Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of the Banded and Granitic Gneisses in Parts of Kushaka Schist Belt, Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

The Kushaka schist belt in the Kwona Mutua and Kushaka areas is one of the 12 well recognized N-S trending belts composed of igneous, metamorphic and metasedimentary rocks in varying proportion. The major rocks of the belt comprise the Migmatite-Gneiss-Quartzite Complex, schists and Pan-African granitoids. Banded and granite gneisses constitute the bulk of the Migmatite-Gneiss-Quartzite Complex. Banded gneiss consists of paleosome and leucosome of dioritic, tonalitic, granodioritic and granitic composition while granite gneiss is composed of biotite, staurolite–biotite and staurolite-muscovite gneiss. Major mineral constituents of these rocks are quartz, orthoclase, plagioclase, pyroxene, biotite, muscovite, orthoclase, microcline and staurolite while the accessory minerals are titanite, apatite and iron oxides. Metamorphism may have reached grannulite facies locally with pyroxenes crystallizing in the dioritic and granodioritic rock. Analysis of geochemical data reveals marked variation in the abundance of SiO₂ (60.77-77.53 wt %), Al₂O₃ (12.9-15.99 wt %), Fe₂O₃ (0.78-7.04 wt%), Na₂O (1.67-5.15 wt%) and K₂O (1.64-6.13 wt %), typical of rocks of hybrid sedimentary–igneous protoliths. Igneous protolith reveals decreasing P₂O₅ content with increasing silica content, low K₂O/ Na₂O ratio (0.24 – 0.87), low K₂O values (< 2.5 wt %) displaying mixed tholeiitic and calc-alkaline, metaluminous and peraluminous, ferroan and magnesian character, and high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic affinities. By contrast, the rocks of sedimentary protolith shows high K₂O/ Na₂O ratio (1.19 – 2.5), high Na₂O values (> 3 wt %) and staurolite mineral. Their pelitic and mafic attributes were derived essentially from a quartz-diorite, granodiorite and granite-quartz monzonite source. Fractional crystallization and partial melting of older dioritic-granodioritic-tonalitic source rock derived from upper mantle materials contaminated by continental crust played important roles during their genesis. They are enriched in Large Ion Lithophile Elements (LILE) but depleted in Nb, P and Ti typical of volcanic arc and syn-collisional settings.

Keywords: Banded gneiss, Pan-African, sedimentary, igneous, granodiorite, protolith, Kushaka, Nigeria

DOI: 10.7176/JEES/11-4-05

Publication date: April 30^th 2021