- Title
- The role of northwest striking structures in controlling highgrade ore shoots at the Syama Gold Mine, Mali, West Africa
- Creator
- Soro, Ali
- Subject
- Syama Gold Mine
- Subject
- Gold ores -- Geology -- Mali
- Subject
- Veins (Geology) -- Mali
- Date Issued
- 2020
- Date
- 2020
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MSc
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145209
- Identifier
- vital:38418
- Description
- This study intended to investigate the relationship between the NW striking structures and the high-grade ore shoots at the Syama gold mine in Mali, West Africa. All structural data collected since 1987 from drill core have been integrated to allow the interpretation and modelling of these NW-SE structures. The structures collected were grouped into three main groups; foliations/shears/faults, veins and joints/contacts/fractures. Micromine software was used to plot the structures, printed out on A3 paper and interpreted manually using tracing paper. Analysis and interpretation of stereographic plots has shown that the majority of the high-grade zones are generally located at the intersection of the NNE structures and the NW structures. The observed cross-cutting relationship between the NNE and the NW structures suggests two different generation of faults. It is suggested that the NW structures were active during the D4 deformation event (Standing, 2007) and have played a role in reactivating earlier (D3) NNE structures, allowing greater fluid flow and enhancing the gold grade. These zones are mainly defined by brecciation and stockwork veining. The E-W structures are believed to be the latest and are attributed to the D5 event. Although gold mineralisation is grossly controlled by the NNE structures, the NW structures need to be considered as major gold enrichment upgrading factors at Syama. It is therefore strongly recommended that ongoing exploration at Syama specifically target the intersection of the NW and NNE structures as favourable zones for high-grade mineralisation.
- Format
- 80 pages
- Format
- Publisher
- Rhodes University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science, Geology
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Soro, Aii
- Hits: 1161
- Visitors: 1328
- Downloads: 186
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | SORO-MSC-TR20-209.pdf | 20 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |