Geochemical Patterns of Metabasites in the Southern Part of the Damara Orogen, SWA/Namibia: Applicability to the Recognition of Tectonic Environment

Abstract

Summary In the southern part of the late Precambrian Damara Orogen, mafic schist and amphibolite represent metamorphic equivalents of tholeiitic basalt and gabbro. The metabasites are extensively developed in several stratigraphic units and extend laterally along strike over more than 300 km. In the Southern Margin Zone, they are interbedded with pelitic schist, quartzite, diamictite and minor marble, whereas in the Southern Zone (Trough Zone) the Matchless Amphibolite Belt occurs within a sequence of predominantly quartz-mica schist.