Education, Research & Training
Orezone is sponsoring collaborative research in mining and exploration geology with the University of Ouagadougou (UO) in Burkina Faso and the University of Witwatersrand (WITS) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The research projects are part of a joint university program entitled “Integrated Strato-structural and Gold Metallogenic Studies, Burkina Faso, West Africa”. Orezone is sponsoring 3 MSc/PhD projects as well as the field logistics for the MSc project at WITS. It also donated a specialize microscope to the Geology Department of University of Ouagadougou.
Ph.D. Project 1 - Ph.D. Project 2 - M.Sc./Ph.D. Project 3 - M.Sc./Ph.D. Project 4
Orezone Infrastructure Investment at the University of Ouagadougou
The “Integrated Strato-structural and Gold Metallogenic Studies” required the students to use various specialized equipment. Orezone donated a Nikon 50i POL microscope to the geology department of University of Ouagadougou. The $35,000 polarized microscope will allow the geology students to view samples, analyze and study the complex structural details of the mineralogy of the rocks. The microscope allows for digital photographs to be captured and downloaded to a computer.
Ph.D. Project 1:
Petrography, structural geology and metallogeny of the Bondi prospect, Hounde Greenstone Belt, Burkina Faso
Student: Koumandigwe ADA
Description: The project will undertake a comprehensive program of field mapping to document, record and establish the petrographic characteristics, relative timing of tectonic events and metallogenic character of the Bondigui prospect which is located in the Hounde Greenstone Belt, Burkina Faso.
Key Deliverables:
- Integrated structural & photographic database
- Structural and tectonic model
- Reporting and publication
- Complete M.Sc. thesis with full database
Timeframe: Q1 2008 – Q1 2010
Ph.D. Project 2:
Petrography, structural geology and metallogeny of the Sega prospect, northern Boromo-Goren Greenstone Belt, Burkina Faso
Student: Eric Stephane GAMPINE
Description: The project will undertake a comprehensive program of field mapping to document, record and establish the petrographic characteristics, relative timing of tectonic events and metallogenic character of the Séguénéga prospect which is located in the northwestern Goren Greenstone Belt, Burkina Faso.
Key Deliverables:
- Integrated structural & photographic database
- Structural and tectonic model
- Reporting and publication
- Complete M.Sc. thesis with full databases
Timeframe: Q1 2008 – Q1 2010
M.Sc./Ph.D. Project 3:
Petrography, structural geology and metallogeny of the Bomboré prospect, Burkina Faso
Student: G. Hubert ZONGO
Description: The project will undertake a comprehensive program of field mapping to document, record and establish the petrographic characteristics, relative timing of tectonic events and metallogenic character of the Bomboré prospect which is located southwest of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Key Deliverables:
- Integrated structural and photographic database
- Structural and tectonic model
- Reporting and publication
- Complete M.Sc. thesis with full databases
Timeframe: Q1 2008 – Q1 2011
M.Sc./Ph.D. Project 4:
Geology, structure and metallogenesis of the Oudalan-Gorouol Greenstone Belt, Burkina Faso and Niger, West Africa
Student: Asinne TSHIBUBUDZE
Project Objectives:
- To investigate the regional structural and stratigraphic character of the greenstone belt in order to develop a strato-tectonic-metallogenic model of the Essakane and Falagountou goldfields and the Kossa basin.
- To understand the phases and tectonic control on the gold mineralization associated with the greenstone belt and test if the gold-bearing phase in D2 (Tshibubudze, 2007*) is consistent across the whole of the Oudalan-Gorouol Greenstone Belt.
- To establish and test the tectonic history of the Oudalan-Gorouol Greenstone Belt and understand the displacement history of associated first and second order structures.
- To establish the relative (or absolute) chronology of structural events that will be used as a key to finger-print the timing of the gold metallogenesis in separate deposits that include Essakane, Kossa, and Falagoutou. This will be achieved by establishing the crosscutting relationships of geological and structural features.
- *D2-a regional deformational event that marked a period of sinistral (reverse) displacement on the crustal scale structures with refolding the Northwest trending asymmetric fold to form the Northeast trending folds
Key Deliverables:
- Integrated structural & photographic database
- Structural and tectonic model
- Reporting and publication
- Complete M.Sc. thesis with full databases
Timeframe: Q1 2008 – Q4 2010