©2021 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

Economic Geology, v. 116, no. 6, pp. 1329–1353

Gold Deposits of the ~15-Moz Ahafo South Camp, Sefwi Granite-Greenstone Belt,
Ghana: Insights into the Anatomy of an Orogenic Gold Plumbing System
Quentin Masurel,1,† Paul Morley,2 Nicolas Thébaud,1 and Helen McFarlane3
1Centre for Exploration Targeting, The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Australia
2Newmont Corporation, Paramaribo Office, Van’y Hogerhuysstraat 15, 4th Floor, Paramaribo, Suriname
3Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Mineral Resources, Kensington 6151, Australia

Abstract
The ~15-Moz Ahafo South gold camp is located in southwest Ghana, the world’s premier Paleoproterozoic
gold subprovince. Major orogenic gold deposits in the camp include Subika, Apensu, Awonsu, and Amoma.
These deposits occur along an ~15-km strike length of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone, a major tectonostrati-
graphic boundary juxtaposing metamorphosed volcano-plutonic rocks of the Sefwi belt against metamorphosed
volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Sunyani-Comoé basin. In this study, we document the geologic setting, struc-
tural geometry, and rheological architecture of the Ahafo South gold deposits based on the integration of field
mapping, diamond drill core logging, 3-D geologic modeling, and the geologic interpretation of aeromagnetic
data. At the camp scale, the Awonsu, Apensu, and Amoma deposits lie along strike from one another and share
similar hanging-wall plutonic rocks and footwall volcano-sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the Subika gold deposit
is hosted entirely in hanging-wall plutonic rocks. Steeper-dipping segments (e.g., Apensu, Awonsu, Subika) and
right-hand flexures (e.g., Amoma, Apensu) in the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone and subsidiary structures appear
to have represented sites of enhanced damage and fluid flux (i.e., restraining bends). All gold deposits occur
within structural domains bounded by discontinuous, low-displacement, sinistral N-striking tear faults oblique
to the orogen-parallel Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone. At the deposit scale, ore-related hydrothermal alteration is
zoned, with distal chlorite-sericite grading into proximal silica-albite-Fe-carbonate mineral assemblages. Altera-
tion halos are restricted to narrow selvages around quartz-carbonate vein arrays in multiple stacked ore shoots
at Subika, whereas these halos extend 30 to 100 m away from the ore zones at Apensu and Awonsu. There is a
clear spatial association between shallow-dipping mafic dikes, mafic chonoliths, shear zones, and economic gold
mineralization. The abundance of mafic dikes and chonoliths within intermediate to felsic hanging-wall plutonic
host rocks provided rheological heterogeneity that favored the formation of enhanced fracture permeability,
promoting the tapping of ore fluid(s). Our interpretation is that these stacked shallow-dipping mafic dike arrays
also acted as aquitards, impeding upward fluid flow within the wider intrusive rock mass until a failure threshold
was episodically reached due to fluid overpressure, resulting in transient fracture-controlled upward propagation
of the ore-fluid(s). Our results indicate that high-grade ore shoots at Ahafo South form part of vertically extensive
fluid conduit systems that are primarily controlled by the rheological architecture of the rock mass.

Introduction
Structural controls on mineralization have been document-
ed in many if not all orogenic gold deposits worldwide (e.g.,
Robert and Poulsen, 2001; Goldfarb et al., 2005; Groves et
al., 2018). Explorers have consequently relied heavily on the
use of structural geology in deposit-scale exploration targeting
over the last two decades. The standard concept is that if the
geometry and synmineralization kinematics of an ore-hosting
fault are known, one can predict the location of ore shoots (e.g.,
Cox et al., 2001; Sibson, 2001). Recent practical case studies
and academic research have challenged this classic structure-­
centric approach to deposit-scale exploration targeting and
have shown that structural controls are far more complex and
difficult to predict than implied by the above concept, as dis-
cussed in Vearncombe and Zelic (2015) and Hronsky (2020).
A common mistake made by many explorers is to infer the
tectonic far-field stress orientation at the time of mineraliza-
tion to predict the location of dilation zones on known, local,
ore-hosting structures. This process assumes that tectonic de-
formation of the bulk rock mass, which occurs over millions
of years, is the key driver for ore-related deformation. Avail-
able evidence, however, indicates rather that fluid pressure is
†Corresponding author: e-mail, qmasurel@hotmail.com
the key driver for ore-related deformation and that orogenic
gold deposits may form in 10,000 to 100,000 years (Cox, 2016,
2020). As an illustration, Miller and Wilson (2004) conclud-
ed that kinematics of host structures at the Wonga orogenic
gold deposit could not be correlated with any preserved re-
gional paleostress orientation. The emerging thinking is that
ore shoots form as transient fluid exits conduits, linking an
overpressured fluid reservoir at depth to a sink as part of a
multiply repeated process organized in the same rock vol-
ume (i.e., concept of self-organized critical system; Hronsky
et al., 2012; Wyman et al., 2016). A direct implication of this
concept is that multiscale fluid-flow conduits are the primary
element of ore-forming hydrothermal systems. Fluid con-
duits occur at the regional (~25–100 km), camp (~5–25 km),
and deposit (<5 km) scales. The mineral system concept (Mc-
Cuaig and Hronsky, 2014) recognizes the inherent strong
scale dependency of the targeting criteria and is thus associ-
ated with enhanced predictive capacity. At the regional and
camp scales, numerous if not all giant gold deposits occur in
close spatial association to translithospheric discontinuities,
which link metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric man-
tle with the crust (Bierlein et al., 2006; Groves et al., 2020).
These world-class gold deposits occur (1) at the intersection
between major basement structures, particularly when these

ISSN 0361-0128; doi:10.5382/econgeo.4829; 26 p. 1329 Submitted: May 9, 2020 / Accepted: December 22, 2020

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 1330 MASUREL ET AL.

occur at relatively high angle to each other, or (2) at the in-

tersection between a fundamental basement structure and N
orogen-parallel crustal-scale faults and shear zones (McCu- Paleoproterozoic
aig and Hronsky, 2014). At the deposit scale, the rheological Baoulé-Mossi
architecture is the key control on the location of both fluid Domain
conduits and high-grade ore shoots rather than the prevailing
far-field stress (Hronsky, 2020).

10°
The southern part of the West African craton (Fig. 1A) is
the world’s premier Paleoproterozoic gold province (Goldfarb Archean
et al., 2017). The Ashanti granite-greenstone belt in southwest Kénéma-Man Fig. 1B
Domain
Ghana (Fig. 1B) is associated with a translithospheric fault
system that controlled world-class orogenic and paleoplacer
gold systems (>100 Moz total gold endowment; Thébaud et 0 200
al., 2020). The neighboring Sefwi granite-greenstone belt A

0°
km
hosts the ~15-Moz Ahafo South and ~3.5-Moz Ahafo North -10° -5° 0°

gold systems (Fig. 1B). In this paper, we document the geo-

logic setting and structural geometry of the Ahafo South gold -2.75° -2.50° -2.25° -2.00° -1.75° -1.50° -1.25°

deposits with an emphasis on key architectural features at

Sunyani-Comoé Volta basin
the deposit and camp scales. The intention is that our model basin KY Ahafo N
(Cover)
can be applied to practical deposit-scale exploration and also

7.00°
provide insights into the anatomy of a major orogenic gold
Ahafo S
plumbing system. Sefwi
belt Fig. 2

6.75°
Geologic Background
Hwi Konongo
Geology of the Sefwi granite-greenstone belt Esaase

6.50°
Bibiani
The geology of southwestern Ghana consists of linear gran- Akyem
Obotan
ite-greenstone belts (e.g., Ashanti, Sefwi) separated by syn-
Ask

6.25°
Chirano Ashanti
orogenic basins (e.g., Akyem, Kumasi, Sunyani-Comoé). The K Obuasi Akyem
belt basin
Sefwi granite-greenstone belt is flanked to the northwest and Dunkwa Aky
southeast by the low-grade metamorphosed sedimentary Grumesa

6.00°
Edikan
series of the Sunyani-Comoé and Kumasi basins, respec- BA
Enchi Mampon
tively (Fig. 1B). Metamorphic studies have documented re- Akr
gional peak metamorphic conditions of upper greenschist to

5.75°
Pampe Ash
N
lower amphibolite facies in the central and northwest parts Afema
Bogoso
of the belt in comparison to low to mid greenschist facies Damang

5.50°
Prestea
in its southeastern part (Hirdes et al., 1992, 1993; Galipp et Tarkwa Wassa
al., 2003). Mafic to felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks 0 25
Kumasi
of the Sefwi Group have been dated between ca. 2200 and basin Iduapriem km

5.25°
2160 Ma and attributed to a period of juvenile crust production Benso

associated with subduction and magmatic accretion (Hirdes Molasse, ca. 2110-2095 Ma B
et al., 1992, 1996; Hirdes and Davis, 1998; Loh and Hirdes, (e.g. polymict conglomerates, sandstones)
1999). Voluminous monzogranitic plutonism occurred in the
Flysch-type sedimentary rocks, ca. 2135-2110 Ma
region between ca. 2160 and 2150 Ma (Feybesse et al., 2006; (e.g. graywackes, sandstones, siltstones, mudstones)
McFarlane et al., 2019a). Such melts were interpreted to re-
sult from the partial melting of mafic rocks from the Sefwi Volcanic and volcano-sedimentary rocks, ca. 2200-2160 Ma
Group at deep crustal levels (Pouclet et al., 1996; McFarlane
Eburnean two-mica leucogranite, ca. 2090-2080 Ma
et al., 2019a, b). Sedimentary rocks from the Sunyani-Comoé
basin unconformably overlie the monzogranites and contain Eburnean biotite-granite, ca. 2115-2090 Ma
detrital zircons derived from these plutons (e.g., Pouclet et
al., 1996; Vidal et al., 1996; Oberthür et al., 1998). Initiation Eoeburnean granodiorite-diorite-tonalite, ca. 2180-2135 Ma
of sediment deposition in the Sunyani-Comoé basin remains
Eburnean orogenic gold deposit, ca. 2110-2060 Ma
poorly constrained. Some authors have locally reported vol-
Eburnean paleoplacer gold deposit, ca. 2110-2095 Ma

Fig. 1. A) Summary geologic map of the southern part of the West African
craton (modified after Grenholm et al., 2019). B) Geologic map of southwest
Ghana showing the location of major shear zones and regional setting of key
gold deposits (modified after Tourigny et al., 2018; Oliver et al., 2020). Tim-
ing of key gold deposits in southwest Ghana after Thébaud et al. (2020). SZ
= shear zone.
Eoeburnean orogenic gold deposit, ca. 2180-2135 Ma
Major shear zone:
Ash: Ashanti SZ, Ask: Asankragwa SZ, Akr: Akropong SZ,
Aky: Akyem SZ, BA: Bibiani-Afema SZ, Hwi: Hwidiem SZ,
K: Ketesso SZ, KY: Kenyase-Yamfo SZ

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1331
caniclastic rocks containing clasts of mafic to intermediate
basement with maximum deposition ages at ca. 2150 Ma (e.g.,
Grenholm et al., 2019). Detrital zircon age data across south-
west Ghana, however, indicate that widespread deposition of
thick flysch series (e.g., graywackes, sandstones, siltstones,
and mudstones) occurred after ca. 2135 Ma (e.g., Davis et al.,
1994; Oberthür et al., 1998; Hirdes et al., 2007; Adadey et al.,
2009; Masurel et al., in press). Multiple depositional settings
have been proposed for these thick, deep-water rock sequenc-
es in southwest Ghana, including (1) synorogenic foreland ba-
sin (Feybesse et al., 2006; Block et al., 2016), (2) back-arc sed-
imentation controlled by extensional detachments (Perrouty
et al., 2012), and (3) sediment deposition under sinistral-nor-
mal transtension along NNE- to NE-striking faults following
NW-directed indentation of amalgamated crustal blocks onto
an assumed Archean nucleus confined to the lower crust of
modern-day southeast Ghana (Petersson et al., 2016, 2018;
Grenholm et al., 2019). Part of these deep-water sedimentary
series must have deposited prior to the ca. 2115 Ma intru-
sive emplacement of calc-alkaline felsic plutons (e.g., horn-
blende-biotite-granodiorite, biotite-granite; Feybesse et al.,
2006). The gradual switch from volcaniclastic to flysch-type
sedimentation likely correlated with the onset of the Ebur-
nean orogeny and transition from hybrid magmatic-tectonic
to tectonic accretion. Inversion of the Sunyani-Comoé basin is
reflected by the 2116 ± 2 Ma Wenchi granite, which intruded
folded and metamorphosed sedimentary rocks (Hirdes et al.,
1993). Deposition of synorogenic molasse was restricted to a
narrow segment of the Bibiani fault system although its timing
and tectonic context of deposition remain debated (Fig. 1B).
These immature polymict conglomerates contain reworked
crustal material from both the Kumasi flysch series and Sefwi
volcano-plutonic rocks (Agyei Duodu et al., 2009). In com-
parison, the Tarkwa synorogenic molasse covers a large area of
the Ashanti granite-greenstone belt, thus suggesting (1) con-
trasted tectonic histories and/or (2) differential exhumation,
erosion, and preservation. Numerous two-mica granites and
leucogranites dated between ca. 2090 and 2080 Ma have in-
truded sedimentary rocks within a narrow ~50-km-wide zone
along the southeastern margin of the Sunyani-Comoé basin
(Hirdes et al., 1992, 2007; Hirdes and Davis, 1998). Solid-
state deformation features and elongation of the Sunyani-Co-
moé basin-hosted granites indicate they were emplaced un-
der oblique dip-slip deformation linked to the reactivation of
the inherited architecture in the late Eburnean tectonother-
mal history (Feybesse et al., 2006; Jessell et al., 2012). Two
distinct scenarios were interpreted for the generation of these
evolved melts and include (1) melting of local lower crustal
metasedimentary source rocks (Egal et al., 2002) and/or (2)
partial remelting of older tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite
(TTG)-like suites (Tapsoba et al., 2013). Magmatic genesis of
these two-mica granites and leucogranites was more recently
interpreted to be the product of crustal anatexis during dock-
ing of modern-day south-central Ghana against northwest
Ghana-eastern Côte d’Ivoire at ca. 2095 Ma, with a proposed
suture parallel to the northwestern margin of the Sefwi belt
(McFarlane et al., 2019b). This collisional phase is supported
by the different tectonic history documented in northwest-
ern Ghana (De Kock et al., 2011, 2012; Block et al., 2015,
2016), clockwise metamorphic pressure-temperature-time
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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
paths identified in the northwest part of the Sefwi belt, and
amphibolite to granulite facies rocks of the Chiraa domain
within the Sunyani-Comoé basin (McFarlane et al., 2019b).
Alternatively, the generation of these evolved granitic melts
in southwest Ghana could reflect the far-field result of bulk
crustal shortening and collision between the northwestern
part of the Paleoproterozoic Baoulé-Mossi domain and the
Archean Kénéma-Man domain at ca. 2100 Ma (Eglinger et
al., 2017; Thébaud et al., 2020).
Insights into the tectonic history of the Ahafo region
The Ahafo gold camp is located in the structurally complex
northwestern part of the Sefwi granite-greenstone belt. The
structural architecture of the region comprises a number of
long-lived, N-, NE-, to ENE-striking faults and shear zones
including the Ketesso, Kenyase-Yamfo, Bibiani-Aféma, and
Hwidiem shear zones (Fig. 2). The Kenyase-Yamfo shear
zone represents a major tectonostratigraphic boundary be-
tween volcano-plutonic rocks of the Sefwi belt and sedimen-
tary rocks in the adjacent Sunyani-Comoé basin. The tectonic
juxtaposition of deep crustal rocks over younger sedimentary
rocks metamorphosed under lower greenschist facies con-
ditions reflects a complex interplay between crustal thick-
ening and exhumation during the Eburnean orogeny (ca.
2115–2060 Ma). Feybesse et al. (2006) correlated exhuma-
tion of high-grade rocks with uplift through thrusting of the
deep crust over supracrustal rocks (D1 NW-SE shortening).
In contrast, McFarlane et al. (2019b) argued that differential
exhumation occurred under a transtensional (i.e., normal-
sinistral) deformation regime (D2 WSW-ENE transtension),
whereby high-grade rocks were focused into the relay zone
between the Ketesso and Kenyase-Yamfo shear zones, soon
after the cessation of bulk crustal shortening (D1 NNW-SSE
shortening). The same authors agree that both scenarios re-
quire a tectonometamorphic event that buried rocks up to
30 to 40 km (maximum depth) and 600° to 700°C between
ca. 2135 and 2095 Ma in the Ahafo region (D1 in Feybesse
et al., 2006; D1 in McFarlane et al., 2019b). Deformation in
the Ahafo region subsequently switched to a transpressional
tectonic regime (EW-directed shortening) under regional
greenschist facies metamorphic conditions (D2–3 in Feybesse
et al., 2006; D3–4 in McFarlane et al., 2019b). The timing of
this transcurrent deformation is consistent with solid-state
deformation features and structural control on emplace-
ment of the ca. 2090 to 2080 Ma peraluminous leucogranites
in the adjacent Sunyani-Comoé basin (Jessell et al., 2012).
Exhumation related to sinistral-normal transtension (D2 in
McFarlane et al., 2019b) was dated at 2073 ± 2 Ma based
on petrographically constrained metamorphic monazite.
Such a transtension-related exhumation model is similar to
postcollisional crustal extension that led to the widespread
emplacement of high-K granites and eruption of ignimbrites
after ca. 2100 Ma in the northern part of the West African
craton (Peucat et al., 2005). Alternatively, it is also possible
that uplift and exhumation of high-grade rocks in the Ahafo
region occurred coeval with transpression assuming >10-km
dextral lateral displacement on the Ketesso high-strain zone
(D3 E-W shortening in McFarlane et al., 2019b), with a slip
vector plunging 5° to 10° to the southwest, as reported during
regional mapping by Hirdes et al. (2007). A late Eburnean
 1332 MASUREL ET AL.

-2.75° -2.50° -2.25° -2.00°

Sunyani
Sunyani-Comoé Volta
basin basin

7.25°
Yamfo 8
67
5
Fig. 4 4

SZ
2

so
Kenyase 1

es

7.00°
t
Ke
Z
SZ

ani S
fo
am Kumasi

Bibi
- Y Z
se mS basin
N ya idie
n Hw
Ke

Sefwi

6.75°
belt

0 10 20 km

Metamorphosed sedimentary, volcaniclastic, Phanerozoic cover Town

and pyroclastic rocks
Biotite-granites and two-mica leucogranites
Metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary rocks
Diorite-granodiorite-tonalite, monzogranite
Metamorphosed basalts and basalt-andesites
Flysch-type metasedimentary rocks
Metagabbro, amphibolite, metapyroxenite

Active mines: 1. Subika 2. Apensu 3. Awonsu 4. Amoma Major shear zone

Ahafo North deposits: 5. Yamfo 6. Susuan 7. Teekyere 8. Subenso Minor shear zone
Fig. 2. Geologic map of the northwestern part of the Sefwi belt showing the geologic setting of the Ahafo gold camp (modified
after McFarlane et al., 2019b). SZ = shear zone.

transpressional deformation regime in the Ahafo region re-
sulted in the sinistral reactivation of the Bibiani shear zone
and sinistral-reverse displacement along the Kenyase-Yamfo
shear zone (D3 in Feybesse et al., 2006; D4 in McFarlane
et al., 2019b). All previously described structural elements
are truncated and/or dissected by N- to NNE-striking dis-
continuous sinistral faults along the northwestern margin of
the Sefwi belt (McFarlane et al., 2019b). The timing of this
late Eburnean transpressional phase remains unconstrained,
but it is inferred to represent the geodynamic trigger that
empowered the bulk of gold mineralization at Bibiani and
Chirano (Fig. 1) along the south-central margin of the Sefwi
belt (Allibone et al., 2004; Goldfarb et al., 2017; Thébaud et
al., 2020). The latest deformation increment reported in the
Ahafo region corresponds to local conjugate ENE-striking
dextral and NW-striking sinistral faults (D5 in McFarlane
et al., 2019b), which are discontinuous along strike and as-
sociated with low-displacement offsets of earlier structures
and fabrics. The above summary illustrates how difficult it is
to correlate tectonic deformation histories across the Sefwi
granite-greenstone belt, and to a larger extent across south-
west Ghana, with numerous interpretations of complex inter-
plays between compressional, transpressional, transtensional,
and extensional events associated with a conflicting number
of deformation phases. Resolving this controversy would re-
quire understanding time-integrated three-dimensional par-
titioning of progressive deformation across southwest Ghana.
Exploration and Mining Background
There is widespread evidence for ancient artisanal mining in
southwest Ghana. Exploration activities near such “galamsey”
sites have often led to the discovery of primary gold deposits
of economic significance. The Ahafo region was considered a
greenfield exploration project in the early to mid-1990s given
the distance from historical mining centers and was tradition-
ally regarded as a farming area with no major industry. Local

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1333

miners, however, argue that the Ahafo region also had his- phasis on the main structural, lithological, and mineralogical
torical artisanal mining (e.g., 1860s Ntotroso mine), although variations observed in these deposits. Structural data is given
not on the same scale as the Ashanti belt. The earliest explo- here in true north coordinates. Planar features are reported
ration campaign in the Ahafo region correlated with stream in strike/dip (right-hand rule) and linear data as plunge →
sediment sampling and was undertaken by Gencor in 1993. azimuth. Structural data were plotted on equal-area stere-
The French Geological Survey (BRGM), Rank Mining Ltd., onets using the lower hemisphere convention. The longitudi-
Moydow Mines International Inc., and Normandy Mining nal and cross sections showing the trends of ore shoots were
Ltd. subsequently completed further exploration activities in- built using Leapfrog Geo three-dimensional, isotropic inter-
cluding soil sampling, geophysical data collection, and drilling polation rendering of the assay data, which combined grade
through to 2002. A potentially economic gold resource was control and exploration data. Interpretation of proprietary
first identified at Ahafo North in 1995 with the discovery of aeromagnetic data (total magnetic intensity, reduced to pole,
the Yamfo, Subenso, and Teekyere deposits. Subsequent dis- first vertical derivative) for the Ahafo camp was integrated
coveries at Ahafo South included Amoma, Apensu, Awonsu, with geologic mapping. Host rocks in the Ahafo camp have
and Subika between 1996 and 1999. The initial ~7-Moz Ahafo undergone regional upper greenschist to lower amphibolite
gold resource identified through these relatively small scale facies metamorphism. For the purpose of clarity, the prefix
exploration activities was consolidated by Newmont follow- “meta” is omitted hereafter. The term “chonolith” is used in
ing a merger with Normandy Mining Ltd. in 2002, and the this study to describe an intrusive body with a nonspecific
purchase of Moydow Mines International Inc. and Rank Min- irregular shape, which is generally rootless and does not fit
ing Ltd. in 2003. Newmont believed there was significant up- into other categories of plutonic geometry such as dike, sill,
side potential and embarked on a systematic program of deep or laccolith.
drilling, 200 to 300 m beneath the known extent of each of
the key deposits in Ahafo North and Ahafo South, resulting Geology of the Ahafo South Gold Camp
in the identification of additional resources that grew far be- Most gold deposits of the Ahafo South gold camp (i.e., Apen-
yond the 2003 resource base. Mining at Ahafo South started su, Awonsu, Amoma) straddle the N040/60SE Kenyase-Yamfo
in 2006, with the first gold bar poured in July 2006. Gold ore anastomosing shear zone, which occupies the rheological con-
has been extracted from four open-pit mines since 2006 (i.e., tact between (1) competent, higher-grade (upper greenschist
Amoma, Subika, Awonsu, and Apensu) and more recently to lower amphibolite facies) volcanic rocks and elongated
from underground operations at Subika (Fig. 3). By year composite plutons of the Sefwi belt and (2) rheologically
end 2019, deposits of the Ahafo South camp had produced weaker, lower-grade (low greenschist facies) sedimentary and
~6.5 Moz of gold, with ~5 Moz of remaining proven and prob- volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Sunyani-Comoé basin (Fig.
able reserves, and ~3 Moz of measured and indicated resourc- 4). The Subika gold deposit, unlike the other deposits, occurs
es (Newmont, 2019 reserves and resources report). ~2 km east of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone into the Sefwi
belt side and is entirely hosted by intrusive rocks (Fig. 4). Plu-
Material and Methods tonic rocks in the hanging wall of the N040/60SE Kenyase-
The Subika, Apensu, Awonsu, and Amoma open pits at Ahafo Yamfo shear zone display variability in grain size and compo-
South were visited for reconnaissance-style mapping of key sition. Intrusive relationships are indicated by the presence
faces where access was permitted. Additional geologic map- of locally abundant xenoliths and rafts of mafic igneous rocks
ping of surface outcrops was completed within Newmont’s (e.g., microgabbro, dolerite, amphibolite). Least altered plu-
Ahafo district tenement package, surrounding the mining tonic bodies range from diorite at Subika to granodiorite and
lease. Detailed section logging from 60 cross sections at Apen- monzogranite at Apensu, Awonsu, and Amoma. These intru-
su, Awonsu, and Subika (Fig. 4) was undertaken with an em- sive bodies extend from ~1 km to greater than 5 km in width.

Ahafo Camp Gold Resource and Reserve

Apensu N drilled
Apensu S drilled

35 0.7
Yamfo, Teekyere, Subenso drilled

Annual Production Moz

Susuan drilled

30 0.6
Apesu and Awonsu drilled

25 0.5
Normandy merger

20 0.4
Moz

Subika drilled

15 0.3
Amoma drilled

10 0.2

5 0.1

0 0.0
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Resource Reserve Total production Total resource and reserve Annual production

Fig. 3. Summary chart illustrating the history of exploration and mining at Ahafo.

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 1334 MASUREL ET AL.

-2.35° -2.30°

7.10°
si n
ba Amoma
oé
om
i-C
an
ny
Su

SZ
fo
m
Ya
-
se
ya
en
K

7.05°
Awonsu
elt
ib
fw
Se

Apensu
N

0 2 km
7.00°

Subika

Metamorphosed siltstones and mudstones Major shear zone

Metamorphosed volcaniclastic rocks Minor fault

Logged drill hole trace
Metamorphosed wackes
Open pit
Metamorphosed mudstones and wackes
Geologic section line
Amphibolite remnant (Figure 11)
Fig. 4. Geologic map of the Ahafo South gold camp
Metamorphosed hornblende-bearing diorite-granodiorite, monzogranite (modified after Newmont, annual report, 2019).

Contacts between the plutonic rocks and surrounding supra-
crustal rocks are sharp but structurally overprinted. These
pre- to synkinematic plutons were crosscut by volumetrically
abundant mafic dikes and chonoliths prior to gold mineraliza-
tion. These mafic bodies are dark green, fine grained, massive
in texture, and predominantly made up of plagioclase feld-
spars, actinolite, chlorite, quartz, and calcite. A close spatial
association exists between these mafic dikes and chonoliths
and auriferous lodes. The geologic setting and structural ge-
ometry of individual gold deposits is presented hereafter, with

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1335

a summary table of key features associated with each deposit
provided in Table 1.
Subika
Lithologies: The Subika deposit (Fig. 5A, B) is hosted by a
composite pluton, which predominantly consists of diorite and
volumetrically minor granodiorite. Ubiquitous pink veins stand
out within their diorite host on faces of the open pit. These felsic
veins are 5 to 25 cm thick and consist essentially of quartz and
K-feldspar. They are consistently east-northeast striking and
steeply south dipping (Fig. 6A). Abundant fine- to medium-
grained greenish mafic dikes crosscut the host diorite. These
dikes vary in thickness from 10 cm to 1.5 m and occur in two
sets, which consist of ENE-striking, steeply S-dipping dikes
(Fig. 6B) and ENE- to NE-striking, shallow S-dipping
dikes with rarer N-dipping conjugates (Fig. 6C). No obvious
differences in mineralogy (as a proxy to mineral composition)
were observed between the two sets in hand specimen.
Structural setting: The earliest structural feature at Subika
is correlated with a subhorizontal magmatic foliation marked
by flattened mafic enclaves (e.g., microgabbro and amphibo-
lite xenoliths) and hornblende in host diorite. All sets of maf-
ic dikes and the felsic veins cut across this low-angle folia-
tion. Crosscutting relationships between the dominant steep
mafic dike set and the felsic veins were observed not in the
open pit or in drill core, likely due to their similar geometry.
In contrast, the shallow-dipping mafic dikes cut across the
felsic veins. A cryptic structure referred to as the N050/60SE
Subika “magic fracture zone” (Baah-Danso, 2011) contains
the bulk of the ore (Figs. 5A, 7A). It is correlated in the field
with a 5- to 30-m-wide, steep, beige alteration zone with
sharp contacts with the least altered diorite wall rocks (Fig.
7B). A number of NE- to ENE-striking shallow-dipping
shear zones (e.g., Victor, Kalbaas) can be traced over 1 km
across benches in the open pit (Figs. 5B, 7C). These low-
angle shear zones vary in thickness between 1 to 3 m and are
oblique to the Subika magic fracture zone. There is a spatial
association between these shallow-dipping shear zones and
shallow-dipping mafic dikes in the open pit (Fig. 7D). Kine-
matic indicators such as obliquity of foliation to shear zone

Table 1. Summary of Key Features for Individual Gold Deposits of the Ahafo South Camp

Deposit Host rocks Hydrothermal alteration zoning Ore zone(s) characteristics

Apensu South Granodiorite, 20- to 30-m-
thick mafic chonolith
Distal (100–150 m from ore zone): chlorite
Proximal (20–100 m from ore zone): sericite-
albite-Fe-carbonate
Ore zone: Fe-carbonate-pyrite and quartz-
carbonate veining
Disseminated pyrite (~2–5 % modal vol) closely associated
with higher gold grades (1) at contacts between highly
strained chonolith and brecciated granodiorite, (2) within
the highly strained mafic chonolith, and (3) on steeper-
dipping segments of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone;
average 2.0 g/t Au

Apensu Main Granodiorite, 5- to 30-m-
thick mafic chonolith,
0.20- to 2-m-thick shallow-
dipping mafic dikes
Distal (100–150 m from ore zone): chlorite- Disseminated pyrite (~2–5 % modal vol) closely associated
sericite-silica with higher gold grades (1) at contacts between highly
Proximal (0–50 m from ore zone): Fe-car- strained chonolith and brecciated granodiorite, (2) at
bonate-albite contacts between granodiorite and thin mafic dikes, and
Ore zone: Fe-carbonate-pyrite and quartz- (3) on steeper-dipping segments of the Kenyase-Yamfo
carbonate veining shear zone; average 2.3 g/t Au

Apensu North Granodiorite, 3- to 50-m-
thick mafic chonolith,
0.20- to 1-m-thick shallow-
dipping mafic dikes
Distal (150–250 m from ore zone): chlorite- Disseminated pyrite (~2–5 % modal vol) closely associated
sericite with higher gold grades (1) at contacts between highly
Proximal (0–50 m from ore zone): Fe-car- strained chonolith and brecciated granodiorite, (2) at
bonate-albite contacts between granodiorite and thin mafic dikes, and
Ore zone: Fe-carbonate-pyrite and quartz- (3) on steeper-dipping segments of the Kenyase-Yamfo
carbonate veining shear zone; average 2.5 g/t Au

Awonsu Granodiorite, 20- to 90-m-
thick mafic chonolith,
0.10- to 1-m-thick shallow-
dipping mafic dikes
Distal (>250 m from ore zone): chlorite- Disseminated pyrite (~2–5 % modal vol) closely associ-
sericite ated with higher gold grades in damage zone at contact
Proximal (0–70 m from ore zone): Fe-car- between granodiorite and the upper margin of the
bonate-albite chonolith; average 1.5 g/t Au
Ore zone: Fe-carbonate-pyrite and quartz-
carbonate veining

Amoma Granodiorite, monzogranite Distal (50 m from ore zone): chlorite-sericite Disseminated pyrite (~2–5 % modal vol) closely associated
Proximal (0–15 m from ore zone): Fe-car- with higher gold grades in damage zone on right-hand
bonate-albite bend in the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone; average 1.5 g/t
Ore zone: Fe-carbonate-pyrite and quartz- Au
carbonate veining

Subika Diorite, gabbro, 0.10- to Distal (cm to m from ore): chlorite Multiple stacked thin ore lenses (~2–15 m wide) occurring
1-m-thick shallow-dipping Proximal (m from ore): Fe-carbonate-silica- over intervals of 150–200 m; disseminated pyrite (~3–10
mafic dikes albite-sericite % modal vol) closely associated with gold in wall rocks
Ore zone: Fe-carbonate-pyrite and quartz- to quartz-carbonate veins; higher gold grades correlate
carbonate veining with (1) more abundant vein arrays (shear, extensional,
and stockwork veins) below aquitard mafic dikes and/or
low-angle shear zones, and (2) intersections between the
Subika fluid conduit and steep mafic dikes
Average grade 2.0 g/t (open pit), 4.8 g/t Au (underground)

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 1336 MASUREL ET AL.

123000 123200 123400 123600 123800 124000

Kalbaas SZ
Pit design N
(bench traces)
258200

jei S
Z Y
Ad
Major shear zone
Minor shear zone
Subika “magic
258000

fracture zone”

Diorite

Z
iS
Victor SZ

se
High-grade (>3 g/t Au)
257800

O
mineralization

SZ
as
lba
N

Ka
Z
S
se
ui
257600

Lo

SZ
nis SZ
De r Denis SZ
257400

cto
Vi
257200

SZ
sah
pon
Am
SZ
Nobert
0 100 200 m
X Hatch SZ (calculated)

X Y
Lay back

Open pit
e
1000 m Declin
or
Vict Deep SZ (calculated)
800 m

600 m
?
aas
400 m Kalb
h
200 m Hatc
ep
Reserve De
Resource, indicated 0 250 500 m
B Resource, inferred Shear zone

Fig. 5. A) Plan view showing the geologic setting of the Subika open pit. B) Long section view of the Subika gold system.
The long section is provided here to illustrate the geometry and spatial distribution of these structures below the open pit
and current underground mining operations. Structural data (shear foliation and striation lineation) for each shear zone (SZ)
plotted in equal-area stereonets.

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1337
N

Diorite

0 1m
N

Diorite
Mafic dike

N
0 1m

C
Mafic dike

Fig. 6. Representative field photos of pink felsic veins and mafic

Diorite dikes in the host diorite at Subika, with associated structural mea-
surements. A) ENE-striking, steeply S-dipping felsic veins. Individ-
0 50 cm ual bench height is 3 m. B) ENE-striking, steeply S-dipping mafic
dike set. C) ENE- to NE-striking, shallow S-dipping mafic dike set.
Structural data plotted in equal-area stereonets.

boundaries, drag of the early felsic veins into shear planes,
S-C fabrics, and striation lineations with associated stepped
fibers point toward reverse displacement. These low-angle
shear zones locally contain shear veins. Slickenfibers and
striation lineations on these shear vein boundaries indicate
reverse displacement (Fig. 7E). The steep Subika magic
fracture zone and low-angle shear zones display a common
deformation style and hydrothermal alteration. Narrow-
scale cryptic slip planes have also been mapped adjacent to
the Subika magic fracture zone, consisting of steep, discon-
tinuous, N010- to N015-striking sinistral parasitic centime-
ter-scale faults. These faults cut across low-angle shear zones
but locally display striation lineations and slickenfibers made
of a hydrothermal mineral assemblage equivalent to that of
the ore.
Hydrothermal alteration and gold mineralization: The bulk
of gold mineralization is hosted within the Subika magic frac-
ture zone. In diamond drill core, the Subika magic fracture
zone consists of multiple laterally stacked, high-grade (>3
g/t) ore lenses separated typically by 2- to 5-m-thick waste
zones (Fig. 8A). These waste zones correlate with the cores
of shallow-dipping mafic dikes, with economic-grade miner-
alization essentially focused on their contact margins and in
damage zones in diorite wall rocks. Gold mineralization with-
in the Subika magic fracture zone occurs as stacked 5-mm-
to 2-cm-thick quartz-carbonate vein arrays displaying zoned

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 1338 MASUREL ET AL.

A
Shallow-dipping shear
zones and/or mafic dikes

Kalbaas SZ

Subika “magic
fracture zone”
Looking SE

B C Auriferous shear vein and zoned

hydrothermal alteration in wall rocks

Auriferous
vein arrays
Prox
Dist ima
0 1m l Fe
al c -car
hlor bon
ite a ate
ltera alte
tion ratio
n

D N N N E

Shallow-dipping Shallow-dipping Auriferous

shear zones mafic dikes quartz-carbonate veins

Fig. 7. A) Drone panoramic view of the Subika open pit illustrating key structural features. B) Field photo of auriferous vein
arrays within the Subika magic fracture zone (modified after Baah-Danso, 2011). C) Field photo of the Kalbaas shear zone.
D) Structural data plotted in equal-area stereonets. Note the equivalent orientations of shallow-dipping shear zones, shallow
SE-dipping mafic dikes, and auriferous vein arrays. E) Slickenfibers and striation lineation on shear vein boundary, Kalbaas
shear zone. Arrow indicates hanging-wall displacement.

alteration in the vein selvages. These veins occur as shallow-
dipping shear veins (~70–80% of gold-bearing veins) along
shallow- to moderately dipping shear zones and extensional
to stockwork vein arrays (~20–30% of gold-bearing veins) in
damage zones adjacent to these shear zones. The intensity of
veining and extent of hydrothermal alteration in vein selvages
is a robust indirect parameter for grade estimation (Fig. 8A).
The low-angle shear zones are mineralized (~0.5–3 g/t Au) in
close proximity to the Subika magic fracture zone but become
subeconomic with increasing distance away from that critical
permeability feature. Gold deposition associated with these
low-angle shear zones is preferentially localized along strong
rheological gradients such as dike contacts. The gold-related
hydrothermal alteration footprint at Subika can be divided
into three distinct zones: distal, intermediate, and proximal
(Fig. 8B). Distal alteration (~0.1–1 g/t Au) is characterized by
the mineral assemblage chlorite-sericite-pyrite. Intermediate
alteration (~1–3 g/t Au) is characterized by the mineral as-
semblage chlorite-sericite-pyrite-albite-Fe-carbonate-silica.
Proximal alteration (>3 g/t Au) is characterized by the mineral
assemblage silica-Fe-carbonate-albite-pyrite and abundant
quartz-carbonate veining.

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 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1339

A B Least-altered

0.14

0.08
1 Distal: chlorite-sericite-pyrite
2.43

1.01

3.78

Intermediate: Fe-carbonate-albite-pyrite
9.24

6.29

0.99
Proximal: Fe-carbonate-pyrite + quartz-carbonate veining
12.15

10.75

0.48
7.30 0.82

2.18

1.73
2.83
17.20

5.16

6.81

8.85

2.28

1.60

0.25

5.42

9.86

6.14
13.68

2 10.05

12.40
14.65
13.85
4.87
1.62

0.18
Fig. 8. A) Representative drill hole section through Subika
0.38
illustrating multiple ore shoots with zoned hydrothermal
4.64
alteration in SUC-697 between 327- and 382-m depth
5.89 (including 51 m at 5.8 g/t Au). Gold grades given in g/t per
9.60 assay interval (yellow markings). Notice the relatively sharp
0.39
transition from barren, massive, least altered diorite into
distal chlorite alteration and patchy proximal Fe-carbonate-
pyrite alteration with thin shallow-dipping quartz-carbonate
1.88 3 veins (1). Thicker zones of Fe-carbonate-pyrite alteration
8.76
and associated quartz-carbonate veining constitute the prin-
2.16 cipal ore shoot (2). Distinct discreet ore zones also occur
0.18 further downhole separated by waste zones (3). Note the
3.80 absence of any clearly defined bounding structures upon
entry or exit from the mineralized zones at Subika. Core
0.01
tray lengths are standard and designed to hold 1-m-long
core intervals. Yellow markings visible on drill core surface
0.37
indicate depth from collar. B) Representative drill core pho-
2.61 0.20 tographs of zoned hydrothermal alteration at Subika.

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 1340 MASUREL ET AL.

Apensu-Awonsu ~3- to 90-m-thick mafic chonolith is recognized at depth (be-

Both deposits sit in close proximity along the Kenyase-Yamfo
shear zone and share similar geologic features. A noticeable
right-hand bend (~6° clockwise) occurs along the Kenyase-
Yamfo structure between the Apensu and Awonsu deposits
(see Fig. 4). Apensu is the larger deposit of the two. Known
resources there continue to expand, and it is thus the main
focus of the description provided hereafter.
Lithologies: Footwall rocks comprise strongly foliated,
metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary rocks (e.g., siltstones,
argillites, volcaniclastic rocks, and mafic to intermediate
volcanic rocks), whereas hanging-wall rocks consist of meta-
morphosed granodiorite (Fig. 9). The lithological contact has
been obscured by the >15-m-wide Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone
marked by protomylonites and mylonites. This lithotectonic
boundary is also irregular along strike (~N035-N045) and
downdip (~40°–70°). Abundant 1- to 5-m-thick, low-angle
mafic dikes have intruded hanging-wall granodiorite. These
low-angle mafic dikes occur in two dominant sets: (2) NNE-
striking, shallowly EW-dipping and (2) ENE-striking, shal-
lowly S-dipping. Steeper mafic dikes also intruded subparal-
lel to the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone and locally coalesce into
thicker mafic dike bodies. In addition to these mafic dikes, a
low current open-pit levels) throughout Apensu South, Main,
North, and Awonsu. It intruded along the Kenyase-Yamfo
structure and contains partially assimilated granodiorite.
Structural setting: Footwall metamorphosed volcano-sed-
imentary rocks commonly display a steep mineral stretch-
ing lineation within foliation planes, which is consistent with
reverse displacement along the Kenyase-Yamfo structure.
Numerous stacked, low-angle shear zones similar to those
mapped at Subika were identified in the hanging-wall grano-
diorite at Apensu (Fig. 9). These NNE-striking, shallow-dip-
ping shear zones are intimately associated with mafic dikes
(set 1 described above), can be traced across the open pit, and
impact on the N040/60SE Kenyase-Yamfo structure in geo-
logic cross section, where they appear to have been dragged
into it or terminate in its immediate footwall. Furthermore,
these low-angle shear zones project across strike into the
Subika deposit. Kinematic indicators such as obliquity of fo-
liation to shear zone boundaries, S-C fabrics, and striation
lineations along shear vein boundaries and slip planes alto-
gether indicate reverse displacement along these low-angle
thrust faults, which more commonly develop on the lower
contact margins of shallow-dipping mafic dikes (Fig. 10).

123400 123600 123800 124000 124200

Footwall volcano-sedimentary rocks Pit design

261000 (bench traces)
Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone

Hanging wall granodiorite Ductile mineral-fabric

locally intruded by mafic dikes in country rocks and
260800 Low-angle shear zone associated lineation data
N
High-grade (>2 g/t Au)
mineralization

260600 N

260400

Shallow-dipping shear
zones and mineral
lineation data
260000
N

259800

0 100 200 m

Fig. 9. Plan view showing the geologic setting of the Apensu open pit. Structural data plotted in equal-area stereonets.

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 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1341

Within footwall rocks of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone,

Anastomosing low-angle oblique striation lineations and slickenfibers locally over-
Mafic dikes shear zone network print steep to downdip lineations within mylonitic foliation
planes, indicating late sinistral-reverse displacement.
Hydrothermal alteration and gold mineralization: Econom-
ic gold mineralization at both Apensu and Awonsu is hosted
by protocataclasite (Woodcock and Mort, 2008) after grano-
diorite and mafic chonolith. At Apensu South, the main ore
zone is hosted by a mafic chonolith, with best grades occurring
Granodiorite on steeper segments of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone (Fig.
11A). Higher-grade gold is intercepted in the chonolith near
its margins with granodiorite. At Apensu Main, a steep mafic
dike appears to bound the chonolith on its hanging-wall side
and partly control the localization of gold mineralization (Fig.
11B). At Apensu North, the main ore zone occurs about 300 m
Fig. 10. Typical relationship between shallow-dipping shear zones and mafic below the open pit where a thick mafic chonolith was em-
dikes in the Apensu Main open pit.
placed along a steeper segment of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear
zone beneath a low-angle shear zone coinciding with a mafic
dike (Fig. 11C). The main ore zone at Apensu North narrows

Au (g/t)

>3
>1
>0.5

Hanging wall metamorphosed

granodiorite
Footwall metamorphosed
volcano-sedimentary rocks
Mafic dikes and/or low-angle
shear zones
250 m 250 m
Limit of distal chlorite alteration
Apensu South Apensu Main Limit of proximal Fe-carbonate
alteration
A B
Mafic chonolith

Gabbro

Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone

Open pit shell

250 m 250 m

Apensu North Awonsu

C D
Fig. 11. Geologic cross sections extracted from Leapfrog through Apensu South (A), Apensu Main (B), Apensu North (C),
to Awonsu (D) showing the influence of mafic chonoliths, mafic dikes, and low-angle shear zones on gold mineralization and
their relationships to hydrothermal alteration zoning. Note the ore-related hydrothermal alteration halo becomes increasingly
more diffuse from Apensu South through Apensu Main, Apensu North to Awonsu.

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 1342 MASUREL ET AL.

where the mafic chonolith thickens and terminates where the
Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone flattens out. The ore at Awonsu is
associated with shallow- to moderately dipping shear zones,
with the principal ore zone associated more directly with the
brecciated upper margin of a thicker (relative to Apensu)
deep mafic chonolith that was emplaced beneath a shallow-
dipping mafic dike (Fig. 11D). The chonolith is bounded by
a steep mafic dike on its hanging-wall side (similar to the set-
ting at Apensu Main). Hydrothermal alteration and associated
damage zones adjacent to ore zones become more extensive
trending northeastward from Apensu South through Apensu
North to Awonsu, where the gently SW-plunging chonolith
thickens and becomes subhorizontally plunging (Fig. 11A-D).
A brittle overprint on older ductile mineral fabrics is directly
related to gold mineralization at Apensu and Awonsu (Fig.
12A). This brittle overprint grades from incipient breccia and
fault-hydrothermal breccia locally to protocataclasite. Miner-
alized intercepts exhibit a distinct lack of significant veining
greater than 1 cm in thickness. Identifying alteration zoning is
difficult because of the brittle nature of the ore textures, but
high-grade gold mineralization is consistently associated with
a proximal (texturally destructive) silica-Fe-carbonate-pyrite-
albite-sericite mineral assemblage (Fig. 12B, C). The wider
hanging-wall alteration envelope is marked by amphibole-
epidote destruction up to 250 m away from the principal fluid
pathway (i.e., Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone) and closely approxi-
mates a modeled 0.2 g/t grade shell.
Amoma
Lithologies: The Amoma open pit is the furthest north of the
Ahafo South gold camp and occurs in a lithostratigraphic set-
ting equivalent to that of Apensu-Awonsu (see Fig. 4). Foot-
wall successions comprise strongly foliated, metamorphosed
volcano-sedimentary rocks, whereas hanging-wall rocks con-
sist of metamorphosed granodiorite (Fig. 13). A notable dif-
ference is that no obvious mafic dikes were mapped either
within the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone or in hanging-wall
granodiorite.
Structural setting: The local strike of the Kenyase-Yamfo
shear zone in the Amoma open pit deviates from its regional
orientation (clockwise rotation-right-hand bend). The struc-
ture is N045/65SE at Amoma (Fig. 13), whereas its gener-
al orientation across the Ahafo gold camp is N040/60SE. A
penetrative ductile fabric was mapped axial-planar to tight,
upright, NNE- to NE-striking, gently NE- and SW-plunging
asymmetrical parasitic folds in footwall rock sequences (Fig.
14A). A pronounced NE-striking steep mylonitic foliation
was identified in the hanging-wall granodiorite marked by the
plastic flow of both feldspar and quartz, indicating dynamo-
thermal conditions over ~450°C (Passchier and Trouw, 2005).
High-angle, NE-striking shear zones are also abundant in the
hanging-wall granodiorite. Striation lineations and stepped
fibers on these slip planes together indicate reverse displace-
ment (Fig. 14B). A number of steep NNW- to NNE-striking,
10-cm- to 1-m-wide, discontinuous, low-displacement faults
were mapped in the central part of the open pit (Fig. 13).
Striation lineation and stepped fibers on fault planes together
indicate sinistral displacement. These faults cut across the
ductile fabrics and earlier structures in both footwall and
hanging-wall rocks. This structural corridor spatially coincides
with reorientation of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone into its
region-wide strike.
Hydrothermal alteration and gold mineralization: The bulk
of the ore at Amoma is hosted by fault breccias (crackle and
mosaic breccias, Woodcock and Mort, 2008), quartz-carbon-
ate stockwork veins and bleached wall rocks, and, to a lesser
extent, protocataclasite after granodiorite. As an empirical
rule, the stronger the brecciation, the higher the grade. The
presence of thin 1- to 5-cm-thick quartz-carbonate veins also
appears to be a robust visual proxy to economic mineraliza-
tion. Proximal hydrothermal alteration assemblages are simi-
lar to those identified at Subika and Apensu and consist of
silica-Fe-carbonate-pyrite-albite-sericite.
Ore-shoot geometry
Longitudinal sections through the deposits were generated
to visualize ore shoots (Fig. 15). The majority of high-grade
ore shoots at Apensu-Awonsu plunge 20° to 30° to the south-
west, which approximates the intersection lineation between
the Kenyase-Yamfo structure and low-angle mafic dikes and
thrust faults (Fig. 15A). Higher-grade mineralization at Apen-
su correlates with steeper-dipping segments (i.e., restraining
bends) of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone (e.g., Apensu North,
Apensu Main). One exception to this general plunge and
trend of ore shoots is Apensu South where a high-grade ore
shoot displays a steeper plunge (Fig. 15A), which may be cor-
related with a discreet left-hand flexure (i.e., dilational bend)
in the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone based on the correlation of
geologic sections across strike.
Mafic chonoliths preferentially accumulated at sites be-
neath the intersection of the low-angle mafic dikes and the
main Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone and correlate with the devel-
opment of the thickest and higher-grade zones of mineraliza-
tion. The vertical extent of the chonoliths is commonly limited
to ~100 to 250 m, with initiation associated to local steepening
of the main structure. Importantly, the apparent periodicity in
chonolith development, which occurs at ~250- to 300-m verti-
cal spacing, echoes the relative spacing of the Apensu Main,
Apensu North, and Awonsu shallow SW-plunging ore shoots.
The geometry of the chonoliths is observed to impact the

Fig. 12. A) Representative drill hole section through Apensu from APD-140 between 668- and 710-m depth (including 52 m
at 6.3 g/t Au). Gold grades given in g/t per assay interval (red markings). The section shows mafic dike and chonolith alter-
nating with granodiorite intervals. All rock types display texturally destructive proximal alteration. Quartz-carbonate veining
only occurs locally and correlates with thin 1- to 5-cm veins. Gold grades gradually become subeconomic to anomalous (less
than 0.5 g/t Au) within 10 m of the transition into footwall volcano-sedimentary rocks. B) Very high grade (~8–45 g/t Au per
m interval) gold mineralization hosted in mafic chonolith. C) High-grade (~5–15 g/t Au per m interval) gold mineralization
hosted in granodiorite. Notice the texturally destructive proximal mineral assemblage and incipient brecciation overprinting
preexisting ductile mineral fabric. Core tray lengths are standard and designed to hold 1-m-long core intervals. Yellow mark-
ings visible on drill core surface indicate depth from collar.

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1343

A 19.70 2.62

9.12 5.42

23.31 3.83

7.28 4.57

7.60 Hanging wall granodiorite

5.17

6.51
6.14

6.99 Hanging wall granodiorite 6.01

6.13
7.39

3.08 0.87

Mafic dike 3.87

Contact zone with footwall volcano-sedimentary rocks

5.32
2.57

6.94
9.18
9.11
19.40

8.77
3.42

14.00
0.36

14.90

7.57 Hanging wall granodiorite

B
7.34

5.17 6.03

5.72

4.38

5.67
C
5.47

3.03

3.16 1.90

0.72

0.83 Mafic chonolith

3.36

3.26

1.60

2.18

9.52

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 1344 MASUREL ET AL.

129600 130000 130400 130800

Footwall volcano-sedimentary rocks

Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone N

Hanging wall granodiorite
268200

High-angle reverse shear zone

Low-displacement sinistral fault
High-grade (>2 g/t Au)
mineralization
Pit design
267800

(bench traces)

0 200 m

Regional strike of
Kenyase-Yamfo SZ
267400

Local strike of
Kenyase-Yamfo SZ
Fig. 13. Plan view showing the geologic setting of the Amoma
open pit. SZ = shear zone.

A B Oxidized pyrite
Axial surface
Slickenfibers

N N
Striation lineation

0 25 cm

Fig. 14. A) Folded footwall rock sequences at Amoma. Structural data plotted in equal-area stereonet, with planes represent-
ing fold axial planes and poles representing associated fold axes. B) High-angle reverse shear zones in hanging-wall granodio-
rite at Amoma. Structural data plotted in equal-area stereonet, with planes representing fault planes and poles representing
associated striation lineations.

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1345
form of other low-angle and steeper hanging-wall dikes and
the alteration zonation. At Awonsu, the mafic chonolith that
intruded along the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone is bounded on
its upper margin by shallow-dipping mafic dikes. This contact
zone induced anisotropy, with strain preferentially partitioned
along the chonolith’s upper contact.
High-grade ore shoots at Subika plunge at 10° to 25° to the
southwest (Fig. 15B). In addition, 40° to 50° NE-plunging
ore shoots are well defined and correlated with the struc-
tural intersection between cryptic NNE-striking faults and
the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone. Higher-grade mineralization
at Subika correlates with steeper-dipping segments (i.e., re-
straining bends) of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone, which are
bound by low-angle thrusts and mafic dikes. The intensity of
proximal alteration and gold grades is also stronger immedi-
ately beneath these low-angle thrusts and mafic dikes. The
evaluation of ore shoots at Amoma is not discussed here, be-
cause a thicker weathering hindered accurate identification of
primary ore shoots in hard rock.
Discussion
Controls on the location and structural geometry of the
Ahafo South gold system
At the deposit scale: There is a clear spatial association between
shallow-dipping mafic dikes, shear zones, and economic gold
mineralization at Apensu, Awonsu, and Subika (Fig. 16A, B).
The geometry and kinematics of ore-hosting shear zones and
vein arrays at Subika are more complex than the predictable
conjugate pattern for deforming a homogeneous intrusion. The
difference in competency between dikes and their host intru-
sions has a profound influence on the development of aurifer-
ous shear zones (Poulsen and Robert, 1989; Belakabir et al.,
1993). Based on their metamorphic assemblages, mafic dikes
at Subika are expected to be less competent than their host
rocks of intermediate to felsic plutons, at least at greenschist-
grade temperatures. This condition is a prerequisite for these
mafic dikes (i.e., anisotropic layers) to be activated as shear
zones (Treagus, 1988; Dubé et al., 1989; Poulsen and Robert,
1989). Coincidence of low-angle shear zones with mafic dikes
at Subika reflects strain refraction induced by the presence of
these less competent dikes (Kisters et al., 2000). Strain refrac-
tion along mafic dikes likely resulted in the resolution of bulk
strain into a component of layer-parallel simple shear in the
dikes and a component approaching layer-normal pure shear
in more competent intrusive host rocks (Hanmer and Pass-
chier, 1990). There is clear evidence at Subika that the brittle
behavior of diorite wall rocks led to the formation of fracture
permeability, promoting the tapping of ore fluids (Kisters et al.,
2000). Similarly, the less competent mafic dikes and chonoliths
at Apensu-Awonsu favored the development of enforced shear
zones along their margins and hydrothermal fluid flow.
Mafic dikes and chonoliths in the immediate hanging wall
of the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone collectively controlled the
segmentation of auriferous shear zones within the plutonic
rock mass. The low-angle shear zones at Apensu, Awonsu,
and Subika were in a favorable orientation for focusing fluid
flow in the camp, as indicated by reverse- to reverse-oblique
slip. In contrast, the ENE-striking steep mafic dikes at Subika
were unfavorably oriented for reactivation unless under con-
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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
ditions of high fluid pressures and relatively low near-field dif-
ferential stress (Sibson et al., 1988). Low-angle shear zones
(and mafic dikes) appear to link Subika to Apensu-Awonsu
as branch-splay segments that impact on the Kenyase-Yamfo
shear zone (Fig. 16A, B). It is interpreted that these low-an-
gle reverse shear zones accommodated kinks in the regional
strike of the main structure, specifically the right-hand jog ob-
served between Apensu and Awonsu. Another feature of im-
portance is that high-grade ore shoots at Subika appear to cor-
relate with right-hand (restraining) bends in the Subika magic
fracture zone. As first proposed by Baah-Danso (2011), these
deviations from the general strike of the Subika magic frac-
ture zone are likely controlled by intersection of this structure
with the steep ENE-striking mafic dikes. Higher-grade gold
mineralization at Amoma is also associated with a right-hand
bend in the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone.
Low-angle shear zones in the Ahafo South camp share
similar deformation style and hydrothermal alteration, sug-
gesting formation during a single local deformation phase.
The low-angle shear zones typically host 1- to 5-m-scale, low
(0.5–1 g/t) to moderate (1–3 g/t) gold grades. Higher-grade
gold mineralization (>3 g/t) appears to be associated with
gradients in stratigraphic complexity. At Subika, higher-grade
mineralization preferentially developed where spatial over-
lap and/or intersection occurred between the low-angle shear
zones, the Subika magic fracture zone, and shallow-dipping
NE- to ENE-striking mafic dikes. Pockets of higher-grade
mineralization also preferentially developed immediately be-
low low-angle shear zones coinciding with shallow-dipping
mafic dike arrays. The morphology and thickness of mafic
chonoliths at Apensu and Awonsu appear to be directly con-
trolled by these low-angle shear zones and mafic dikes (Fig.
16A). At Awonsu, the upper margin of the mafic chonolith
is bounded by a low-angle shear zone and mafic dike, with
higher-grade mineralization along the contact zone. Based
on these observations, we propose that the low-angle maf-
ic dikes at Ahafo South acted as aquitards impeding verti-
cal permeability within the wider intrusive rock mass until
a threshold was episodically reached due to ore fluid over-
pressure and propagation of the mineralizing front upward.
At Subika, fluids from an overpressured reservoir at depth
were hydraulically linked with these low-angle shear zones
during mineralization, as evidenced from shared ore-related
hydrothermal mineral assemblages. The current thinking is
that the Subika magic fracture zone is best defined as a fluid
exit conduit (McCuaig and Hronsky, 2014; Hronsky, 2020)
with no bounding structures (Fig. 16B). The absolute rheo-
logical contrast between the Subika fluid exit conduit (i.e.,
volume of relatively brittle rock mass) and surrounding dio-
rite host may reflect a subtle change in chemical composi-
tion of the intrusive phase (e.g., quartz-diorite, granodiorite),
which is not consistently recorded in current logging data. At
Apensu, Awonsu, and Amoma, the major fluid conduit was
the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone. We propose that ore-fluid(s)
in the Ahafo South gold camp jumped from steep conduits
(i.e., Subika magic fracture zone) to flat conduits (i.e., low-
angle shear zones), whereby ponding of ore fluid(s) beneath
low-angle shear zones and/or mafic dikes occurred between
episodic breaching and fluid flow (Cox, 2016, 2020; Hron-
sky, 2020) along the steeper fluid pathways (Fig. 17). An
 1346 MASUREL ET AL.

Fig. 15. Longitudinal sections showing ore shoots distribution and geometry at A) Apensu to Awonsu and B) Subika.
B
A

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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.

A B
Hanging-wall
Meta-diorite
meta-granodiorite
1100m 1000m

Mafic dikes
*
1000m
800m
Kenyase-Yamfo Towards
Shear Zone Subika
900m
600m
Mafic dikes Low-angle shear zones
(e.g. Victor, Kalbaas,
Rheological contrasts Towards
800m Hatch, Deep)
between mafic dikes Apensu
400m
and granodiorite * Inset
Au Intensity of
700m alteration
200m
Restraining bends
Restraining bends at Apensu
(higher-grade and thicker
(higher-grade and thicker
600m mineralized intersection)
mineralized intersection) Fracture

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permeability 0m
Low-angle fault /
Footwall metamorphosed
Mafic dike
volcano-sedimentay rocks
500m
Subika fluid exit conduit
AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA

Upper margin of thicker mafic

-200m
chonolith at depth at Awonsu

122900E 123100E 123300E 123500E 123700E 124000E 124200E 124600E 124800E 125000E

Fig. 16. Geologic sketches illustrating structural controls on ore-shoot location and geometry at Apensu-Awonsu (A) and Subika (B). Inset shows idealized sketch of
hydrothermal alteration and fracture permeability zones along sheared diorite-mafic dike interfaces.
1347
 1348 MASUREL ET AL.

Preexisting shear zone or rheological boundary

Propagating pulse of ore fluid(s)

Granodiorite/diorite (brittle behavior)

Shear zone and/or mafic dike (ductile behavior)

P+ Localized fluid pressure buildup

Failure of shallow-dipping seal via fluid

P+ overpressure and upward propagation of
ore fluid(s)
A B C
Fig. 17. Conceptual model for the dynamic process of high-grade gold ore formation beneath shallow-dipping shear zones
and/or mafic dikes (adapted from Hronsky, 2020). A) Migrating pulse of ore fluid(s) utilizing a preexisting shear zone or rheo-
logical boundary. B) Upward propagation of ore fluid(s) impeded by a shallow-dipping ductile shear zone and/or mafic dike
resulting in localized pressure buildup (i.e., “damming”). C) Transient failure of ductile seal due to fluid overpressure and
upward propagation of ore fluid(s). Sudden pressure drop is considered as the principal mechanism for gold mineralization.

analogous process of repeated transient damming beneath
relatively impermeable layers followed by rapid breaching
to successively higher structural levels has been reported for
saddle-reef complexes in the Victorian gold fields (Cox et al.,
1991) and at the Beta-Hunt gold mine in the Yilgarn craton
(Hronsky, 2020).
At the camp scale: A number of N- to NNE-striking faults
are evident in the magnetic data set of the Ahafo region.
These faults are oblique to the belt-basin boundary and are
interpreted to provide the most important structural geom-
etry in terms of predictive exploration (Fig. 18A, B). These
major N- to NNE-striking sinistral faults have segmented
the Sefwi belt into three compartments in the Ahafo region.
The Ahafo North and Ahafo South gold camps occur on each
side of these breaks, with no deposit yet discovered within
the central structural corridor (~8-km strike length along the
Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone), likely due to the presence of
the Bosomkese protected natural forest reserve. These faults
truncate the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone and are associated
with significant offsets (variable offset from 1 m up to 1 km).
We propose that these structures behaved as tear faults that
accommodated oblique convergence in the latest stages of
the Eburnean orogeny. Almost all known gold deposits and
gold occurrences in the Ahafo South camp are confined
between a pair of these tear faults and within 2 km of the
crustal-scale Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone. The northeastern
ends of the Amoma and Subika open pits correlate with ma-
jor breaks/truncations in magnetic data interpreted to mark
these N-striking faults. Furthermore, high-order cryptic N-
to NNE-striking sinistral faults were mapped in all open pits
at Ahafo South. Based on structural data collected in this
study, we propose that the Ahafo South gold camp occurs in a
contractional jog setting, with deposits occurring in smaller-
scale restraining jogs. In such a model, N- to NNE-striking
tear faults were responsible for local bends in the long-lived
Kenyase-Yamfo fault system and rotation of blocks between
them, which caused failure of more competent rock mass
upon reactivation (Fig. 18B). Sinistral displacement along
these tear faults under northwest to southeast shortening
caused reactivation and sinistral-reverse transpression along
the belt-basin margin (Feybesse et al., 2006; Grenholm et
al., 2019). In other words, ore zones are located where space
problems occurred upon reactivation and typically correlate
with low-displacement accommodation structures (e.g., low-
angle reverse shear zones). This is in agreement with the
observation that zones of steeper dip (e.g., Apensu, Awonsu,
Subika) and right-hand flexures (e.g., Amoma, Apensu) rep-
resented sites of enhanced damage and fluid flux (i.e., re-
straining bends). Interfaces between rigid intrusive bodies
and mafic dikes in the hanging wall of the Kenyase-Yamfo
shear zone represented sites of heterogeneous stress and
inhomogeneous strain and thus fluid loci. Inhomogeneous
strain and transpressive deformation regimes in convergent
margins and/or collisional settings have been extensively
described in Archean tectonics together with the potential
economic importance of restraining jogs (Chen et al., 2001;
Weinberg et al., 2003). Excellent examples of gold systems
related to contractional jog settings are the St. Ives gold
field in Western Australia (Cox and Ruming, 2004; Miller et
al., 2010) and the Kundana gold field in Western Australia
(Cooke et al., 2017). These systems demonstrate that oro-
genic gold ores do not only form in the most dilatant parts
of the crust. Bierlein et al. (2006) argued that there is no
inherent reason why a dilational jog zone should be more
permeable than a contractional jog zone as both structures
are essentially sites of high damage intensity, fracture-con-
trolled permeability, and consequently high fluid flux, espe-
cially if developed in low-permeability host rocks. Finally,
although the majority of higher-grade ore shoots correlate
with restraining jogs, the steep plunge of the Apensu South
ore shoot may be correlated with a discreet left-hand flexure
in the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone based on the correlation
of geologic sections across strike. Such observation indicates
that local dilational sites are equally prospective and were
also active within the wider contractional jog setting during
mineralization at Ahafo.
At the regional scale: The Kenyase-Yamfo fault system
represents a major tectonostratigraphic boundary, which has
undergone a long-lived tectonic history, juxtaposing distinct
metamorphic domains throughout deformation under vari-
ous kinematics (e.g., differential exhumation along high-angle
reverse fault and/or extensional detachment, and strike-slip

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 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1349

shear zone). This major fault system likely initially formed
under extensional or transtensional stress regime (e.g., Gren-
holm et al., 2019; McFarlane et al., 2019b). At the time of
gold mineralization, the Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone acted as a
critical permeable drain in the rock volume.
The economic importance of the early (extensional) struc-
tural architecture has been widely demonstrated in orogenic
gold deposits worldwide (e.g., St. Ives gold field in the Yil-
garn craton of Western Australia, Miller et al., 2010). In this
study, we propose that the tectonic setting of the Ahafo re-
gion is best depicted as an inverted half-graben. A similar
interpretation was made for the ~10-Moz Asanko gold camp
(i.e., Obotan, Esaase) located along the central axis of the Ku-
masi basin (Gelber, 2018). There, gold deposits straddle the
Asankrangwa transcrustal fault system, which was episodically
reactivated from initial rifting through orogenesis (Chudasa-
ma et al., 2016; Gelber, 2018). The resolution of specific con-
trols on the location of major deposits along the northwestern
margin of the Sefwi granite-greenstone belt requires further
understanding of the deep structure of the Kenyase-Yamfo
shear zone and the underlying basement architecture. Yet, the
abundance of mafic intrusions (chonoliths and dikes) in the
Ahafo region provides indirect evidence of focused mass and
heat transfer along the Kenyase-Yamfo fault system.
Key implications for brownfield exploration targeting at Ahafo
Deposit-scale resource development opportunities involve
(1) better understanding the three-dimensional geometry and
distribution of mafic chonoliths and dikes within hanging-wall
larger intrusive bodies, projecting their modeled intersections
with interpreted primary fluid pathways (e.g., Kenyasi-Yamfo
shear zone, Subika fluid conduit), (2) using lithochemistry and
spectral analysis of mineral chemistry variation in diamond
drill core to identify and model the complex branching geom-
etry of fluid conduits, (3) testing for further ore shoots given
the ~250- to 300-m vertical periodicity of chonolith emplace-
ment in hanging-wall plutonic rocks along the Kenyasi-Yamfo
shear zone, and (4) testing immediate strike extensions of the
shallow-plunging to subhorizontal chonolith along the Apen-
su-Awonsu trend (Fig. 19).

A B
N

Sunyani-Comoé
basin
Subenso
Teekyere
zone Susuan
ar
he
i es Post-Eburnean
on Yamfo
Atr dolerite dikes
Sefwi belt

Kenyase-Yamfo
shear zone
Amoma e
on
a rz
she
em
idi
Awonsu Hw
Apensu
Subika
e
zon
ear
i sh
ian

so e
Bib

e tes zon
K ar
e
sh
0 5 10 km

Fig. 18. A) Aeromagnetic data (first vertical derivative of the negative reduced to equator) for the Ahafo gold camp with
location of the active mines (Ahafo South) and future mines (Ahafo North). B) Geologic interpretation of aeromagnetic data
illustrating the proposed structural setting for the Ahafo gold camp.

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 1350 MASUREL ET AL.

Awonsu

Hanging wall
granodiorite

Awonsu
fluid exit
conduit

Thicker mafic chonolith

along strike of the
Kenyase-Yamfo SZ Open at depth

Right-hand bend in the

Kenyase-Yamfo SZ

Subika

Subika
Hanging wall fluid exit
diorite conduit

Apensu
Steeper-dipping fluid exit
segment of the conduit
Kenyase-Yamfo SZ Kalba
as SZ
?
Open at depth

Footwall volcano- Shallow-dipping Hatc

sedimentary rocks aquitards h SZ
Ore
fluid(s)
Apensu
Dee Auriferous
p SZ vein arrays

Open at depth ?

Fig. 19. Schematic 3-D block diagrams illustrating conceptual model for key deposits of the Ahafo South camp (not to scale)
and implications for exploration. SZ = shear zone.

At the camp scale, exploration opportunities could arise
from identifying local deviations in strike and/or dip along
the anastomosing Kenyase-Yamfo shear zone (i.e., bends and
dilational/contractional jogs). This would require a robust un-
derstanding of the three-dimensional rheological architecture
of the rock mass at Ahafo. Investigating the potential role of
basement discontinuities in localizing these bends on orogen-
parallel fault systems would also improve predictive capacity.
Comparison with other major gold deposits in the Sefwi
granite-greenstone belt and southwest Ghana
The Sefwi granite-greenstone belt hosts two major gold camps
other than Ahafo, which consist of Chirano and Bibiani. Gold
deposits of the ~5-Moz Chirano camp are located on a left-
hand bend in the NNE-striking Chirano and Akoti-Tano
faults, which are higher-order splays stemming from the Bibi-
ani-Afema fault system. Deposit-scale structural data indicate
northwest-side-up-over-southeast reverse displacement, with
gently and steeply dipping veins that strike parallel to the lode
horizon (Allibone et al., 2004). Gold mineralization at Chi-
rano was subsequently interpreted to have occurred during a
local period of late reverse-sinistral dip-slip based on steeply
plunging high-grade ore shoots (Kenworthy et al., 2009). The
orebody at the ~2.5-Moz Bibiani gold deposit is controlled
by a steep, 200- to 400-m-wide, N- to NNE-striking struc-
tural corridor adjacent to the Bibiani-Afema shear zone, with

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 AHAFO SOUTH GOLD DEPOSITS, SW GHANA 1351
moderately NE- and SW-plunging high-grade ore shoots sug-
gesting gold mineralization occurred during a local period of
late sinistral-reverse faulting (public data from Resolute web-
site, 2019, www.rml.com.au/investors/). Syngold kinematics at
Chirano and Bibiani do not necessarily reflect the prevailing
far-field stress at the time of mineralization, because tectonic
deformation may not be the driving force for ore-related de-
formation (Cox, 2020; Hronsky, 2020, and references there-
in). It is, therefore, not advisable to build the regional tectonic
history of the Sefwi granite-greenstone belt from deposit-
scale structural relationships. Nevertheless, the location of all
major gold camps in the Sefwi granite-greenstone belt (i.e.,
Ahafo, Bibiani, Chirano) within 2.5 km of transcrustal fault
systems (i.e., Kenyase-Yamfo, Bibiani-Afema) provides an
important targeting criteria at the regional scale. This is fur-
ther supported by the extraordinarily well endowed Ashanti
fault system also in southwest Ghana (>100 Moz total gold
endowment, Thébaud et al., 2020), which (based on gravity
data) has been proposed to displace the crust-subcontinental
lithospheric mantle boundary (Oliver et al., 2020). Numer-
ous major orogenic gold deposits along the Ashanti fault sys-
tem display multiple hydrothermal events that occurred at
distinct times but used equivalent multiscale fluid conduits
under different kinematics (e.g., Obuasi, Fougerouse et al.,
2017; Bogoso-Prestea gold deposits, Allibone et al., 2002a, b;
Wassa, Perrouty et al., 2012; Le Mignot et al., 2017; Damang,
Tunks et al., 2004).
The close association of orogenic gold deposits with pre- to
synkinematic granitoids in the Sefwi granite-greenstone belt
(e.g., Ahafo, Chirano) predominantly indicates the role of plu-
tons as competent heterogeneities within volcano-sedimenta-
ry belts. Plutonic rocks in these granitoid-hosted gold depos-
its acted as favorable sites for fluid flow due to their brittle
behavior at greenschist facies conditions. The critical role of
rheological heterogeneity has also been documented in the
orogenic gold deposits hosted in sedimentary rock sequences
within the Kumasi basin, including at Ayanfuri, Anyankyerim,
and Nhyaso within the Obuasi gold camp (Oberthür et al.,
1998), at Edikan (Tourigny et al., 2018), and at Obotan-Esaa-
se (Chudasama et al., 2016; Gelber, 2018).
The reported presence of albite and silica in gold-related
hydrothermal alteration assemblages of gold deposits in the
Sefwi belt (e.g., Chirano, Allibone et al., 2004; Ahafo South,
this study) appears to be an important feature for vector-
ing the footprint of gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids. This
hydrothermal mineral assemblage promoted reaction hard-
ening at Ahafo South, which likely inhibited ductile creep
(i.e., formation of shear zone foliation in response to reac-
tion-enhanced weakening induced by formation of phyllosil-
icate-rich alteration assemblages) and fostered a transition to
dominantly brittle behavior (Sibson, 2004; Cox, 2005, 2020).
This process likely operated in combination with an increase
in ore fluid pressure at Ahafo South, as evidenced by aurif-
erous stockwork and extensional vein arrays documented in
all deposits.
Conclusions
The geologic setting of the ~15-Moz Ahafo South gold system
is analogous to that of major orogenic gold deposits straddling
the tectonolithostratigraphic boundary between the Kumasi
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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.
basin and the Ashanti granite-greenstone belt in southwest
Ghana. Investigation of the rheological controls on the loca-
tion and geometry of ore shoots at Ahafo provides interest-
ing insights into the multiscale anatomy of an orogenic gold
plumbing system. Deposit-scale observations highlight the
profound influence mafic dikes and chonoliths within host
plutons have on the localization, orientation, and kinematics
of auriferous shear zones. Furthermore, this study illustrates
that fluid conduits at the deposit scale may follow complex
paths, with hydrothermal fluids migrating upward via both
steep and flat structures. The current interpretation that ore
shoots at Ahafo South form part of a vertically extensive con-
duit systems, linking an overpressured fluid reservoir at depth
to a sink in the crust, provides a remarkable illustration of the
recent concept of injection-driven swarm seismicity (Cox,
2016, 2020) and direct implications for practical targeting in
the orogenic gold system (Hronsky, 2020).
Acknowledgments
This study forms part of a postdoctoral project within the
West African eXploration Initiative (P934A), which began
in January 2016 at the Centre for Exploration Targeting at
the University of Western Australia. AMIRA International,
WAXI-3 industry sponsors, geologic surveys, and sponsors
in-kind are gratefully acknowledged for their financial sup-
port. This study was also partly supported by the Hammond
and Nisbet Fellowship at the University of Western Australia.
Thank you to Paul Weedon for his enthusiasm for the study.
Thank you to the Newmont Ahafo Exploration and Mine Ge-
ology teams for their help with logistics and access to open
pits. Thank you to Clay Postlethwaite and Jerry Mohling for
their stimulative feedback on the manuscript. Prof. Anne-
Sylvie André-Mayer and Dr. Arnaud Fontaine are thanked
for providing constructive reviews that improved the manu-
script considerably.
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Quentin Masurel received his B.Sc. in geology
from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Géologie
(France) in 2009 and his M.Sc. degree in economic
geology from Luleå University of Technology (Swe-
den) in 2011. He worked as an exploration geologist
in the Yilgarn craton (Western Australia) between
2011 and 2012. He subsequently undertook his
Ph.D. study in economic geology at the University of Western Australia
(UWA) between 2012 and 2016. Quentin has remained at UWA as a postdoc
ever since working the West African eXploration Initiative (WAXI, stage 3)
between 2016 and 2019 and more recently on the Yilgarn 2020 project.
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by Alejandro Medrano, Sr.