Uranium Deposit Report

Deposit :

Kitongo  

Country :

Cameroon  

General Information

Geological District

Poli Area  

Geological Region

Northern Cameroon  

Political/Geographical Province

 

Last Data Update

2009-01-01  

Owner(s)

20 %, Idemitsu  

Operator

 

Technical Information

Tonnage Range (t U)Initial U amount in the deposit (Global Resource)

10,000 - 25,000  

Grade Range (% U)Initial U Grade in the deposit

0.05 - 0.10  

Deposit StatusCurrent status of the deposit

Exploration  

Current Processing PlantCurrent processing mill of the U from the deposit, if any

 

Cumulative Production (t U) Total U production from the deposit

0  

Production PeriodU production period

 

Produced Grade (% U) Grade of the produced U

 

General Remarks

The Kitongo deposit is located in the northern part of Cameroon. The Goblé uranium occurrence (now Kitongo) was discovered in 1958 by a private prospector. The Kitongo deposit was explored from 1971 to 1986 by several companies. Nu Energy Corporation became the operator of the project in 2005.  

Geological Information

Deposit Type

Metasomatite  

Geological Setting

The Kitongo deposit area is part of the Pan-African Mobile Belt and is located between the Guinea and Congo cratons. The Lower Proterozoic basement N'tem Complex consists of magmatic and metamorphic rocks and is characterized by high-grade metamorphism with partial to complete anatexis. It is overlain by the Middle-Upper ? Proterozoic Poli Group (schists, gneisses, metavolcanics) of lower grade of metamorphism, probably of the Kibaran Orogeny (1800-1200 Ma). They are in turn overlain by the Paleozoic to Mesozoic Mangbei Group, the clastic lithologies of the Cretaceous in the Benue Basin and the tertiary ring complexes and basalts. Several granite intrusions of various ages cut through the older formations. The « Old Intrusions » are of Lower to Middle Proterozoic age, while the « young intrusions » are of Pan-African age (around 550 Ma). The Kitongo granite has not been dated, but it is suggested that it belongs to the « young p». The oldest prominent regional structure is the northeast strike of the trough N 50°) containing the Poli Group. This structural direction was dominant during the Pan-African Orogeny and is expressed primarily by fracturing and shearing movement as well as magmatic activity, which played a very important rôle in in the emplacement of the Kitongo granite. The predominent rock type is a light grey, medium-grained, hornblende-biotite granite with porphyritic alcali feldspars and a pronounced parallel texture (gneissose granite). Close to the uranium mineralization, the granite is progressively altered by an increase in the albite content and a decrease in quartz and K-feldspar content. Lithology: Panafrican granite in schist of Poli Series; Stratigraphy=Mid-Upper Proterozoic Tectonics: Contact fault zone between granite and schist Alteration: Albitization, desilicification, hematitization  

Age of Mineralization

Pan-African ?  

Mineralization

The uranium mineralization occurs at the intersection of the Kitongo and Dombulko N 50° faults and the N 150° Ninga fault, on the northwest margin of the intrusion. It is located within a pink albitite developping along the faults. The ore is mainly of the disseminated type and is thick, but with low value. The cataclastic type associated with the shear zones is the most economic and has locally a considerable thickness. This type is occasionnally associated with sulphides like galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, covellite and bornite. The vein type is subordinate, with very thin veinlets (< 1 cm), but with higher grades (> 0.1%).. The primary uranium mineral is uraninite found between albite crystals as very small grains together with magnetite or hematite, frequently on the margins of mafic minerals. Secondary minerals are uranophane and beta-uranophane.  

MetallogenicAspects

The Kitongo uranium deposit is the result of a metasomatic replacement of the country rocks: - structurally controlled, syn-orogenic granitic intrusion of the Pan-African Orogeny along a deep-seated fault, - late phase hot solutions (residual liquids of the magmatic differentiation) circulating along the fault zone and enriched in Na, Fe, U and O., - Na-rich solutions affecting large portions of the Kitongo granite and surrounding country rocks (albitization), - as U is less mobile than Na, it remained restricted close by the Kitongo fault with the formation of the uraninite-albite-magnetite mineral association. It totally replaced the feldspars and quartz of the granite and changed the normal hornblende to Na-hornblende (arfvedsonite).  

Age of Mineralization

Pan-African ?  

DepositShape

steeply dipping prismatic bodies  

DepositDimensions

Three mineralized zones have been defined: - A (Kitongo fault): lengh 1050 m, height 250 m, width 10m (6563 tU), - B (Ninga fault): 1500 m x 250 m x 5 m (4690 tU), - C (Domboulko fault): 300 m x 250 m x 10 m (1875 tU).  

GeologicalRemarks

 

Metallogenic Aspects

The Kitongo uranium deposit is the result of a metasomatic replacement of the country rocks: - structurally controlled, syn-orogenic granitic intrusion of the Pan-African Orogeny along a deep-seated fault, - late phase hot solutions (residual liquids of the magmatic differentiation) circulating along the fault zone and enriched in Na, Fe, U and O., - Na-rich solutions affecting large portions of the Kitongo granite and surrounding country rocks (albitization), - as U is less mobile than Na, it remained restricted close by the Kitongo fault with the formation of the uraninite-albite-magnetite mineral association. It totally replaced the feldspars and quartz of the granite and changed the normal hornblende to Na-hornblende (arfvedsonite).  














Uranium Deposit Report

Deposit :

Kitongo  

Country :

Cameroon  

General Information

Geological District

Poli Area  

Geological Region

Northern Cameroon  

Political/Geographical Province

 

Last Data Update

2009-01-01  

Owner(s)

20 %, Idemitsu  

Operator

 

Technical Information

Tonnage Range (t U)Initial U amount in the deposit (Global Resource)

10,000 - 25,000  

Grade Range (% U)Initial U Grade in the deposit

0.05 - 0.10  

Deposit StatusCurrent status of the deposit

Exploration  

Current Processing PlantCurrent processing mill of the U from the deposit, if any

 

Cumulative Production (t U) Total U production from the deposit

0  

Production PeriodU production period

 

Produced Grade (% U) Grade of the produced U

 

General Remarks

The Kitongo deposit is located in the northern part of Cameroon. The Goblé uranium occurrence (now Kitongo) was discovered in 1958 by a private prospector. The Kitongo deposit was explored from 1971 to 1986 by several companies. Nu Energy Corporation became the operator of the project in 2005.  















Uranium Deposit Report

Deposit :

Kitongo  

Country :

Cameroon  

Geological Information

Deposit Type

Metasomatite  

Lithology

Panafrican granite in schist of Poli Series; Stratigraphy=Mid-Upper Proterozoic  

Tectonics

Contact fault zone between granite and schist  

Alteration

Albitization, desilicification, hematitization  

Host Rock Age

 

Age of Mineralization

Pan-African ?  

Ore Mineralogy

Uraninite, pitchblende ass.w.sulfides  

Mineralization Description

Impregnations and stringers in shears along fault contact between granite and schist  

Ore Controls

 

Metallogenic Aspects

The Kitongo uranium deposit is the result of a metasomatic replacement of the country rocks: - structurally controlled, syn-orogenic granitic intrusion of the Pan-African Orogeny along a deep-seated fault, - late phase hot solutions (residual liquids of the magmatic differentiation) circulating along the fault zone and enriched in Na, Fe, U and O., - Na-rich solutions affecting large portions of the Kitongo granite and surrounding country rocks (albitization), - as U is less mobile than Na, it remained restricted close by the Kitongo fault with the formation of the uraninite-albite-magnetite mineral association. It totally replaced the feldspars and quartz of the granite and changed the normal hornblende to Na-hornblende (arfvedsonite).  

Deposit Shape

steeply dipping prismatic bodies  

Deposit Width

 

Deposit Length

 

Deposit Thickness

 

Deposit Depth

Top =  ; Bottom =  

Geological Remarks