Highlight of high mining potential of Adamaoua Cameroon using remote sensing, gravimetry and geology evidence

Abstract

The Cameroon Adamawa region has significant gold potential, as evidenced by several recent exploration projects and discoveries. Among the proven gold ore concentration areas, we can cite the Mbé site where the project is 80% owned by the British company Oriole Resources with gold grades ranging from 8.17 g/t to 131.1 g/t, and the Bibemi site where the same company has increased the estimated reserves of the region’s deposit by 23% with a potential of 2.3 g/t (Cameroun: De l’or Haute Teneur Découvert à Mbeh, n.d.). The PRECASEM project, funded by the World Bank between 2014 and 2019, identified more than 300 new mining sites in Cameroon, including several in the Adamawa region. Adamawa is a geologically diverse region, with metamorphic and granitic rocks suitable for gold mineralization. Lateritic soils and historical volcanic activity have favored the formation of deposits. Orogenic gold systems, such as those at Mbé, where geological studies were conducted, suggest significant resource potential. Previous studies in demineralization research were carried out on small-scale fields and here we propose to identify these indices at the scale of the Adamawa region by combining remote sensing, gravimetry and geological field study. Basically, based on the results of the mapped mineralization indices and the results of previous work, it seems that the Adamawa region is more than 70% covered by features associated with gold and other minerals, which would make this region a very large gold reservoir that could boost the mining sector’s contribution to Cameroon’s GDP with local benefits, making Adamawa a key region for Cameroon’s mining future, combining geological potential and growing interest from investors.