The pan-african tectonics of the mintom proglacic formation, Cameroon

The Mintom Formation, formerly called upper Dja Serie, is limited to the North by the Panafrican fold belt and to the South by the Archaean formations of the Congo Craton. This Mintom Formation is composed of diamictites at its base, whereas at the top its consist of pelites and carbonates rocks whose natures is dolomitic and calcareous. All these rocks are characterized by deformations whose marks are the results of several successive events. Petrographic description and structural element analysis of the various structures provided detailed information on the structures and the relative dating of deformation, which are as follows: (1) an early stage (D1) of tectonic transposition of S0 stratification immediately followed by (2) two stages (D2 and D3). D2 phase is heterogeneous deformation; (3) a brittle stage (D3) responsible for the emplacement of strike-slip and micro-faults. This phase is contemporaneous with the south thrusting zone. All data show that the geotectonic context of the Mintom Proglacic Formation is an intracontinental rift at the border of the Congo Craton in Cameroon and not an aulacogen like that of the Upper Sangha in the Centrafrican Republic.