied
(Appiah et al, 1996).
The better diamond values and large sizes tend to occur in the coarse sedimentary bands which
could be a meter thick and irregular. The main concentration of the diamonds occurred in the
shallow tributary valleys and associated inter-fluviatile deposits in the Akwatia area, but many
other tributaries and terraces of the Birim River also contain workable deposits.
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MANGANESE
Three types of manganese deposits are identified in Ghana and are all associated with rocks of
the Upper Birimian Series.
I) Manganiferous phyllites of fine schists with subordinate siliceous phyllite

Nsuta-Dagwin and Butre River (Western Region), Odumasi (Ashanti Region), Hapa
(Upperwest Region).
ii) Spessartite quartz rocks with or without rhodonite in association with biotite-schists,
and amphibolite.
Adansi, Yabio (north of Sekondi) and Nsuta.
iii) As segregated deposits formed by weathering of the first and second types. The
Manganese appears to have been leached from manganiferous phyllite and other rocks
deposited at lower levels most of the first and second types.
Fig 10. Locations of Manganese Ore Deposits
Page 45 of 61
The Nsuta Manganese Deposits
The Nsuta manganese deposits are the most important deposits known in Ghana. Located at
Nsuta 6.5 km from Tarkwa, they occur on five hills oriented along two lines with bearings of
015O -020O. They are named hills A, B, C, D and E. They are connected by saddles and some of
the hills are divided into two parts namely, north and south crests, being between 60-90m above
the surroundings.
The Nsuta manganese overlies rocks of Metavolcanic Birimian series striking approximately
NNE-SSW and dipping from 60-90 O to the east. The greenstones and phyllites are cut by a series
of faults both along and across strike. Overlying the Birimian are rocks of the Tarkwaian System.
Large Cape-Coast and Dixcove granite complex rocks intrude the Birimian. Thus in descending
order of age the geological succession in the area is as follows:
Superficial deposits (Tertiary to Recent)

Alluvium, laterite, lateritic clays, Mn ore and soil
Tarkwaian System (PE)
Huni Sandstone, Tarkwa Phyllite, Banket, Kaware
Upper Birimian (PE)
Lavas, tuffs, greywacke with minor manganiferous sediment of phyllite.
Intrusives
Gabbro, dolerite, epidote, granite, etc.
Detailed stratigraphic divisions of Upper Birimian at Nsuta are
D) Detrital ores
C) Quartz veins
B) Post-Birimian intrusives
A) Upper Birimian series Upper greenstone (460-660m)
Upper argillaceous tuff (150m)
Manganese horizon (50-60m)
Lower argillaceous tuff (50-90m)
Basal greenstones (460-600m)
The ore lies conformably within the manganiferous zone and a section through the ore bodies is
as follows from the top.
a. A very hard, strongly cemented, reconstituted lateritic cap of MnO2

b. High grade, porous, black ore
c. Average grade porous ore
d. Weathered beds of phyllite and tuff
e. MnCO3
Page 46 of 61
Types of ore at Nsuta
Three principal Manganese ores are found at Nsuta.
1. Lenticular, bedded ore-bodies which have been folded and faulted together with the
Birimian rocks in which they are enclosed and have been considerably modified by
lateritization and weathering in Tertiary to Recent times.
2 Detrital ores which consist of rounded and nodular masses of MnO2 ranging in size from
mere pellets to boulders several metres in diameter embedded in soft, red, lateritic soil or
clay.
3. Carbonates ores (MnCO3)
The manganese ores occur in lenticular bodies up to 300m in length and 30m in thickness which
vary greatly in size and conform to the fold structure of the enclosing beds.
Origin (First and second Directors of the Geological Survey Department Kitson and Junner.)
The rocks are metamorphosed sediments. Before metamorphism, the sediments consisted of
argillaceous matter, free-silica and MnO2 in varying proportions with small amounts of lime and
oxides of Fe, Mg, Titanium, P, Na, K. The composition of the original sediments determined the
nature of the final rock. Where the sediment is manganiferous clay, spessartite was readily
formed. If all the MnO and Al2O3 were used up in the process, any excess silica would
crystallize as quartz. If after the formation of spessartite, there was an excess of MnO and SiO 2,
MnO2 and quartz or possibly some rhodonite would form where Al2O3 was in excess of the MnO
necessary for garnet, kyanite formed. The ores were always associated with and usually formed
by enrichment of metamorphosed manganiferous muds and fine sands typically represented by
manganiferous phyllites in the Upper Birimian greenstones. The Nsuta ores were deposited
contemporaneously with the sediments and were not introduced by circulating waters (from
either below or above). Evidence in support of the contemporaneous deposition of the
manganese in the original mud of the phyllites is afforded by the occurrence of the manganese
deposits along no fewer than six distinct lines, parallel though widely separated from each other.
Examples of these are that the deposits have a close relationship to each other and form portions
of the same or associated bed, deposited originally over a wide extent of ocean and they owe
their present position to the folding of the beds.
[Fourth Director of the Geological Survey Department. Mr. Dennis Bates (1951-1962)]
Mr. Bates was of the view that the manganese oxides in the original sediments (which were
metamorphosed argillaceous sediments usually phyllite with interstitial manganese oxides or
both found in the Birimian rocks) where derived from submarine volcanic emanations and were
precipitated at the same time as the sediments were deposited. He further suggested that the
presence of the enriched manganese ore deposits is directly related to the structural and
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geomorphological conditions for at the end of the Paleozoic era, Ghana experienced a long
period of peneplanation and in the course of this erosion, manganese oxide, in beds of
manganiferous sediments, migrated downwards with percolating waters and were re-deposited in
the rocks below. As the land surface became richer in MnO, concentration of MnO reached
optimum where downward percolation of solution was impeded by intrusive body. The hills of
manganese ore now in existence are merely enriched residuals of the manganiferous sediments,
which once extended far above them.
So from the origin as explained implies that the ores are limited in depth and therefore in
quantity, as they have a definite base below which no oxide was likely to be found.
Composition of the ores
Two types: Oxides and carbonates.
Oxides
Chief minerals are pyrolusite (MnO2) and psilomelane ((Ba.H2O)Mn5O10)but manganiferous

garnet (spessartite) is very widely distributed in the lower grade ores and where weathered is
frequently represented by pseudomorphous (one mineral occurring in crystalline form of
another) manganese oxides. The central parts of the main ore bodies consist of friable, black
oxides containing a large proportion of voids and occurring as small scale concentric, nodular,
stalactitic and botryoidal (mineral occurring as aggregates with rounded surfaces) growths which
prove reconstitution by percolating waters. The ore is usually dull and shows no crystalline form,
but well-developed crystals of pyrolusite are sometimes found on the walls and stalactitic
growths in the cavities (45-53%).
2. Carbonates
The carbonate rocks are mainly rhodochrosite (MnCO3) and everywhere underlie the oxide body.
The MnO2 has a step dip to the east and there is a straightforward relationship between the CO3
and O2 ore-bodies with the manganese content decreasing with depth. The CO3 contain varying
amounts of silica and Alumina. The average manganese present in eight carbonate rock samples
was 34.16%.
Page 48 of 61
IRON
There are three main iron ore deposits of potential industrial or commercial importance in
Ghana. These are:
1. Shieni sedimentary iron ore

2. Opon-Mansi lateritic iron ore
3. Pudo titaniferous-magnetiferous iron ore
1. Shieni Iron Ore Deposits (Northern Region of Ghana)
The deposits occur almost entirely in the Northern Region about 160 km east of Tamale. The
deposits form a N-S range of hills, which rise about 60m above the surrounding plain stretching
more than 36 km. The deposits are divided into Northern and Southern groups with a subsidiary
group further south. Accessibility to the area is rather poor but with the development of the Volta
Lake, the Oti River draining the area should be navigable to less than 80km from the Shieni
deposits.
Part of the area west of the Shieni Hills is underlain by the Lower Voltaian which comprises
gently folded arenaceous sediments. The Shieni Hills themselves are composed of ferruginous
tillites which are the same or younger than the Lower Voltaian. To the east of the hills, the
country rock is quartzite of the Buem formation.
Analysis shows iron content of the more completely replaced tillite averaging 30-40%. Silica is
present in high to very high. Phosphorous content is higher than is desirable. The ore is haematite
and hydrohematite. Total estimated reserves 1.270 million metric tonnes.
2. Opon Mansi Iron Ore Deposits (Western Region)
The Opon-Mansi iron ore deposits are located on top of the range of fifteen hills which extend
over a distance of 24 km from Opon-Valley in the Western Region in the south to Dunkwa,
Central Region in the north. The hills on which the iron ores occur have an average height of
400m and the Wuowuo hill, the largest and the highest is 450 m above sea level. The range is in
a forest reserve derives its name from its location between two rivers, the Opon and Mansi, both
tributaries of the Pra river. The Wuowuo hill, 1 km wide, 2 km in length, stands in prominence in
the surrounding country.
The deposits overlie folded rocks of the Tarkwaian and Birimian rocks. The Geological
Succession, with youngest rocks at the top is as represented below:
Superficial deposits Alluvium and soils, including sands, bauxitic and ferruginous
Laterites and ironstones.
Tarkwaian System (As treated elsewhere)
Birimian System (As treated elsewhere)
Intrusives Dykes and quartz amphibolites)
The lateritic iron cappings forming the Opon-Mansi deposits are restricted to the area underlain
by the Upper Birimian phyllites and quartzites with embedded meta-volcanics mainly tuffs. The
Tarkwaian System is missing on Wuowuo hill.
The ore overlies steeply folded, weathered Upper Birimian phyllites which are approximately
Page 49 of 61
9.5m in thickness. The ore is divided into the following categories starting from the top:
Fig 11 Types of ores on Wuowuo Hill (after Fried Krupp GmbH)
Origin of the Ore
The Opon-Mansi iron ore is a product of lateritization, a process typical of tropical weathering
whereby the upper layers of the weathered mantle become enriched with sesquioxides (ratio 2:3
i.e. Mn2O3) of elements such as iron, aluminium, manganese while silica, lime, magnesia and the
alkalis are generally removed in solution. The end product of lateritization, depending on the
parent rock could be Al-rich laterite (Bauxite), Fe-rich laterite such as Opon-Mansi's or Mn-rich
laterite such as Nsuta's. The Opon-Mansi ore is an iron-rich laterite. The average chemical
composition of Fe2O3 is 75.14% with the Fe content ranging 34-45%. Thickness of lateritic ore
ranges 9-27m. About 147 million tonnes of ore indicated area 4 square kilometers with Fe
content 52.5%.
Opon-Mansi iron ore for steel production
In 1972, Fried Krupp GmbH, a West German company submitted a proposal to the Government
for the investigation of the possibilities of utilizing the Opon-Mansi ore as basis for an iron and
steel project in Ghana. A contract covering the investigation was signed and testing of samples
Page 50 of 61
began in January 1975. The assessment was directed towards a project, which was to make
Ghana to a large extent
i. Independent of steel imports and for Ghana to export steel
ii. Another independent objective was to secure locally, as much as possible, the
necessary raw materials for the production of steel and also raw materials for the existing
cement industry, which has been dependent on foreign imports.
The estimated reserves of ore in Wuowuo Hill are large enough to supply the steelwork for
period of 18 years (18 million tonnes). On the basis of other close by deposits (80-90 million
tonnes), the period could be considerably prolonged.
After the publication of a favourable first assessment report the government established the
integrated iron and steel commission to see to all work on the project on behalf of the
government.
Krupp GmbH was entrusted with the execution of a feasibility study of the project. It decided to
use 97-98% local raw materials. After being awarded the contract, Krupp had to work with the
Commission, Geological Survey Dept., Survey Dept., Ghana Highways Authority and local
labour. A total of 94 holes were drilled on the Wuowuo Hill in grid pattern 100m, some holes
repeated. The samples collected sent to Krupp Labs in W. Germany.
In June 1979 Krupp presented feasibility report the iron and steel complex was to be located at
Ashiem, 15 km north of Takoradi on the Takoradi-Kumasi railway line. The iron and steel works
were to consist of
(i) Raw material handling plant

(ii) Raw material processing plant
(iii) Electric reduction furnace plant
(iv) Basic O2 furnace steel making plant
(v) Converter slag plant
(vi) Rolling Mill
(vii) Slag factory
(viii) General services
The raw materials were to be 97% locally obtained from places not more than 150 km from
Takoradi. The raw materials are
1) 600,000 tonnes per year of washed iron ore from 1 million tonnes of raw ore from Opon-
Mansi.
2) 450,000 tonnes per year of washed limestone from Nauli deposit and conveyed from the
project harbour near Bonyere by the sea to Takoradi to Ashiem.
3) 100,000 tonnes of charcoal per annum produced at Benso-Wassaw are conveyed by rail
to the center.
4) 10,000-15,000 tonnes of silica sand per year from tailing from Tarkwa Goldfields
5) 15,000 tonnes per year of caustic soda produced at Pehi near Elmina from salt pans and
conveyed by road to Asiem.
Page 51 of 61
At Ashiem three electric furnaces shall smelt the washed down iron ore and the polish processing
plant will disintegrate and separate the slag from the furnace into their composite materials
namely alumina, clinker, fertilizers. The following products are expected:
Production (Out put) Tonnes Per year

Pig iron 200,000
Slag 234,000-305,000
Crude liquid steel 200,700
Billets 193,700
Billets for sale to other steel works in Kumasi and Tema 98,000
Billets for Ashieni rolling mill 95,000
Rolled finished products 90,000
Burnt lime 206,000
Alumina 85,000
Cement clinker and course slag 325,000
Charcoal fines 30,000
Low grade fertilizer 100,000
Opon-Mansi vrs Shieni iron ore deposits

In terms of future industrial exploitation purposes, the Opon-Mansi deposits have several
advantages over the Shieni haematite ore deposits.
(1) These deposits are favourably situated near the Western Railway line between
Takoradi and Kumasi and Wuowuo hill is only 6.4 km from the Opon Valley railway
station.
(2) The iron ore could be smelted without beneficiation.
(3) The Volta hydroelectric power line from Dunkwa to Tarkwa is close to the
deposit.
(4) The iron and steel complex at Ashiem will be close to the sources of raw
materials, i.e. Limestone from Nauli, Manganese from Nsuta, charcoal from Benso and
sand from Tarkwa Goldfields Ltd.
(5) The nearness of Ashiem (15km north of Takoradi on the Takoradi-Kumasi

railway line) to Takoradi harbour, will facilitate the movement of machinery and finished
products to and from Ashiem.
3 Pudo Titaniferous-Magnetite ore deposits (Upper-West Region of Ghana)
These iron ore deposits occur in two distinct zones north and south of Pudo, a village in the
Tume district in the northeastern part of the Upper West Region. The main magnetite-bearing
zone outcrops 1.20 km NW of Pudo and extends for 5.50 km NE.
Geology
Page 52 of 61
The rocks in the area classified as shown below with the oldest below:
(i) Quartz dolerite

(ii) Altered hornblende-biotite granodiorite
(iii) Hornblende biotite granodiorite and tonalite.
Unfoliated porphyroblasitc biotite granodiorite and adamellite.
Biotite gneiss
(iv) Altered norite
The ore bodies occur entirely within altered norite, which is usually strongly weathered.
Origin
The magnetite in the Pudo area is thought to be the result of a magmatic segregation in a norite
or hypersthene gabbro, which has subsequently, been almost entirely altered to epidiorite. The
magnetite bands must be a result of some type of vertical injection with the injection having
taken place while the norite was still in the plastic state.
Fig 12. Location of Pudo hills
BAUXITE
A material is considered to be bauxite if the percentage of alumina, which can be recoverable in
the refining process, is 32% or more. Some ores with alumina content higher than 32% cannot be
classified as bauxite because Al2O3 is so closely combined with other elements than recovery of
the alumina commercially impracticable
Page 53 of 61
Bauxite can be white, grey, yellow or reddish in colour. It could be clay-like, hard and rock-like
in texture. It can be porous or compact, pisolite (spherical or sub-spherical rock particle which
has grown by accretion around a nucleus of size 3-6mm) earth looking or homogeneous in
structure. Almost any combination of these types can be found in the same deposit.
Chief impurities in bauxite are iron oxide (geothite, Fe2O3.H2O), hematite (Fe2O3), anatase T1O2,
rutile (T1O2) and silicate impurities. The silicate impurities in bauxite are chiefly quartz (SiO2)
and kaolinite. Quartz is the most objectionable impurity in aluminium production as it combines
with alumina during reduction.
The minerals in bauxite that contain aluminium are gibbsite or hydrargillite (Al2O3.3H2O) with
65.4% Al2O3 and 34.6% H2O and boehmite and diaspore (Al2O3.H2O) with 85% Al2O3 and
15% H2O. Bauxite with a tenor of say 54% Al2O3 contains only 28% Al of which, generally, less
than 25% is recoverable. 4-7 tonnes of bauxite depending on Al content are required to produce
2 tonnes of Al2O3 and 2 tonnes of Al2O3 to produce 1 tonne of Al.
The Ghana bauxite deposits belong to the so-called blanket deposits and occur as cappings on the
flat tops of hills or mountains whose heights are generally greater than 600m above sea level.
These bauxites can also be classified as lateritic silicate bauxite since they have been formed
under tropical weathering conditions with their sections built up from top to bottom as follows:
Top soil
Bauxite
Lithomargic clay (rock like)
Occurrences
The main occurrences of bauxite in Ghana are at Sefwi Bekwai (Awaso) {Western Region} Aya-
Nyinahin( Ashanti Region), Atewa range near Kibi and at Mt. Ejuanema both in the Eastern
Region.
Sefwi-Bekwai 19 million tonnes

Aya-Nyinahin 350 million tonnes
Kibi 152-180 million tonnes
Mt Ejuanema 5.1 million tonnes
Reserves
The total estimated reserves are approximately 19m tonnes average 49% alumina and 3.3%
silica. This figure could reach 50m tonnes on one hill alone, it is estimated to have 21m tonnes of
which 11m tonnes could be mined.
Page 54 of 61
Fig 13. The bauxite deposits of Ghana
Origin
Genetic and mineralogical investigations have revealed that all bauxite deposits of Ghana are as
result of indirect bauxitization processes, for the minerals of the weathering parent rock have not
been transformed into gibbsite. In all cases kaolinitic lithomargic clay can be recognised.
Normally weathering of rocks starts with brecciation. This is followed by the formation of iron
oxide, which is precipitated around detrital fragments. Then an amorphous Fe-Al-oxide-
hydroxide phase is formed. It is this so-called neomineralisation process in this amorphous
material which results in the formation of the predominantly gibbsite or trihydrate bauxite in
Ghana.
At present only the deposits at Sefwi-Bekwai are exploited. These deposits are known as the
Awaso bauxite deposits. They are located on a dissected range of hills stretching from south of
Bibiani Southwestwards to Sefwi-Bekwai for more than 16 km.
Page 55 of 61
Geology
All the hills are between 300-500m above sea level and have a nearly flat capping of bauxite and
laterite. The capping varies in thickness from 6 to 20m.
The bauxite rests on a layer of kaolin or lithomarge, which separates it from the underlying
Lower Birimian phyllites and slates. The lower Birimian strikes at N40 E to N80 E with steep
dips to the NW. In places the slates contain a good deal of pyrite and it is believed that the
sulphuric acid produced in the oxidation of the pyrite assist in the break down of the silicates
resulting in lateritization of the rocks.
Quartz veins and stringers are common and may contain gold and silver.
Reserves
The total reserves are approximately 19 million tonnes averaging 49% alumina and 2.3% silica.
This figure could reach 50 million because the Inchiniso hill alone (in all eight hills) is estimated
to contain a total of 21million of which about 11million tons could actually be mined.
PETROLEUM POTENTIAL OF GHANA
Geological conditions necessary for Hydrocarbon accumulation are:
a) The existence of favourable conditions for the development of hydrocarbons. These

include parent rocks in a sedimentary basin of a marine environment in which organic silt
and clayey substances have been deposited. The marine environment assists in the
transformation of these deposits into hydrocarbons through a series of chemical and
physical processes.
b) The existence of some impermeable rocks such as clay, marl or compact limestone
overlying the accumulation to act as a cap rock and preserve the hydrocarbons.
c) The existence of some favourable structural, tectonic or stratigraphic conditions to trap

the hydrocarbons and there also must be reservoir rocks to give the oil opportunity to
accumulate. (It is also necessary to have accumulations in sufficient quantities and under
suitable conditions with respect to pressure and depth to ensure the profitability of their
exploitation)
Main areas of exploration in Ghana
The source rocks for petroleum and natural gas are mainly sedimentary rocks of marine origin.
Nearly one-half of Ghana's total area, about 135,000sqkm is covered by sedimentary rocks which
are found mainly in four different parts of the country and the search of oil is concentrated in
these areas of the country:
Page 56 of 61
i) Tano Basin 1165 km2

ii) Keta Basin 2200 km2
iii) Volta Basin 103600 km2
iv) Continental Shelf 27560 km2
1) Tano Basin
Despite the uncertainty of finding oil in commercial quantities in Ghana, it was among the first
countries in Africa to attract the attention of oil companies with early efforts concentrated in the
Tano because oil seeps and saturated superficial sands were noted in the Ahanta-Nzima area in
the 19th Century.
Geology See the Apollonian Formation.
Prospecting
The occurrence of oil and gas in sands in the Tano near Bonyere and Takinta has been known
and between 1896 and 1925 at least twelve boreholes were drilled in the Appollonian to locate
oil pools and one produced five barrels of oil per day (Drilled by the West African Oil and fuel
Company in 1896-1897). Drilling by the Societe Francaise de Petrole 1909-1913 produced seven
barrels of oil per day in one of their five wells drilled. African and Eastern Trade Company
1923-1925 also drilled with oil shoes.
The Gulf Oil Company (1956-1957) drilled four wells at various places in the Tano and some
non commercial oil shows were observed in all of them. In 1962, Romanian experts in oil
explored the area using gravity survey to estimate the thickness of sediments and map their
topography. A major fault suitable for trapping oil was found Kangan and Ahonjuri fault. The
fault trends NW-SE with the upthrown side or northern part not as thick as the downthrown side
where the thickness increased towards Ivory Coast. The following conclusions can be drawn
with regards to the oil and gas potential of the Tano Basin.
a) The maximum thickness of the sedimentary rocks in this basin is greater than 3000m
along the coast increasing to Ivory Coast.
b) The oldest rocks encountered in the survey were mid cretaceous age.
c) Rocks of marine origin were found to a maximum depth of 1770m and were separated
from non-marine rocks by an angular discordance.
d) Two horizons with indications of oil are known; one near the surface Nauli limestone
horizon and the other at greater depth the black shale horizon.
e) The most promising area for oil accumulation lies immediately south of the major fault
indicated by the gravity survey.
Page 57 of 61
2 THE KETA BASIN
It is thought that this basin forms part of the Nigerian sedimentary basin. Gravity survey and two
wells drilled by Romanian experts showed that;
a) the sedimentary rocks in this area are at least 2133m thick.
b) that the rocks are marine and non-marine, rich in organic matter and therefore a potential
source of hydrocarbons.
c) that the sand, sandstones and limestones present in the sediments are potential reservoir
rocks.
d) that there is a general thickening of marine sediments in a down dip direction towards the
sea and this trend may be expected to continue offshore. Of late Texas Pacific Ghana
Incorporated has acquired concessions and had completed seismic survey prior to
drilling.
3 VOLTAIAN BASIN
This is an expansive sedimentary basin covering an area of 103600sqkm2 and drained by the
Volta river and its tributaries. The basin is underlain by the rocks of the Precambrian to Lower
Paleozoic epi-continental Voltaian system. They comprise a thick sequence of marine and
continental sediments.
Refer to the geology of the Voltaian System.
Prospecting
A Soviet Geological Survey team in 1961-66 carried out a hydrological survey to study
groundwater conditions for the basin. The significant facts revealed by four boreholes are that
the Lower members of the basin have been folded and dips of up to 40 were recorded. It was
also known that the Voltaian contains limestone and sandstone which could serve as cap rocks
for the accumulation of hydrocarbons. These indications brought in a Romanian oil prospecting
team to evaluate the petroleum prospects of the Basin. Rapid gravity and magnetic surveys to
reveal approximate depths of the basement and the configuration of the buried structures in the
basin were conducted. Shell Oil Company (Ghana) Ltd also carried out airborne magnetic
survey. After these oil companies showed interest and the Government divided the area into 39
blocks for the companies to prospect. Shell Exploration and Production was granted licence for
five years covering 10 blocks in the southern part of the basin. No trace of hydrocarbon was
found in this section. But traces of bitumen were encountered in the 1962-65 drilling programme
of the Soviet Geological Survey team and this has given hope that the basin might prove to be an
oil province. The bitumen is usually found in dolomite intercalated with Mid-Voltaian
shale/sandstone sequence. Further examination of the occurrence of bitumen in the Voltaian
showed that they were not distributed in the natural bedding but always in fracture (mostly
transverse to bedding). Therefore the opinion is that the bitumen had seeped downwards from a
Page 58 of 61
younger overlying formation which has since been eroded.
Oil Potential in the Voltaian
The basin is an old one and no significant structural closures exist. There are no source rocks in
juxtaposition to allow possible inward normal hydrocarbon migration. Accumulation of oil in
commercial quantities was considered unlikely although naturally not impossible, since at
present only one deep oil well has been drilled.
1. Tano Basin 2. Keta Basin 3. Voltaian Basin 4. Continental helf
4 The Continental Shelf
In 1968, the Government invited private foreign oil companies to undertake oil prospecting
work, most of them were interested in the Continental Shelf and this was divided into 22
concession blocks which was shared among seven companies (May-Volta Petroleum, Mobil Oil,
Texas Gas Exploration, Texaco Oil, Union Carbide, Signal Oil and others).
In June 1970 Signal Oil Company discovered oil in a well about 14.4km south of Saltpond
(block 10) drilled at 2967m. Two producing horizons were located; one presumably in the
Cretaceous and the second zone at 2590.9m in the Devonian. Signal estimated 7 million
barrels.
Agri-Petco International Inc. (Tuba Oklahoma) was granted prospecting licence in 1976 covering
blocks 10 and 13 and drilled three holes which were encouraging and therefore developed the
field. Results showed that daily production was to be 5000-6000 barrels a day. Between 1978-
1983, 3.1m barrels were produced due to difficulties (reservoir consists of seven thin pay sands
with several different oil/water and gas/oil interfaces).
In 1977, Ivory Coast announced that she had struck oil 45km east of Abidjan. The significance of
the find is related to the basinal structure of Ivory Coast, for Ivory Coast is framed by three faults
which converge on the Ghana Shelf west of Accra.
a) There is major Ivory Coast fault along the north side of the basin.
b) Ivory Coast-Ghana ridge along the basins southern flank
c) Accra fault trending S-SW crossing the coastline immediately west of Accra.
The discovery of oil in the Ivory Coast was great of interest to Ghana because Ghana's petroleum
potential is closely associated with that of the Ivory Coast basin which extends for 560km along
the whole of the Ivory Coast and persists eastwards into Ghana for an additional 320km
terminating immediately west of Accra.
Page 59 of 61
The potential of this basin is only now being established with the rumoured discovery of a giant
oil field by Philips Petroleum Company at Espoir near Abidjan. It was reported that
a) the structure at is estimated to contain 3 to 8 billion barrels

b) it probably measures at least 20,8km across
c) that the discovery has at least 92m of perfect clean oil sands
d) that all six intervals were tested at the high end of 4900 barrels per fay.
The Ghanaian end of the Ivory Coast basin should therefore form the privaty area where; oil
exploration activities should be concentrated since this area is a direct continuation of and forms
the eastern end of the Ivory Coast basin. Even though the Ghanaian end has experienced less
subsidence throughout its geological history, the sands are probably closer to their source, are
thicker, more massive and dirtier ie. not so porous or permeable as those at Espoir where it is
assumed that the sands are cleaner well winnowed and interbedded with thick intervals of
hydrocarbon rich marine shales.
During 1978-83, eight more wells were drilled mainly by Philips Petroleum Company, in South
Half Assini. One of them was thought to have a potential of 50million barrels (South Tano IS-
IX). Almost all the wells drilled exhibited hydrocarbon producing horizons. As at October 1984,
a total of 57 wells has been drilled on land and in the continental Shelf of Ghana, 21 on shore
and 36 offshore contain 21 million of which 11 million could actually be mined.
REFERENCE
Kesse G. O (1985): The Rock and Mineral Resources of Ghana. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam
Page 60 of 61
Sample Questions
Classes:MN, MR, GM II 05
TIME: 1 HR
Q1.
Define the following: Banket Series, Eugeosyncline, Fissure Zone, Greenstones,
Migmatite, Mobile Belt, Mylonite, Reef, Stockworks, Sperssartite. (10 marks)
Q2.
i) What is the para-genetic mineral association of lode gold mineralisation of the
Birimian (5 marks)
ii) What are the possible sources of primary diamond deposits of Ghana? (5 marks)
Q3. Identify the types and characteristics of the two most popular granites in Ghana (10
marks)
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.
Page 61 of 61

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UNIVERSITY OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY, TARKWA, GHANA

FACULTY OF MINERAL RESOURCES TECHNOLOGY

GEOLGICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

[COURSE NOs: GM259, MN259, MR259]

COMPLILED BY: DR. J. A. YENDAW

GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING DEPT

The supracrustal formations of phyllites, schists, banded ironstones, quartzites, and

Fig. 1b: Geologic map of the West African Craton

Fig. 2: The Geological Map of Ghana

An outline of the stratigraphic succession of Ghana is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: The Stratigraphic Succession of Ghana

THE GEOLOGICAL PROVINCES OF GHANA

Fig.3: Map of Ghana showing the Geological Provinces

1. THE WESTERN UNIT

THE BIRIMIAN SUPERGROUP

Rocks of the Birimian supergroup were deposited on an unknown Archean (Liberian)

The Birimian in Ghana is subdivided into a Meta-sedimentary and a Meta-volcanic unit.

(i) The Meta-Sedimentary Birimian Rocks

Divisions of The Meta-Sedimentary Birimian

Subseries Composite Lithology

2. Upper Argillaceous Predominantly yellowish-brown to ochre coloured rock

3. Mid Arenaceous Meta-greywacke, meta-siltstone - phyllite assemblage which is

5. Lower Arenaceous Lithic assemblage of meta-greywacke meta-sandstone, meta-

(ii) Meta-volcanic Birimian.

The meta-volcanic Birimian series is believed to represent a late phase of eugeosynclinal

Divisions of the Meta-volcanic Birimian

Subseries Composite Lithology

Acid Volcanics Meta-rhyolites, quartz feldspar porphyry, felsites and quartz-

Sedimentary Volcanics Meta-tuffaceous greywacke, quartzites, and schistose

Age of The Birimian

The Post Birimian (Eburnean) granitoids (2200-1850 my)

There are 3 main types namely:

(1) Sedimentary-basin granitoids ( Cape Coast-Type Granites)

Small intrusive bodies related to the Cape Coast granite complexes

(ii) Volcanic-belt granitoids (Dixcove-type granite complex)

(iii) Late K-rich granitoids (The Bongo-type Granite)

THE TARKWAIAN GROUP

Divisions of the Tarkwaian Group

Table 2. Divisions of the Tarkwaian by Junner, Hirst and Service

System Series Thickness in Composite

Huni sandstone transitional

Tarkwa phyllite transitional

Quartzites, grits and

Descriptions of the various Tarkwaian Units

Descriptions of the various units are provided below.

Fig 4. A typical geological section of the Banket Series.

The age of the Tarkwaian

THE MOBILE BELT

Fig 5. The four alternate belts of the Dahomeyan System

Stratigraphic succession of the Dahomeyan System

The stratigraphy of the Dahomeyan is shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Stratigraphy of the Dahomeyan

The Basic Dahomeyan rocks

The mafic Dahomeyan rocks can be divided into two groups:

The Basic intrusives

The alkalic gneiss

(a) nepheline gneiss and

Nepheline gneiss group

Three varieties of this gneiss, are known namely

Acid (Felsic) Dahomeyan group and composite groups

Rock types of the acid Dahomeyan group are:

Age of the Dahomeyan System

THE TOGO SERIES