LIBERIA - Geological Setting and Exploration Potential

Described now as one of the last areas of virtually unexplored rocks in the world, interest and exploration in Liberia has rapidly increased, since the end of 14 years of civil war, as international companies come to understand its potential for major bedrock gold deposits and diamond rich kimberlite pipes.

Two thirds of Liberia is underlain by Archaean and Proterozoic rocks of the Leo Man Shield, which is part of the West African Craton that, prior to continental break-up, was once part of a larger Craton in West Africa and Brazil. Shield areas host around 50% of the world’s giant gold deposits (>100 tonnes gold) and a multitude of smaller deposits, of the 1M oz class; important komatiite-hosted nickel sulphide deposits; the Great Dyke PGE deposits; volcanic hosted massive sulphide deposits; and important kimberlite and lamproite-hosted diamond pipes. West Africa is famous for its Birimian volcano-sedimentary belts and granitic rocks, which are between 2,200 million and 2,000 million years old. In Liberia the Birimian occupies the eastern third of the country and borders to the west the older cratonic core. It is this geology that has made Ghana Africa’s second largest, and Mali its third largest, gold producer.

The Republic of Liberia fronts on to the Atlantic Ocean for some 560 km to the southwest and is bordered to the northwest by Sierra Leone, to the north by Guinea, and to the east by Côte d'Ivoire. Portuguese explorers visited Liberia's coast in 1461 and, during the next 300 years, European merchants and Africans engaged in trade. Today sixteen ethnic groups make up 95% of the Liberian population. Americo-Liberians (descendants of former U.S. slaves) make up approximately 2.5% of the population, and Congo People (descendants of former Caribbean slaves) 2.5%. Traditional religions are practiced by about 70% of the population, 30% of whom also follow Christian religions, 10% are Christian and 20% Muslim. English is the official language, but African languages are used extensively. The history of modern Liberia dates from 1816, when the American Colonization Society, a private United States organization, was given a charter by the United States to send freed slaves to the west coast of Africa. The first wave of emancipated slaves who landed in Liberia was western influenced and educated, alien in origin, life-style, culture, language, religion and habits to the indigenous Africans. In many respects, they re-created an American society in Liberia and Monrovia, the capital, was named after President Monroe. The original settlers who survived in the first wave of immigration formed the nucleus of the settler population and the ruling minority until 1980.