AFRIQUE :: Unlocking Earth’s Ancient Secrets: Dr.Landry Soh Tamehe Advances Iron Ore Research in Central Africa

The focus on one of Earth's most mineral-rich yet scientifically enigmatic regions positions his research at the forefront of strategic research.

 Dr Soh Tamehe Landry during a school exhibition of postdoctoral researchers at Central South University
In the today’s global challenges, academia has the opportunity to translate knowledge into actionable solutions, with research adapted to actual community needs. Across Africa, research is consistently anchored in the real-world societal challenges surrounding it. Here, scholars possess critical expertise and analytical skills essential for tackling complex issues. Amongst them, Dr. Landry Soh Tamehe has made significant progress in understanding some of Earth’s oldest iron ore deposits, located in Central Africa. His research, focused on the Banded Iron Formation (BIF)-hosted deposits within the Congo Craton, offers valuable insights into how these mineral-rich areas formed and how they can be explored more effectively today.
 
Working in a region known for its rich natural resources but with limited scientific data, Dr. Soh Tamehe employed a combination of modern techniques to investigate the geological processes that formed these iron deposits. His findings, published in top-ranked scientific journals, aim to support both mineral exploration activities and our understanding of early Earth history.

Developing identification criteria for high-potential iron ore zones in Central Africa is one of the key findings of Dr. Soh Tamehe’s work published in Ore Geology Reviews, DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2019.03.034, a well-renowned journal among the economic geologists and earth scientists. Dr. Soh Tamehe, the paper’s lead author, said “Lithology, structures, topography, and meteoric water inflow generally controlled the supergene enrichment of BIFs to medium-grade ore,” suggesting exploration vectors for other BIFs in the Congo Craton. The finding had significant impacts during the exploration work of G-Stones Resources S.A., with the discovery of the Grand Zambi iron ore deposit, which is considered as one of the Central Africa’s largest iron ore reserves with an estimated reserve of 150 million tons. Dr. Soh Tamehe added “Significant gold concentration will be discovered in the Congo craton BIFs if more geological investigations are conducted”. 

The research of Dr. Soh Tamehe provides milestone results in Central Africa with the paper “Insight into the origin of iron ore based on elemental contents of magnetite and whole-rock geochemistry: a case of the Bipindi Banded Iron Formations, Nyong Complex, SW Cameroon”, published in Journal of Earth Science, available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-022-1622-4 . The study reveals the first trace element chemistry data of iron ore minerals in the Congo Craton BIFs, which open new insights into the source of iron ore. Adding that, “Fluids were necessary for the transformation of BIFs into iron ore,” Dr. Soh Tamehe recounts. This research provides timely guidance for exploration strategies for iron ore using chemical and structural methods across Central Africa’s BIFs. 

The contribution of Dr. Soh Tamehe, presented earlier during an open platform for scientific exchange, Ore Deposit Hub, establishes a replicable framework applicable to similar iron deposits worldwide. In landmark advancement for economic geology, scholars anticipate that his findings will boost iron ore research in Central Africa. 

Behind the economic significance, Dr. Soh Tamehe’s research extends far beyond speculative thoughts and offer clues for reconstructing early Earth’s history. “Understanding their formation unlocks not just mineral wealth, but planetary evolution narratives written in stone and iron,” Dr. Soh Tamehe recounts. This is well illustrated in the paper “Depositional age and tectonic environment of the Gouap banded iron formations from the Nyong Group, SW Cameroon: Insights from isotopic, geochemical and geochronological studies of drillcore samples”. 

What’s more, Dr. Soh Tamehe’s finding paves way to reconstruct billion-year geological processes in the Congo Craton. The outcome was published in Geoscience Frontiers, a well-known international journal with a strong reputation in the field of Earth and Planetary Sciences. The research accessible via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2020.07.009 , introduces the first isotope data of the Congo Craton BIFs, which reveal the precise depositional environment and metal sources for iron deposits as well as the timeframe for iron deposition on the Congo Craton. “These BIF-hosted deposits are time capsules preserving signatures of Earth's early surface and subsurface processes,” explained Dr. Soh Tamehe. 

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