Abstract
MESOZOIC kimberlites in West Africa are the source of most of the alluvial deposits of diamond which bolster the economies of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Difficulties encountered in the interpretation of geophysical, geochemical and mineralogical prospecting methods led to a structural investigation into the distribution and tectonic controls of kimberlite magmatism in eastern Sierra Leone. Here we attempt to show a correlation between the continental continuations of transform fault fracture zones and kimberlite magmatism in West Africa.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
White, R. W., Leo, G. W. Geol. Surv. Lib. Bull. 1 (1969).
Knopf, D. Les kimberlites et les roches apparentees de Cote d'Ivoire (Sodemi, Abidjan, 1970).
Grantham, D. R. & Allen, J. B. Overseas Geol. Miner. Res. 8, 5–25 (1960).
Bardet, M. Mem. Bur. Rech. Geol. Minieres 83 (1973).
McMaster, R. L., Christoffersson, E. & Ashraf, A. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 59, 2161–71 (1975).
Blundell, D. J. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 31, 287–90 (1976).
Wright, J. B. Tectonophysics 34, T43–47 (1976).
Wells, M. K. Overseas Geol. Min. Res. Bull. Suppl. 4, 115 (1962).
Marsh, J. S. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 18, 317–323 (1973).
Francheteau, J. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 56, 991–1007 (1972).
Pitman, W. C. III & Talwani, M. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 83, 619–646 (1972).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
WILLIAMS, H., WILLIAMS, R. Kimberlites and plate-tectonics in West Africa. Nature 270, 507–508 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/270507a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/270507a0
This article is cited by
-
The rhombohedral framework of the Scandinavian Caledonides and their foreland
Geologische Rundschau (1992)
-
An alternative hypothesis for the origin of West African kimberlites (reply)
Nature (1979)
-
An alternative hypothesis for the origin of West African kimberlites
Nature (1979)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
