Geochemical exploration for tantalum in coltan-rich pegmatites at Bewadze-Mankoadze area of the Kibi-Winneba Belt, southern Ghana: Constraints from exploratory data analysis

Emmanuel Daanoba Sunkari; Joshua Nkansah; Salaam Jansbaka Adams

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38176

Geochemical exploration for tantalum in coltan-rich pegmatites at Bewadze-Mankoadze area of the Kibi-Winneba Belt, southern Ghana: Constraints from exploratory data analysis

Heliyon. 2024 Sep 21;10(18):e38176. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38176. eCollection 2024 Sep 30.

Authors

Emmanuel Daanoba Sunkari^{1

2}, Joshua Nkansah¹, Salaam Jansbaka Adams^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geological Engineering, Faculty of Geosciences and Environmental Studies, University of Mines and Technology, P.O. Box 237, Tarkwa, Ghana.
² Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa.
³ School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, PMB -Somanya, Eastern Region, Ghana.
⁴ School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 80, Legon - Accra, Ghana.

Abstract

The Bewadze-Mankoadze pegmatites in the Kibi-Winneba Belt of Ghana host several columbite group minerals (WGM) and wodginite group minerals (WGM) as well as other rare and radioactive elements such as uraninite and cesium. In this study, petrographic studies of rock samples from pegmatite outcrops and statistical analysis of the major and minor elements were conducted to identify the pathfinder elements of a new tantalum deposit in the area. Ten samples were obtained from each town for whole-rock geochemistry and thin sections were prepared from some of the samples taken for petrographic analysis. The petrographic analyses showed the presence of quartz, K-feldspars, plagioclase, muscovite, spodumene, albite, tourmaline, columbite group minerals, and montebrasite, which indicate that the studied samples are granitic pegmatites. The geochemical data of the 10 samples obtained from each town showed high concentrations of Cr, Cs, Rb, Sm, and Ta. The Ta concentrations ranged from 10.5 to 773 ppm with an average value of 260 ppm. Q-Q plots showed outliers and variations from the dataset's normal distribution, which were fixed by centred log-ratio transformation and demonstrated to be normal by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Shapiro-Wilk test for normality. Spearman correlation revealed that Sc, Ga, Nb, and Cs showed a moderate to strong correlation with Ta. Factor analysis indicated elemental association of Ta with Cs, Zn, Nb, MgO, Sc, Ga, and V. Three (3) multi-element relationships were discovered by hierarchical cluster analysis: (1) As, La, Hf, CaO, U, Co, Pb, Ce, Ba and Na₂O, (2) V, Nb, Ta, Ga, Sc, Cr, Cu, Nb and MgO, and (3) Ni, SiO₂, Cs, Zn, Sm, Rb, K₂O, Y, Th, Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃. Hence, a comparison of the results of the multivariate statistics established Sc, Ga, Nb, and Cs as the pathfinders of tantalum in the Bewadze-Mankoadze area. Geochemical anomalies involving these elements can be observed in the south-western portion of the study area, according to single and multi-element halo mapping. It is therefore recommended that exploration activities for tantalum mineralization should focus on the south-western part of the study area, where the anomalies of the pathfinder elements are located.

Keywords: Geochemical anomalies; Multivariate statistical analysis; Pathfinder elements; Pegmatites; Tantalum.