Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596

www.elsevier.com/locate/jafrearsci

Provenance and tectonic setting of Late Proterozoic Buem sandstones

of southeastern Ghana: Evidence from geochemistry and detrital modes
Shiloh Osae a, Daniel K. Asiedu b, Bruce Banoeng-Yakubo b,
Christian Koeberl c,*, Samuel B. Dampare a
a
National Nuclear Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box LG 80, Legon-Accra, Ghana
b
Department of Geology, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 58, Legon-Accra, Ghana
c
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria

Received 8 September 2004; received in revised form 3 October 2005; accepted 30 November 2005
Available online 9 January 2006

Abstract

The petrography, as well as major and trace element (including rare earth element) compositions of 10 sandstone samples from the
Late Proterozoic Buem Structural Unit, southeast Ghana, have been investigated to determine their provenance and tectonic setting. The
petrographic analysis has revealed that the sandstones are quartz-rich and were primarily derived from granitic and metamorphic base-
ment rocks typical of a craton interior. The major and trace element compositions are comparable to average Proterozoic cratonic sand-
stones but with slight enrichment in high-eld strength elements (i.e., Zr, Hf, Ta, Nb) and slight depletion in ferromagnesian elements
(e.g., Cr, Ni, V) with exception of Co which is unusually enriched in the sandstones. The geochemical data suggest that the Buem sand-
stones are dominated by mature, cratonic detritus deposited on a passive margin. Elemental ratios critical of provenance (La/Sc, Th/Sc,
Cr/Th, Eu/Eu*, La/Lu) are similar to sediments derived from weathering of mostly felsic and not mac rocks. The rather high Eu/Eu*
ratios (0.691.09) suggest weathering from mostly a granodiorite source rather than a granite source, consistent with a source from old
upper continental crust. The granitoids of the Birimian Supergroup and/or the felsic gneisses of Birimian age exposed to the east and
southeast of the Buem Formation appear the most likely source rocks. These results, therefore, support earlier studies that infer passive
margin setting for the eastern margin of the West African Craton prior to the Pan-African orogeny.
2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Ghana; Pan-African orogeny; Provenance; Sandstones; Petrography; Geochemistry

1. Introduction natures to sedimentary rocks in two distinct ways.

The chemical composition of clastic sedimentary rocks
is a function of a complex interplay of several variables,
including the nature of the source rocks, source area weath-
ering and diagenesis (McLennan et al., 1993). However, the
tectonic setting of the sedimentary basins has been consid-
ered as the overall primary control on the composition of
sedimentary rocks (Dickinson, 1985). Plate tectonic pro-
cesses impart distinctive petrological and geochemical sig-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +43 1 4277 53110; fax: +43 1 4277 9534.
E-mail address: christian.koeberl@univie.ac.at (C. Koeberl).
Firstly, dierent tectonic environments have distinctive
provenance characteristics and, secondly, they are charac-
terized by distinctive sedimentary processes. Consequently
sedimentary rocks have been used to constrain provenance
and to identify ancient tectonic settings (e.g., Dickinson
et al., 1983; Bhatia, 1983; McLennan et al., 1993).
The geology of Ghana (Fig. 1) can generally be divided
into four tectono-stratigraphic units: (1) an early Protero-
zoic basement rocks (i.e., the Birimian and Tarkwaian);
(2) late Proterozoic to early Paleozoic sedimentary cover
(i.e., the Voltaian Group); the basement rocks and the sed-
imentary cover form part of the West African craton; (3)
mobile belt located in the eastern border of the craton

1464-343X/$ - see front matter 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2005.11.009
86 S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596
Fig. 1. Generalized tectono-stratigraphic map of Ghana.
which was developed during the Pan-African (around
600 Ma) orogeny (i.e., Dahomeyide Belt) and, (4) Late
Paleozoic to Mesozoic sedimentary basins. The Dahomey-
ide belt consists, from west to east, three structural divi-
sions (Fig. 2; Aaton et al., 1980): the Buem Unit, the
Togo Series (= Akwapimian or Atacora Unit) and, the
Dahomeyan Unit (or Benin Plain Unit). The Buem Struc-
tural Unit (BSU) is composed predominantly of intercala-
tions of volcanics and sediments, and has been dated
624 Ma (Bozhko et al., 1971). A large part of the Dahome-
yan Unit, however, appears to comprise Birimian rocks
remobilized during the Pan African orogeny (Grant,
1969; Aaton et al., 1980; Agyei et al., 1987).
The geotectonic setting of the BSU is disputed and var-
ious authors have given dierent interpretations: continen-
tal collision origin (e.g., Burke and Dewey, 1972, 1973),
intracratonic origin (e.g., Cliord, 1972), continental rift
origin (e.g., Attoh, 1990; Jones, 1990) and passive margin
origin (e.g., Aaton et al., 1997). Most of these studies
on the original tectonic setting of the BSU have mainly
concentrated on the metavolcanic rocks (e.g., Aaton
et al., 1997; Attoh and Morgan, 2004) while the associated
sedimentary rocks which comprise the dominant unit have
received less attention even though such rocks contain a
wealth of information about provenance and tectonic set-
ting (McLennan et al., 1990, 1993). As a contribution to
this debate on the tectonic setting of the BSU, we have
investigated the compositions of sandstones from the
BSU exposed in the Anum, Kpando and surrounding areas
of southeast Ghana (Fig. 2). This contribution will, there-
fore, examine the petrography and geochemistry of the
sandstones in order to infer their provenance and the tec-
tonic setting of the BSU at the time of their deposition.
2. General geology of study area
Four major lithologic facies can be distinguished in the
BSU in the study area (Fig. 3): (a) clastic sediments, (b)
limestone and jasperoids, (c) volcanic rocks, and (d) serp-
entinites. The clastic rocks form the uppermost and lower-
most parts of the succession (Fig. 3). They comprise
sandstones, ne-grained quartzites, siltsones, and red
shales. The jasperoids are series of bedded, normally red
cherts of massive appearance and sometimes brecciated.
Some, however, may have formed by metasomatic alter-
ation of the clastic sediments, limestone and volcanics
(Junner, 1940; Jones, 1990). The serpentinites are schistose
and massive in nature and rich in chromite. The volcanic
rocks consist predominantly of basalts, hawaiites, mugea-
rite, and trachytes.
The volcanic and the sedimentary rocks are interstrati-
ed and, therefore, coeval. Jones (1990) suggested that
the two igneous suites (i.e., volcanics and serpentinites)
are unrelated; the volcanics were probably erupted during
a period of tension related to continental breakup at about
650 Ma, whereas the serpentinites mark a continental colli-
sion at about 500 Ma.
The sandstones tend to crop out in lens shaped bodies a
few hundred meters to a few kilometers long. The lenticular
shape of the sandstone bodies and paucity of sedimentary
structures in the massive sandstones suggest their deposi-
tion as alluvial fan deposits (Jones, 1990). The associated
 S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596
Fig. 2. Geological map of the study area. The location of this area is shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3. Lithologic column of the BSU in the study area.
87
shales are red and contain desiccation cracks and ripple
marks indicating shallow water or subaerial deposition.
The clastic sediments are, therefore, of continental origin.
The BSU is considered as a tectonic and metamorphic
lateral equivalents of the middle part of the Voltaian
Group that has been dated 620640 Ma (Grant, 1969;
Aaton et al., 1980). However, K/Ar ages of three Buem
volcanic specimens give a mean age of about 512 Ma
(Jones, 1990), which is younger than the expected 650 Ma
age for the deposition of the Buem Formation. Jones
(1990) has suggested that this 500 Ma age coincide with
metamorphic and metasomatic events that aected the
Buem rocks after their deposition. Aaton et al. (1997),
however, identied an earlier weak metamorphic imprint
that is older than the Pan-African collision and may be coe-
val with the sedimentation age. This metamorphic imprint
is marked by prehnitepumpellyite facies metamorphism
developed under temperatures of 200300 C. The alter-
ation products of this metasomatic event include: (1) alter-
ation of the volcanics to sericite, chlorite and carbonates;
(2) formation of epidote/quartz veins in the volcanics; (3)
intrusion of quartz veins into the sandstones, and (4) devel-
opment of jasper from a possible limestone precursor.
88 S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596

3. Sampling and methods
Sandstone samples for this study were collected from
outcrops in the Anum, Kpando, Nkonya and surrounding
areas (Figs. 2 and 3). Fresh rock exposures were scarce due
to intense tropical weathering. Ten of the least weathered
samples were selected for petrographic and geochemical
study. They include four quartzite and six feldspathic sand-
stone samples. The exact locations of the studied samples
are given in Table 1.
Thin-sectioned point counting of the sandstones was
used for quantitative compositional analysis. The modal
analysis was performed by counting more than 300 points
per thin section, using the GazziDickinson point-counting
method (Gazzi, 1966; Dickinson, 1970). This point-
counting method minimizes compositional dependence on
grain size and, therefore, sandstones of dierent grain sizes
can be compared (Ingersoll et al., 1984).
Major and selected trace element (i.e., Rb, Sr, Y, Nb,
Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, V, Cr, Ba) contents were determined on
the 10 sandstone samples by X-ray uorescence spectrom-
etry (XRF) using standard techniques (see Reimold et al.,
1994; for details on procedure and accuracy). All other
trace and rare earth elements were determined using instru-
mental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Instrumenta-
tion, sample preparation, data reduction techniques, and
standards, precision and accuracy are described in Koeberl
(1993).
sandstones can be classied by their matrix content and
mineralogical content (Okada, 1971; Folk, 1974). On the
basis of their mineralogical contents, the Buem sandstones
are classied as quartz arenite and feldspathic arenite
(Fig. 4). The mean matrix content for the analyzed samples
is 3 vol%. The matrix of the feldspathic arenites is generally
composed of argillaceous materials (sericite and detrital
clay) that are squashed between framework grains.
Pseudomatrix as dened by Dickinson (1970) and repre-
senting altered malleable framework grains squashed
between competent framework grains also occurs, but is
generally rare. In contrast, the quartz arenites are typically
cemented with quartz, hematite, and sericite.
Quartz is the most abundant framework grain in the
sandstones, constituting on average 87% of rock volume.
The quartz grains are commonly sub-rounded to sub-
angular in shape. Inclusions of chlorite and muscovite were
observed in some thin-sections. Among quartz grains Qm
(88 vol%) is dominant over Qp and most (ca. 60 vol%)

4. Results

4.1. Petrography

The analyzed sandstone samples are moderately to well

sorted, and the feldspathic sandstones are medium-grained,
whereas the quartzites are generally ne-grained. The
framework grains of the sandstones are composed of
monocrystalline quartz (Qm), polycrystalline quartz (Qp),
K-feldspar, plagioclase, and rock fragments. Quartz domi- Fig. 4. Mineralogical classication of the Buem sandstones (elds after
nates over feldspar and rock fragments (Table 1). Detrital Okada, 1971). Q, Quartz; F, Feldspar; R, Rock fragments.

Table 1
Detrital modes from quartzites and feldspathic arenites of the Buem sandstones (in vol%)
Sample Location coordinates Qm Qp K P Ls Lm M QFL (%) QmFLt (%)
Q F L Qm F Lt
0 0
ANS16 009.09 E 629.70 N 82.8 6.0 5.9 0.8 3.1 1.3 2.8 88.8 6.7 4.5 82.8 6.7 10.4
BLS10 016.65 0 E 652.56 0 N 80.6 6.9 7.9 2.0 2.4 0.3 3.4 87.5 9.8 2.7 80.6 9.8 9.6
BLS01 020.26 0 E 711.88 0 N 81.6 5.9 8.1 1.7 1.4 1.4 3.6 87.5 9.7 2.8 81.6 9.7 8.7
KPS02 016.77 0 E 659.82 0 N 81.3 6.9 8.2 2.3 0.8 0.5 3.2 88.2 10.5 1.3 81.3 10.5 8.2
LMV10 008.40 0 E 625.92 0 N 84.0 6.1 7.2 1.3 1.1 0.5 1.8 90.1 8.4 1.5 84.0 8.4 7.6
LJ11 008.33 0 E 626.22 0 N 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 100.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0
BMV15 008.54 0 E 625.92 0 N 97.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.4 0.6 9.7 98.0 0.0 2.0 97.0 0.0 3.0
BMV08 020.26 0 E 711.88 0 N 90.0 2.0 2.0 0.2 2.4 0.6 2.7 92.0 2.2 3.0 90.0 2.2 5.0
LT11 008.39 0 E 626.01 0 N 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 100.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0
AS06 019.93 0 E 704.30 0 N 76.1 4.2 10.5 2.8 5.0 1.3 5.2 80.4 13.3 6.3 76.1 13.3 10.5
Qm = monocrystalline quartz; Qp = polycrystalline quartz; K = K-feldspar; P = plagioclase; Ls = sedimentary lithic fragments; Lm = metamorphic lithic
fragments; M = matrix; F = K + P; L = Ls + Lm; Lt = Qp + Ls + Lm.
 S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596
Qm has non-undulose extinction. Qp grains are composed
mainly of non-oriented crystallites, commonly two or three
per grain, with straight to undulose extinction.
All the analyzed feldspathic sandstone samples contain
minor amounts of feldspar (F) grains (on average
10 vol%). In contrast, the quartz arenites (i.e., quartzites)
lack feldspar. Feldspar grains are subangular and clear
of inclusions. K-feldspar (K) dominates over plagioclase
(K/F
0.88) and is mostly orthoclase and microperthite,
and fewer microcline and sanidine grains. Plagioclase
grains show well-developed polysynthetic twinning.
The rock fragments are comparatively less abundant,
and are dominantly of sedimentary and subordinately
metamorphic origin. Compositionally, the most abundant
types of lithic fragments are microcrystalline chert, quartz-
ose sandstone, and argillites.
A limited range of heavy minerals was observed in thin-
section. The most common is zircon, which mostly occurs
as silt-sized (<0.0625 mm) well-rounded grains. Other
heavy minerals species observed in thin-section include
tourmaline, garnet and rutile.
4.2. Geochemistry
The Buem sandstones (i.e., both feldspathic arenite and
quartz arenite) have SiO2 contents between 89 and 96 wt%
(i.e., quartz-rich following the criteria of Crook, 1974).
The quartz arenites are depleted of K2O and TiO2 but
enriched in Fe2O3 as compared to the feldspathic arenites
(Table 2). Depletion of Na2O (<1 wt%) in both groups of
sandstones can be attributed to the relatively small
amount of Na-rich plagioclase present, as shown by the
petrographical data. K2O and Na2O contents and their
ratios (K2O/Na2O  1) are also consistent with the petro-
graphic observations, according to which K-feldspar dom-
inates over plagioclase feldspar. Using the geochemical
classication diagram of Herron (1988), the Buem feld-
spathic arenites are classied as subarkose and sublithare-
nite (Fig. 5).
In comparison with average upper continental crust
(UCC) the concentrations of most trace elements are gen-
erally low with exception of Co that is consistently enriched
relative to UCC for all the analyzed samples. The trace ele-
ment abundances are, however, comparable to average
Proterozoic cratonic sandstones (PSS) but with slight
enrichment in high-eld strength elements (Zr, Hf, Ta,
Nb) and slight depletion in ferromagnesian elements with
exception of Co, which are of several orders enriched in
the Buem sandstones (Fig. 6a).
All the analyzed samples display LREE enrichment rel-
ative to HREE with at to slightly depleted HREE pat-
terns and variable but mostly negative Eu-anomalies
(Fig. 6b). In general, the Buem sandstones have similar
chondrite-normalized REE patterns similar to those of
PSS although most of the analyzed samples are depleted
in REE abundances relative to PSS due to quartz dilution
(Fig. 6b).
89
5. Provenance
5.1. Source-area weathering
Alteration of igneous rocks during weathering results in
depletion of alkali and alkaline earth elements and prefer-
ential enrichment of Al2O3 in sediments. Therefore, the
weathering history of ancient sedimentary rocks can be
evaluated in part by examining relationships among the
alkali and alkaline earth elements (Nesbitt and Young,
1982). A good measure of the degree of chemical weather-
ing can be obtained by calculation of the Chemical Index of
Alteration (CIA; Nesbitt and Young, 1982) and Plagioclase
Index of Alteration (PIA; Fedo et al., 1995). High CIA and
PIA values (i.e., 75100) indicate intensive weathering in
the source area whereas low values (i.e., 60 or less) indicate
low weathering in source area.
CIA and PIA values for the Buem sandstones are highly
variable (i.e., 3597), particularly for the quartz arenites
(Table 1). The high variations in CIA and PIA values
may, however, be due to the low concentrations (some-
times below or ear detection limits) of the alkalis and alka-
line earth elements (Table 1) rather than variable degrees of
source area weathering. Nevertheless, majority of the sam-
ples have CIA and PIA values greater than 60 indicating
moderate to high weathering conditions in the source area.
5.2. Tectonic setting
The main assumption behind sandstone provenance
studies is that dierent tectonic settings contain character-
istic rock types which, when eroded, produce sandstones
with specic compositional ranges (Dickinson, 1985). The
analysis of sandstones with known provenance has been
used to dene these ranges from which the provenance of
other samples can be deduced.
Dickinson and co-workers have related detrital sand-
stone compositions to major provenance types such as sta-
ble cratons, basement uplifts, magmatic arcs and recycled
orogens (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979; Dickinson et al.,
1983). In the QFL and QmFLt ternary diagrams of
Dickinson et al. (1983) the analyzed samples plot exclu-
sively in the craton interior eld (Fig. 7). As pointed out
by Dickinson et al. (1983), sandstones plotting in this eld
are mature sandstones derived from relatively low-lying
granitoid and gneissic sources, supplemented by recycled
sands from associated platform or passive margin basins.
Various workers (e.g., Bhatia, 1983; Roser and Korsch,
1986; McLennan et al., 1990) have used the chemical com-
positions of sandstones to discriminate tectonic settings.
Three tectonic settingspassive continental margin (PM),
active continental margin (ACM) and oceanic island-arc
(ARC)are recognized on the K2O/Na2OSiO2 discrimi-
nation diagram of Roser and Korsch (1986). The elds
are based on ancient sandstone-mudstone pairs, veried
against modern sediments from known tectonic settings.
On this diagram (Fig. 8), the Buem sandstones plot
90 S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596

Table 2
Chemical compositions of sandstones from the Buem Formation
Feldspathic arenite Quartz arenite
ANS16 BLS10 BLS01 KPS02 LMV10 ASO6 LJ11 BMV15 BMV08 LT11
wt%
SiO2 93.22 94.29 94.72 95.91 94.51 89.41 94.52 87.13 91.49 92.53
TiO2 0.11 0.12 0.11 0.12 0.07 0.21 0.01 0.09 0.05 0.01
Al2O3 2.99 2.78 2.81 2.10 1.85 4.82 0.20 3.65 1.57 0.17
Fe2O3 0.69 0.33 0.27 0.55 0.51 1.40 3.34 4.85 5.14 5.56
MnO 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.11 0.02 0.35
MgO 0.08 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.21 0.29 0.08 1.09 0.09 0.05
CaO 0.07 0.03 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.11 0.06 0.05 0.13
Na2O 0.05 0.08 0.09 0.36 0.31 0.19 0.05 0.01 0.24 0.05
K2O 0.31 1.07 1.01 0.86 0.54 1.13 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
P2O5 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.01 0.04 0.03 0.02
LOI 1.40 0.83 0.98 0.62 0.63 1.46 0.44 2.03 0.36 0.61
Total 98.96 99.60 100.13 100.61 98.77 99.05 98.79 99.06 99.04 99.48
CIA 84 67 67 56 60 74 97 76 35 60
PIA 92 90 87 62 66 88 97 76 35 64
ppm
Sc 1.45 1.23 1.14 1.01 0.97 0.32 3.66
V 19 13 < 12 < 12 17 39 26 53 63 42
Cr 30 25 19 32 24 47 19 21 28 55
Co 163 282 231 109 242 62 264 80 140 155
Ni <6 <6 <6 <6 <6 11 <6 47 <6 18
Cu 7 8 7 7 18 10 9 47 6 11
Zn 17 13 13 11 15.5 20 8.57 70.8 29 13
Rb 16 33 34 30 20 48 3 4 5 3
Sr 18 29 32 16 25 20 10 7 27 22
Ba 75 254 253 228 374 398 251 40 72 1298
Cs 0.38 0.5 0.46 0.6 0.54 0.38 0.22
Y 6 7 8 7 6 8 4 9 6 4
Zr 109 165 165 166 79 112 17 36 17 17
Nb 9 10 11 10 7 9 6 6 4 5
Hf 2.32 4.25 4.25 4.92 1.79 0.22 1.00
Ta 0.76 1.47 0.91 0.62 1.26 1.22 0.50
Th 1.42 2.24 2.08 2.28 1.49 0.09 1.94
U < 0.5 0.38 < 0.1 < 0.6 0.54 0.2 1.02
La 9.90 13.8 13.8 7.26 5.11 1.15 6.21
Ce 14.3 21.7 22.40 13.40 9.50 2.05 10.8
Nd 5.12 10.1 10.3 5.91 3.64 0.80 4.22
Sm 0.80 1.87 1.89 1.03 0.73 0.18 1.15
Eu 0.29 0.42 0.44 0.20 0.20 0.04 0.31
Gd 0.82 1.36 1.48 1.01 0.70 0.10 1.00
Tb 0.13 0.21 0.23 0.18 0.12 0.02 0.17
Tm 0.07 0.13 0.13 0.10 0.06 0.01 0.10
Yb 0.46 0.68 0.71 0.73 0.35 0.06 0.61
Lu 0.07 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.05 0.01 0.09
Chemical Index of alteration (CIA, Nesbitt and Young, 1982) and plagioclase index of alteration (PIA, Fedo et al., 1995) calculated following the
procedure given in Fedo et al. (1995).

exclusively in the PM eld. According to Roser and Korsch
(1986), PM sediments are largely quartz-rich sediments
derived from plate interiors or stable continental areas
and deposited in intra-cratonic basins or on passive conti-
nental margins.
The Buem sandstones show the following chemical char-
acteristics: relatively uniform compositions, evolved major
element compositions (e.g., high SiO2/Al2O3, K2O/Na2O;
Table 2), enrichments of normally incompatible over com-
patible elements (e.g., LREE enrichment, high Th/Sc, La/
Sc; Fig. 6a, Table 2), and high Rb/Sr ratios (>0.5). This
suggests that the Buem sandstones are derived from old
upper continental crust (McLennan et al., 1990). Accord-
ing to McLennan et al. (1990) this provenance component
constitutes old stable cratons and old continental founda-
tions of active tectonic settings.
The volcanic rocks that are associated with the Buem
sandstones show strong alkali anities (Jones, 1990; Osae,
unpublished data), and a continental rift setting is inferred
for their emplacement (Attoh, 1990; Jones, 1990). How-
ever, a continental rift setting would produce immature
clastic sediments resulting from rapid transportation and
 S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596
Fig. 5. Chemical classication of the Buem feldspathic arenites (elds
after Herron, 1988).
Fig. 6a. Distribution of high eld strength elements, REE and ferromag-
nesian elements in sandstones from the Buem Formation. Data are
normalized to average Proterozoic cratonic sandstone from Condie (1993).
Data for Upper Continental Crust are from Condie (1993).
Fig. 6b. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns in sandstones from the
Buem Formation. Normalizing values Taylor and McLennan (1985). Data
for average Proterozoic sandstone after Condie (1993).
91
burial, so as to preserve feldspar, particularly plagioclase.
A continental rift setting should, therefore, have resulted
in the associated sandstones plotting in the basement uplift
eld (Fig. 7), and within the ACM eld in the K2O/Na2O
SiO2 diagram (Fig. 8). A continental rift setting, therefore,
is not consistent with the petrographic and geochemical
compositions of the sandstones. A passive margin or cra-
tonic setting would be the most likely tectonic environment
for the coeval volcanic and sedimentary activities. Alkaline
igneous rocks, such as trachytes and phonolites, are not
restricted to continental rifts but are also known to occur
in cratons and oceanic islands (Condie, 1997). Also, a con-
tinental collision setting for the Buem Formation suggested
as by Burke and Dewey (1972, 1973) is not compatible with
the compositions of the sandstones since such a setting
would have resulted in their plotting in the recycled orogen
eld (Fig. 7) and ACM eld (Fig. 8). The compositions of
the sandstones, however, are in agreement with other inter-
pretations that suggest cratonic origin (Cliord, 1972) and
passive margin origin (Aaton, 1990; Aaton et al., 1997)
for the BSU.
5.3. Provenance
The qualitative petrography provides important infor-
mation on the nature of the source area. The high propor-
tion of quartz (and quartzose lithic fragments), as well as
the dominance of K-feldspar over the more chemically
unstable plagioclase in the Buem sandstones suggests that
the source was exposed to prolonged weathering and that
the sediment is at least partly multicyclic. This mineralogy
is consistent with their derivation from granitic or acidic
high-grade metamorphic rocks. However, the presence of
rare rounded detrital quartz grains, sedimentary lithic frag-
ments, such as quartz arenite, and rounded grains of zircon
and tourmaline, suggest that a component of the prove-
nance is older (pre-existing) sedimentary rocks. All the
studied samples contain both strained and unstrained
quartz grains. Although the strained quartz could in part
be due to the post-depositional eects of folding and meta-
morphism, the occurrence of both strain and unstrained
quartz in suggest that some of the strain was inherited from
the source area and, therefore, suggest a metamorphic and/
or plutonic source for the quartz grains (Young, 1976).
This interpretation is compatible with granitic and/or
metamorphic sources, adding weight to the interpretation
that the Buem sandstones were derived from continental
basement.
Discriminant function analysis using major element
compositions is another method for determining the prov-
enance of sandstones (Roser and Korsch, 1988). The dis-
criminant functions of Roser and Korsch (1988) were
designed to discriminate between four sedimentary prove-
nance elds. These are: mac (P1); intermediate (P2); felsic
(P3); and recycled (P4). On this diagram, the Buem sand-
stones plot in the P4 eld (Fig. 9), supporting the interpre-
tation that they were derived from granitic-gneissic or
92 S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596

Fig. 7. QFL and QmFLt plots. (a) and (c) Provenance elds of Dickinson et al. (1983). (b) and (d) sandstones from the Buem Formation. Denitions are
given in Table 1.

Fig. 8. Provenance discrimination diagrams of Roser and Korsch (1986) Fig. 9. Provenance discrimination diagram of Roser and Korsch (1988)
with sandstones from Buem Formation. Data for average Proterozoic with sandstones (lled circles) from the BSU. Also plotted for comparison
sandstone are from Condie (1993). ARC, volcanic island arc; ACM, active are Upper Continental Crust (open circle) and average Proterozoic
continental margin; PM, passive margin. sandstone (open square); Data from Condie (1993).

sedimentary source area, similar to PM-derived (Roser and The REE, Th and Sc are generally accepted as among the
Korsch, 1988). The felsic and recycled source rocks for the most reliable indicators of sediment provenance because
Buem sandstones is further supported by their high Th/Sc their distribution is less aected by heavy-mineral fraction-
and Zr/Sc ratios respectively (Fig. 10). ation than that of elements such as Zr, Hf, and Sn (Cullers
 S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596
Fig. 10. Plot of Th/Sc versus Zr/Sc for sandstones from the BSU (after
McLennan et al., 1993). The sandstones are enriched in zircon, due to
sedimentary sorting and recycling. Average source rock compositions are
of Proterozoic age (after Condie, 1993). BAS, basalt; AND, andesite;
FVO, felsic volcanics; GRA, granite; TTG, tonalitetrondhjemitegrano-
diorite; PSS, Proterozoic sandstone (Condie, 1993).
et al., 1979; Taylor and McLennan, 1985). The REE and Th
abundances are higher in felsic igneous rocks and in their
weathering products, whereas Co, Sc, Ni, and Cr are more
concentrated in mac than in felsic igneous rocks. The low
concentrations of ferromagnesian trace elements such as Cr,
Ni, Sc and V in the Buem sandstones (Table 2; Fig. 6a) indi-
cate that very minimal mac rocks were exposed in the
source area. The unusual Co enrichment with respect to
average upper continental crust (Table 2) may suggest some
input of mac materials from the source terrane; however,
the simultaneous depletion of Cr, Ni, and V suggests that
other factors such as post-depositional alterations might
have played a role in concentrating Ni in the sandstones.
Furthermore, ratios such Eu/Eu*, (La/Lu)N, La/Sc,
Th/Sc, and Cr/Th are signicantly dierent in mac and fel-
sic source rocks and can, therefore, provide information
about the provenance of sedimentary rocks (Amstrong-
Altrin et al., 2004). The Eu/Eu*, (La/Lu)N, La/Sc, Th/Sc,
and Cr/Th ratios of the Buem sandstones are similar to
those for sediments derived from felsic source rocks than
those for mac source rocks (Table 3). The general lack of
signicant Eu-anomaly (average Eu/Eu* = 0.8) and at
Table 3
Range of elemental ratios of Buem sandstones compared to the ratios in average Proterozoic sandstones, upper continental crust and sandstones derived
from felsic rocks and mac rocks
Elemental ratio Range of Buem Range of sediments
sandstonesa from felsic sourcesb
La/Sc 1.7012.1 2.5016.3
Th/Sc 0.531.82 0.8420.5
Cr/Th 5.7421.1 4.0015.0
Eu/Eu* 0.601.09 0.400.94
(La/Lu)N 6.8514.7 3.0027.0
a
This study; Sample LJ11 is excluded because the concentrations of Sc and Th are near detection limits.
b
Amstrong-Altrin et al. (2004).
c
Condie (1993); Subscript N denotes chondrite-normalized value.
93
HREE patterns implies a granodiorite rather than a granite
source (Condie, 1993; Cullers and Podkovyrov, 2000).
However, the appreciably high Eu/Eu* values and the over-
all at HREEs may suggest a component of mac volcanic
rocks (Fedo et al., 1996).
The petrological and geochemical data indicate that the
Buem sandstones were predominantly derived from a felsic
igneous source with a component from pre-existing sedi-
mentary source. To assess possible sources based on the
above, we attempt to quantitatively model the provenance
using selected three source end member components, i.e.,
Upper Proterozoic crust (UPC), felsic plutonic rocks
(PG) and mac-intermediate volcanic rocks. For the
UPC end member we use the average of 24 Birimian meta-
graywackes and phyllites from Asiedu et al. (2004) to rep-
resent the upper crustal composition at the time of
deposition of the Buem sandstones. Granitoids and gra-
nitic gneisses of Eburnean age (Ho gneiss; Agyei et al.,
1987) are a potential source for the Buem Sandstones
and, therefore, ideal for the PG end-member. However,
the chemical analyses for these felsic plutonic rocks are
not available so we use the average of ve Birimian granit-
oid samples from the Ashanti greenstone belt (Kutu,
unpublished data) to represent the PG end member. We
use the average of four Buem volcanics samples from the
Kpando area (Osae, unpublished data) to represent the
mac-intermediate end member. We apply the modeling
method of Fedo et al. (1996) that attempt to conserve mass
balance amongst the relatively immobile REEs and in the
Th/Sc ratio, which is a sensitive index of bulk composition
(Taylor and McLennan, 1985). Parameters and results of
the mixing calculations are shown in Table 4.
Using the source compositions listed in Table 4, average
Buem feldsphatic arenite can be represented by a mixture
of 30% Birimian granitoids, 20% Birimian metasediments,
and 50% Buem volcanics, whereas the average Buem
quartz arenite can be represented by 98% Birimian grani-
toids and 2% Buem volcanics. The modeled chondrite-
normalized REE patterns for both the feldspathic and
quartz arenites are near identical to their respective average
Buem sandstone (Fig. 11) but with higher REE abundances
obviously due to quartz dilution.
Range of sediments Average Proterozoic Upper Continental
from mac sourcesb sandstonesc Crust (1.60.8 Ga)c
0.430.86 4.21 1.91
0.050.22 1.75 0.71
25.0500 5.71 4.46
0.710.95 0.67 0.59
1.107.00 8.07 7.21
 94
Table 4
Results from mixing calculations
Element Average Buem Mixing end members Mixing results

S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596

c
Feldspathic Quartz arenite Birimian Birimian Buem volcanics Feldspathic arenite Quartz arenite
arenite granitoidsa metasedimentsb
30:20:50 98:0:2
ppm N ppm N ppm N ppm N ppm N ppm N ppm N
La 9.97 27.18 3.68 10.03 13.46 36.67 23.69 65.95 147.2 401.0 82.35 224.6 16.13 43.95
Ce 16.26 16.99 6.43 6.71 31.78 33.20 49.11 50.51 287.1 300.0 162.9 170.0 36.88 38.54
Nd 7.01 9.86 2.51 3.53 13.29 18.69 19.01 26.74 111.0 156.1 63.29 89.01 15.24 21.44
Sm 1.26 5.47 0.67 2.88 2.51 10.87 4.46 18.65 20.65 89.39 11.97 51.69 2.87 12.44
Eu 0.31 3.56 0.18 2.01 0.67 7.73 1.31 15.10 4.50 51.67 2.71 31.17 0.75 8.61
Gd 1.07 3.51 0.55 1.80 2.15 7.03 4.26 17.25 18.35 59.97 10.67 35.54 2.47 8.08
Tb 0.17 3.00 0.10 1.64 0.34 5.82 0.69 13.15 2.77 47.76 1.62 28.26 0.39 6.66
Tm 0.10 2.75 0.06 1.54 0.17 4.71 1.86 52.11 0.20 5.65
Yb 0.59 2.36 0.34 1.35 1.12 4.51 1.36 5.42 10.75 43.35 5.98 24.11 1.31 5.28
Lu 0.09 2.32 0.05 1.31 0.19 4.86 0.20 5.18 1.52 39.76 0.85 22.37 0.21 5.55
(La/Sm)N 4.97 3.48 3.37 3.54 4.49 3.96 3.40
(Gd/Yb)N 1.49 1.33 1.56 3.18 1.38 1.80 1.56
(La/Yb)N 11.50 7.42 8.14 12.17 9.25 9.50 8.16
Eu/Eu* 0.81 0.88 0.88 0.84 0.71 0.79 0.88
Th/Sc 1.64 0.51 0.49 0.28 2.79 1.60 0.53
N denotes chondrite-normalized value.
a
Kutu (unpublished).
b
Asiedu et al. (2004).
c
Osae et al. (unpublished).
 S. Osae et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 44 (2006) 8596
Fig. 11. Results from mixing calculations for the REEs of the Buem
feldspathic arenite (FAx:y:z) and quartz arenite (QAx:y:z) plotted with
average Buem feldspathic arenite (FA) and quartz arenite (QA). See Table
for mixing parameters.
6. Conclusions
The provenance of the Buem sandstones of southeastern
Ghana has been assessed using integrated petrographical
and geochemical studies, the results which are broadly in
agreement. This approach has revealed that the Buem
sandstones were primarily derived from felsic continental
sources typical of a craton interior. The provenance char-
acteristics suggest that the Buem sandstones were deposited
on a passive margin that received large amounts of mature
detritus from the hinterland areas. This interpretation is in
agreement with paleomagnetic data that do not support
large-scale relative plate motions within Africa in Protero-
zoicPaleozoic time (Piper et al., 1973). Based on Th/Sc
ratios and REE patterns, the feldsphatic arenites of Buem
sandstones can be modeled by a mixture of 30% Birimian
granitoids, 20% Birimian metasediments, and 50% Buem
volcanics, and the quartz arenite by 98% Birimian grani-
toids and 2% Buem volcanics.
Acknowledgements
The NAA analyses were carried out by the rst author
(S. Osae) at the University of Vienna, during a fellowship
program that was sponsored by the International Atomic
Energy Agency. Mr. B. Bodiselitsch (Univ. Vienna) helped
with the analyses. Laboratory work in Vienna was also
supported by the Austrian Science Foundation FWF (pro-
ject P17194-N10). We are grateful for the constructive re-
views by K. Attoh, C.I. Chalokwu, and B.P. Roser, as
well as for editorial comments by P. Eriksson, which helped
to improve the manuscript.
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