Wed Feb 26 09:44:45 UTC 2025: **West Africa’s Gold Rush: A Geological Mystery Solved?**
**Accra, Ghana – February 26, 2025** – West Africa’s significant gold reserves, contributing approximately 10.8% of global production in 2024, have long been a source of both economic opportunity and political tension. While the region’s historical significance as a gold producer is undeniable, the reasons behind its abundance have remained a subject of scientific inquiry.
According to a recent article published in *The Conversation*, and republished in *The Hindu*, geologists are now offering some answers. While the exact origin of gold remains a mystery, two leading theories explain the formation of its concentrated deposits.
The first theory, proposed by geologist Richard J. Goldfarb, suggests that gold deposits formed billions of years ago during continental expansion. Collisions between landmasses, a process called accretionary tectonics, forced mineral-rich fluids through the Earth’s crust, leading to gold concentration in specific areas.
A more recent theory, put forward by planetary scientist Andrew Tomkins, points to the role of oxygen-rich oceans during the Phanerozoic period (approximately 650 million years ago). Gold trapped within pyrite (fool’s gold) was later released through geological processes, forming mineable deposits.
Much of West Africa’s gold is located within the ancient West African craton, a geological formation spanning several countries including Ghana, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire. The Eburnean Orogeny, a major tectonic event 2.2 to 2.08 billion years ago, is believed to have played a crucial role in the formation of these deposits. Specifically, the Rhyacian Birimian granitoid-greenstone belts, formed 2.3 to 2.05 billion years ago through volcanic and tectonic processes, are particularly rich in gold.
Ghana and Mali, situated atop this craton, are the region’s leading gold producers. Ghana, estimated to hold 1,000 metric tonnes of gold, produces around 90 tonnes annually (7% of global production), while Mali’s 2023 production reached approximately 67.7 tonnes, from an estimated 800 tonnes of deposits. This contrasts with the world’s largest producers, China and Australia, which mined roughly 370 and 310 metric tonnes in 2023, respectively.
The methods of gold extraction have evolved significantly. Traditional panning and shallow pit mining have given way to advanced techniques, including geochemical exploration, geophysical surveys, and chemical extraction using cyanide leaching. Cutting-edge technologies such as remote sensing data combined with machine learning, and the use of stable isotopes are further enhancing exploration efficiency and accuracy. These advancements aim to reduce exploration costs and increase the chances of successful discoveries.
The ongoing research highlights the complex geological processes responsible for West Africa’s vast gold reserves, furthering our understanding of this valuable resource and its potential for sustainable exploitation.
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