What is it about?
The Congo Basin of central Africa is known to host precious metals and gems. Identifying the source of sediments in basin is key to tracking the sources of these minerals, and the direction of the rivers that transported them. This study presents the first detailed investigation of the continental strata in the Kasai portion of the Congo Basin. Sandstone petrography, U-Pb dating and Lu-Hf isotope analysis were used.
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Why is it important?
Our findings show that sediments in the Congo Basin were mainly sourced from the south. Thus, minerals (e.g. alluvial diamonds) have their sources located to the south. Ancient rivers in central Africa were largely flowing from south to north.
Perspectives
The data from this paper can help us to better understand sediment dispersion, and for alluvial diamond vectoring.
Prince Owusu Agyemang
James Cook University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Late Jurassic-Cretaceous fluvial evolution of central Africa: Insights from the Kasai-Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Congo, Cretaceous Research, December 2016, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2016.06.013.
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