Abstract
Gold mining has a legendary history in Ethiopia, with Ethiopian mines
providing gold to the ancient Egyptian empire and possibly even King
Solomon’s Mines and the Queen of Sheba. Today, gold occurs in the PanAfrican
age schist belt and Tertiary basaltic lavas of the Asosa region of
Benishangul-Gumuz, western Ethiopia. There is widespread artisanal gold
production in the Asosa region, with moderate activity by small numbers of
local workers producing relatively large amounts of gold. There is a strong
relationship between predominantly shear zone-hosted gold deposits and
the Kuluck shear zone, suggesting a structural control on gold accumulation.
Gold is also commonly associated with secondary sulphide mineralization and
magnetite alteration in Asosa rocks. The source of the gold is thought to be
the sub-volcanic intrusions generated during the subduction of the oceanic
crust at the trench island-arc system, akin to what we see today in epithermal
and porphyry type gold systems. Historical workings and anomalous gold
concentrations in rock, soil and stream sediments point to a potentially
significant untapped gold resource in the Asosa region of western Ethiopia.
providing gold to the ancient Egyptian empire and possibly even King
Solomon’s Mines and the Queen of Sheba. Today, gold occurs in the PanAfrican
age schist belt and Tertiary basaltic lavas of the Asosa region of
Benishangul-Gumuz, western Ethiopia. There is widespread artisanal gold
production in the Asosa region, with moderate activity by small numbers of
local workers producing relatively large amounts of gold. There is a strong
relationship between predominantly shear zone-hosted gold deposits and
the Kuluck shear zone, suggesting a structural control on gold accumulation.
Gold is also commonly associated with secondary sulphide mineralization and
magnetite alteration in Asosa rocks. The source of the gold is thought to be
the sub-volcanic intrusions generated during the subduction of the oceanic
crust at the trench island-arc system, akin to what we see today in epithermal
and porphyry type gold systems. Historical workings and anomalous gold
concentrations in rock, soil and stream sediments point to a potentially
significant untapped gold resource in the Asosa region of western Ethiopia.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 31-34 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Geology Today |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 19 Jan 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2018 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgementsWe thank Micky Brown (Mappa Mundi Ltd), Kerry Taylor (Sinistral International Pty Ltd), and the former geological team of GP Resource Mining Plc for their field and technical assistance. Dedicated to the memory of Kerry Taylor, founder of Sinistral International, Perth, Australia, sadly missed by all who spent time with him at the Asosa site in 2012.