The African continent is rich in mineral resources, including the world's 50 most important minerals, and ranks first in the world in the reserves of at least 17 minerals. According to existing data, Africa's reserves of platinum, manganese, chromium, ruthenium, iridium and other minerals account for more than 80% of the world's total reserves; phosphates, palladium, gold, diamonds, germanium, cobalt and vanadium account for more than 50% of the world's reserves; and uranium, tantalum, cesium, bauxite, fluorite, zirconium and graphite also account for more than 30% of the world's share.
Therefore, the African continent has long attracted global attention for its rich resources. Figure 1 Distribution map of mineralization zones and major minerals on the African continent Comprehensive geological and geophysical studies have shown that the African continent is composed of three types of lithosphere: cratonic, orogenic and rift. The western part is mainly cratonic, while the eastern part is mainly rift. The two are separated by the discontinuity of the lithosphere, forming two primary tectonic units in the west and the east. Different types of lithosphere have their own characteristics in formation process, dynamic properties and relationship with mineralization. Figure 2 Division of metallogenic belts on the African continent Combined with the analysis of geological history and major geological events, the formation of the Archean craton in Africa was mainly dominated by crust-mantle differentiation and vertical crustal accretion, which gave birth to B-type iron (manganese) ore, greenstone-type gold ore, and minerals such as Cr, Ni, and PGE. Taking South Africa as an example, the gold produced in the strata between 250 and 380 million years ago accounted for more than half of the global total. During the subsequent Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic orogeny, the growth mode of the continental crust was mainly horizontal accretion, which transformed the Archean cratonic lithosphere and formed an orogenic belt-type lithosphere around the craton, allowing the continent to expand.
During the Neoproterozoic period, the pan-African tectonic thermal event that swept across the African continent led to the "activation" of the Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic orogenic belts, which were transformed in composition or structure to varying degrees, forming the Neoproterozoic orogenic belt-type lithosphere. The collision between the blocks of the eastern Gondwana continent and the western Gondwana continent formed the East African orogenic belt-type lithosphere, which has both new continental crust and oceanic crust, as well as the continental crust from the Archean to the Mesoproterozoic, and the Saharan Neoproterozoic cratonic lithosphere containing ancient fragments, thus forming the main body of the African continent.
During this period, multi-stage plate collision and amalgamation, rifting, volcanic eruption, magmatic intrusion, large-scale granitization and mixed lithification, and multi-stage metamorphism, together gave birth to major metal and non-metal deposits such as gold, copper, chromium, platinum group, manganese, iron, nickel, vanadium, titanium, uranium, graphite, and diamond. During the Paleozoic, the main body of the African continent remained stable, mainly manifested in multi-stage large-scale marine-continental alternating deposition and basin uplift, forming coal-bearing rock series and uranium-bearing conglomerate deposits. During the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, with the opening of the Atlantic Ocean and the separation of the African continent from the South American continent, the eastern part of the African continent developed a rift-type lithosphere on the basis of the Pan-African orogenic belt-type lithosphere. The characteristics of this period are mainly manifested in strong rifting and large-scale intrusion and eruption of basic, ultrabasic, intermediate-acidic magma, as well as modern sedimentation, forming primary diamond deposits, oil and gas fields, base metal and radioactive metal deposits, and various placer deposits.
Therefore, the formation of rich mineral resources in the African continent is closely related to the formation and evolution of its lithospheric structure. According to the formation process of the African continent, the evolution of the lithospheric structure, combined with the spatial distribution of major minerals, deposit types, mineral assemblages, and the state of crust-mantle structure, we can divide 31 mineralization zones, of which 27 are in the African continent. From the perspective of the lithosphere, this paper divides the tectonic units, and divides the mineralization zones on the basis of exploring the relationship between lithosphere evolution and mineralization. It is hoped that this study will provide a useful reference for subsequent work. The African continent is a treasure trove of resources, and it is also one of the few regions in the world where resources have not yet been fully developed. In-depth research on its large-scale mineralization background, exploration of the relationship between deep processes and mineralization, and summary of mineralization laws are of great significance for guiding enterprises to "go global".
