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Mineralogy, geochemistry and petrogenesis of the recent magmatic formations from Mbengwi, a continental sector of the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL), Central Africa

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Abstract

The Mbengwi recent magmatic formations consist of volcanics and syenites belonging to the same magmatic episode. Lavas form a bimodal basanite-rhyolite alkaline series with a gap between 50 and 62 wt.% SiO2. Mafic lavas (basanite-hawaiite) are sodic while felsic rocks (trachyte-rhyolite-syenites) are sodi-potassic, slightly metaluminous to peralkaline. The geochemical and isotopic characteristics (0.7031 < (87Sr/86Sr)initial < 0.7043; 1.03 < εNdi < 5.17) of these rocks are similar to those of other rocks from the CVL. The main differentiation process is fractional crystallization with two trends of fractionation. Their Rb/Sr isochron age of 28.2 Ma, almost similar to 27.40 ± 0.6 Ma K/Ar age obtained in a trachyte from neighboring Bamenda Mountains system, precludes any local age migration of an hypothetic hotspot. Mafic lavas have OIB features displaying an isotopic signature similar to that of HIMU mantle source different from FOZO known as source of most parental magmas along the CVL.

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Acknowledgements

The French “Ministère des Affaires Etrangères” is acknowledged for providing grants to Benoît Joseph Mbassa for stays in France successively in the Laboratoire de Dynamisme Terrestre et Planétaire (DTP) then in the Laboratoire Géosciences-Environnement-Toulouse (GET), Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse 3, and for financially supporting all the analysis. Fieldwork was substantially supported by the Institute of Geological and Mining research (IRGM) of Cameroon. Philippe De Parseval, Pierre Brunet all of the department Géosciences-Environnement-Toulouse (GET), France, A. Munilla of the University of Sevilla in Spain, and F. Gallice of the University of Saint Etienne, France are thanked for their technical help during data acquisition. The constructive reviews of two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the early version of this paper. For their help in discussing various aspects of this work during its preparation, we thank P. Moussango and Z. Itiga.

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  1. Institut de Recherches Géologiques et Minières, IRGM/ARGV Ekona, B.P. 370, Buéa, Cameroon

    Benoît Joseph Mbassa & Bekoa Ateba

  2. Laboratoire de Géologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université de Yaoundé I, B.P. 47, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Emmanuel Njonfang

  3. Géosciences-Environnement-Toulouse Unité Mixte de Recherche 5563, Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Université Paul Sabatier, 14, avenue Édouard-Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Mathieu Benoit, Michel Grégoire, Stephanie Duchene & Pierre Brunet

  4. Département des Sciences de la Terre, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Yaoundé I, B.P. 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Benoît Joseph Mbassa, Pierre Kamgang & Félix M. Tchoua

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Mbassa, B.J., Njonfang, E., Benoit, M. et al. Mineralogy, geochemistry and petrogenesis of the recent magmatic formations from Mbengwi, a continental sector of the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL), Central Africa. Miner Petrol 106, 217–242 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-012-0227-5

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