Petrological and Structural Approach to Understanding the Mechanism of Formation and Development of Paleoproterozoic Calc-Alkaline Volcanic Rocks of West Africa’s Craton: An Example of the Mako and Foulde Groups (Kedougou Inlier in Western Senegal)

Abstract

The calc-alkaline volcanic formations in the western part of the Kedougou-Kenieba inlier crop out in three complexes: the Foulde in the North and the areas of Mako and Baniomba in the South. These complexes which either combine with the tholeiites or cut across the sedimentary formations are composed of thin veins and massive lava flows. They have many petrographic similarities and show chemical characteristics that resemble those of island-arc rocks. At the tectonic level, the D1 deformation phase preceding the formation of the basins and the transpressive tectonics including an oblique convergence may account for the structural evolution of the Mako volcanic belt. Its occurrence in different basins may be evidenced by the composition of some lithophilic components like the Sr, Ba, U, Rb and the composition of clinopyroxenes enriched in TiO 2 , FeO, Na 2 O in the Foulde calc-alkaline volcanic rocks that developed in a sedimentary environment.