Geochemical Characterization Of Gold and other Subtle Mineral Deposits in Parts of Maru Schist Belt Region of Zamfara State Northwestern Nigeria

This paper seeks to elucidate the occurrence of gold and other subtle minerals along the Maru schist belts area, of Zamfara state, Northwestern Nigeria by carrying out geochemical analysis on rock samples excavated from artisanal mining sites and some parts of the schist belt area in Garin Maru gold field. Studies previously carried out in the area has reported that the area is favorable for mineralization particularly iron and gold (Usman et al., 2025a; Osumeje et al., 2019; Usman et al., 2025b) which estimate the causative anomalous bodies responsible for emplacement of mineral controlled deposits, a follow up studies like this is however important for confirmation by employing the agilent atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) method of geochemical investigation. 8 rock samples were collected from the area and subjected to geochemical screening. The result showed that all the collected samples are comprised mostly of minerals rich in Au, Cr, Fe, K, Li, Mn, Pb and Zn with mean values of (8.22, 3.226, 166.86, 26.27, 5.063, 15.098, 0.573, 0.867) ppm respectively. From the result obtained, iron Fe is found to be the most abundant element in all the samples I to VIII, this confirm the findings of Osumeje et al., (2021), and the aeromagnetic work of (Usman et al., 2025a; Usman et al., 2025b). This therefore prompt the need for government and mining industries in the solid mineral sector to explore the area mapped out in this study for economic growth and advancement.