A review of the orogenic gold deposits of Southern Mali: structural and metallogenic insights
1 Pan African University Life and Earth Sciences Institute (Including Health and Agriculture), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
2 Department of Geology University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
3 Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs Abderhamane Baba Touré, Bamako, Mali.
4 Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Mali.
Review
International Journal of Scientific Research Updates, 2025, 10(02), 017–032.
Article DOI: 10.53430/ijsru.2025.10.2.0045
Publication history:
Received on 24 September 2025; revised on 13 November 2025; accepted on 15 November 2025
Abstract:
Southern Mali represents one of the major gold provinces of the West African Craton, hosting several Birimian orogenic gold deposits (Syama, Morila, Kalana, Kodieran, and Sanankoro). These deposits are spatially associated with NNE-SSW trending crustal-scale shear zones that developed during the Eburnean orogeny (2.2-2.0 Ga). The mineralization is hosted by deformed volcano-sedimentary sequences and syn-tectonic granodioritic intrusions metamorphosed under green schist to lower-amphibolite-facies conditions. Gold occurs mainly in quartz-carbonate-sulfide veins emplaced in transpressive shear zones and fault-relay structures.
Field, structural and petrographic evidence indicate that auriferous fluids were low-salinity, aqueous-carbonic metamorphic fluids derived from devolatilization of volcano-sedimentary rocks. The precipitation of gold was triggered by pressure drops, sulfidation reactions, and fluid–rock interaction within dilatant segments of the shear zones. P-T conditions of mineralization (250-450 °C, 2-4 kbar) are consistent with mesothermal environments typical of orogenic gold systems.
Comparative analysis of the Syama, Kalana, Morila, Kodieran, and Sanankoro districts highlights common metallogenic features: crustal-scale transpressive deformation, crustal metamorphic fluid sources, and structurally controlled gold deposition. Variations in host lithologies, proximity to granitoids, and local fault kinematics explain the diversity of ore styles observed across the region.
Future work should focus on precise geochronology, isotopic tracing of fluids, and integrated 3D structural modelling to better constrain the timing, sources, and evolution of gold mineralization in southern Mali.
Keywords:
Orogenic Gold; Southern Mali; Birimian; Shear Zones; Metallogeny; Structural Controls
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