Hi, Sarah! It's Chelsea Horton. :)


Week 1 - Starting Wikipedia Account and Beginning Modules

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Made Wikipedia account and began to start on the learning modules provided by the site.


Week 2 - Introduction to Wikipedia Project

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Continued working on the learning modules.


Week 3 - Article Evaluation

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Article Evaluation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomass - How does biomass effect human habitation? Animal? - Does clustering increase pollution or result in more outsourcing? - How does it influence an area? Rich in wealth? "In addition to this, what are the effects of the clustering of biomass with respect to coal companies? Aside from this article of text being biased, does it have a foot to stand on with respect to emissions being greater due to this clustering? Thanks. SailorJupiter4 (talk) 19:27, 1 February 2018 (UTC) "

Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you? - The lack of citations was distracting, in the sense that the information provided was not necessarily trusted.

Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? - The article is neutral with little to no claims, as the claims present are with respect to what the source material has deemed conclusive in their studies.

Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented? Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article? - Based on citations provided, the links do work and support the posted material. No viewpoints are over or under represented, there is an overall unbiased point of view that provides neutral points to subject material.

Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? - The references are appropriate, but some are biased in that they come from news outlets that are prone to bias standpoints, but it should be believed that news outlets are neutral; therefore, overall, there is technically no bias present.

Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added? Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? - The talk page of the article has updated material from Jan 2018 being the most recent, but also has a subject that is irrelevent to the page (if you visit the talk page, it is under the subheading "Cats"). The conversations are about updating material or setting accurate citing to material that was previously there (since removed due to lack of citation or bias).

How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? - The article is not rated and not part of a WikiProject.

How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? - Wikipedia is more detailed in their discussion of biomass and its respective resources; whereas in class it was more of a general overview with respect to population control and the outlook of a possible future with the present climate and predicted numbers of growth and depletion of materials and people.


Week 4 - Add to an Article

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Original article found through the Citation Hunt tool.

"The caloric demand of Earth's projected population, with current climate change predictions, can be satisfied by additional improvement of agricultural methods, expansion of agricultural areas, and a sustainability-oriented consumer mindset. SailorJupiter4 (talk) 19:24, 1 February 2018 (UTC) "


Week 5 - Choosing Topic and Finding Sources

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Partner: Harrison Pokrandt


Topic: West African Craton

Comments from Sarah Great idea to describe the extent and subprovinces of the craton. Often archean cratons are split into different domains based on their geology (igneous complexes vs. accreted terranes). An over view of these would be a great addition. Also, if you focused on discussing the distribution and type of gold deposits in the WAC, I think that would keep you quite busy. There's a lot you can do here, so try to focus on a few subsections (like the two I mention above) so as not to overload yourself.

Goals with Wiki article:

- Increase the length of the article


- Describe the extent of the West African Craton, from countries that it underlays to the kinds of rocks within the area. - Provide examples and processes of the geological events of the area (plate tectonics, volcanism, etc.) - differentiate some of the smaller areas within the West African Craton, linking to more specific Wikipedia articles

- Add detail to the mining processes of the area, possibly with an emphasis on Au (gold) due to the global market -- What mining processes are being used? Is this market feasible? How does it affect the local economy?

- Geochemistry data of the area, with emphasis on zircon data and zoning constraints -- What is the overall age? Does it differ throughout the area? What constraints cause what effects?


Overall, the goal is to expand on the current Wiki article by providing additional scientific sources (that not everyone has access to) which explain mining capabilities of the area (and resultant economic benefits), geology and geological processes of the region (expanding on already present information, adding sub-units), and contextual information with respect to formation age. The page will be developed to have a more analytical style where the aforementioned points are discussed in detail.


Sources (min. 3):

1) Crust formation and stabilization with geochemistry data (PDF link)

2) Geophysical signatures (PDF link)

3) 100 years of research on the area, providing extensive contextual information (PDF link)

4) Petrological and geochronological constraints (article link)

5) Gold mineralisation (PDF link)

6) Modern plate subduction and its resultant preservations (PDF link)

7) Crustal growth and orogenic zoning with element constrains observed in zircons (PDF link)


Week 6 - Draft Your Article

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Mining Activity

Brief History

Mining activity in the craton date back to the early 1960s by artisanal miners which used quartz vein debris as a gold indicator. In 1985 the State of Burkina Faso created an official structure, known as Le Projet Orpaillage, for the management of gold mining and buying in the region. Metallurgical studies on the gold panning rejects were funded by the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and the Bureau des Mines et de la Géologie du Burkina (BUMIGEB). The treatment of mine tailings collected from artisanal working gold was the principle operation conducted by the Compagnie d'Exploitation des Mines d'Or du Burkina (CEMOB), operating a heap leach plant which processed approximately 500 tonnes of gold panning rejects per day[1].

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Location and Composition

Location

the West African Craton is positioned in the most western part of Africa, is made of two distinct regions north and south of each other. the south region called the Man Shield, and the north called reguibat shield. both of these regions are mainly made of rocks that are either Archean or Paleoproterozoic in age [2].

Man Sheild The Southern Man Sheild covers the countries: the Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea[2].

Reguibat Sheild

Metamorphism Evolution

The metamorphic record of the craton is characteristic of Paleoproterozoic plate tectonics. A definitive evolution of the area has not been determined as a result of conflicting interpretation of the relationship between low-grade greenstone belts and high-grade gneissic terranes dominated by tonalites-trondhjemites-granodiorites (TTG) suites. A definitive answer has strong implications on the geodynamic processes controlling the craton stabilization and maturation after the Archean-Proterozoic transition. Limited geochronological data indicate a prolonged period of metamorphic overprint, lasting approximately 70-million-years, with the support of Sm-Nd garnet-whole-rock isochron age data and U-Pb and Pb-Pb crystallization ages of zircon, monazite, and titanite[3].


Deposit Mineralization

Overprinting relationships in the area indicate copper mineralization is associated with the first deformation event in the WAC, with gold mineralization occurring during subsequent deformation events via reactivation of magmatic and hydrothermal fluids[2].


Constraints

The timing of the facies is constrained by the in-situ U-Pb dating, with garnet composition providing constraints for prograde evolution at the blueschist-amphibole facies transition[3]. The tectonic environment is constrained by a combination of geophysics, surface geology, geochemistry, and metallogenesis[4].

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West African Craton

Lead paragraph

(The West African Craton)--(WAC)-- (is one of the five large masses, or cratons, of the Precambrian basement rock of Africa that make up the African Plate, the others being the Kalahari craton, Congo craton, Saharan Metacraton and Tanzania Craton.) --The craton extends across 14 countries in Western African, coming together --(in the late Precambrian and early Palaeozoic eras to form the African continent). --It consists of two Archean centers juxtaposed against multiple Paleoproterozoic domains made of greenstone belts, sedimentary basins, regional granitoid-TTG plutons, and large shear zones. The craton is overlain by Neoproterozoic and younger sedimentary basins.The boundaries of the WAC are predominantly defined by a combination of geophysics and surface geology, with additional constraints by the geochemistry of the region. [2]. --(At one time, volcanic action around the rim of the craton may have contributed to a major global warming event.)

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Figures

WAC Boundaries and Rock Ages

Fig.3(Map of the West African Craton with modern boundaries and geological map underlay. The dashed line shows the approximate modern margin of the West African Craton; mafic dykes extend across the whole craton[3]. The geological map shows the ages of the major terranes, modified from the Geological Survey of Canada [5].)[2]

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Week 7 - Reading Week

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No assigned work.


Week 8 to 9 - Peer Review

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Refer to the talk pages of Ryan Hadaway, Carson209, and Rebecca Wedley for my peer reviews.


CalderPatterson Peer Review

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Mining Activity

Looks good, beef it up with one more reference, just for fun?

Location and Composition

“Geology”?

Throughout include links to other wiki articles?

—> Location

I’m a bit surprised that the West African Craton is in the western part of Africa, maybe stick to describing its location using countries?

—> Metamorphism Evolution

Metamorphic* Evolution? Metamorphism &* Evolution?

Could you describe some of the conflicting interpretations?

—> Deposit Mineralization

Could probably be merged with Meta/Evol, needs more substance if it stands on its own.

If you’re going to use the acronym “WAC”, define it earlier in "Location and Composition".

Maybe mention specific deposits (where/what) and the corresponding mining operations (work it in and around with mining activity).

—> Constraints

You’re providing constraints for things you haven’t provided any data for.

Could also be built into Meta/Evol

Lead Paragraph

Define a craton properly? I don’t think “large masses” is an accurate or complete description, and understanding what a craton is is central to this article.

Beef it up with more references and elaborate on your points.

Include links to other wiki articles?

You rock, don't ever change. CalderPatterson (talk) 17:28, 8 March 2018 (UTC)


- Linking to other Wiki articles was added throughout the rough article, along with correct order of abbreviation statements

- Additional sources were added to the mining activity section, with the addition of an example of mining within Sierra Leone

- I agree that "Location and Composition" should be changed to "Geology", or maybe even "Location and Geology", but that is the section name on the Wiki page itself so I am unsure of what to do.

- Instead of focussing on the conflicting interpretations, I instead decided to briefly list the most agreed upon metamorphism interpretations and condensing sub-sections into the main "Metamorphism and Evolution" section.

Your points were extremely helpful in editing the rough article, especially being that they were short and to the point. I will still be adding to the article, and working on finding specifics on the mining deposit types to mention in the general sense, and not just case specific. Thank you for your input, this was really gneiss and I won't take it for granite. SailorJupiter4 (talk) 22:07, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

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Jordanheer Peer Review

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Well written article, the points are clear and concise without losing important and crucial detail. I especially like the link to a figure for which will be used on the final article when published. it gives a good image of the area which you discuss in the article. One thing that i think could be added would be historical discovery of the region and possible surveying and mining techniques which have been used or are used today in the region. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jordanheer (talkcontribs) 20:02, 8 March 2018 (UTC)


I'm having difficulty finding a source on the exact discovery of the region and with what surveying techniques because one paper I found says artisanal mining dates to the 1960s, but mining in Sierra Leone of numerous deposit types (refer to the draft) have been mined since the late 1920s. Mining methods are now briefly covered. I'm glad that you think the map is useful, I am trying to determine whether or not it will fall under Wiki's copyright privileges and will most likely request the help of a Wiki professional for help. Thank you very much for your input. SailorJupiter4 (talk) 22:12, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

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RebeccaWedley Peer Review

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An abundance of sources all accessible and current. Beginning with the additions to the lead section; discussing what the Craton consists of should be done in the 'Location and composition' heading that already exists. Be careful not to improperly place information in an attempt to extend shorter sections. Sometimes those sections are smaller because the information that could be there is better suited for another section. Including the sub heading Metamorphism Evolution is an intriguing addition to the article, be careful to include citations where the facts are stated and not just at the end of the paragraph. The addition of a Brief History is another great addition to the article, but again be sure to cite ALL of the facts you are stating. for example, how do you know that mining activity in the craton date back to the early 1960s by artisanal miners which used quartz vein debris as a gold indicator? Overall, there are many interesting additions to the West African Craton Article in your draft along with good sources and even figures. Be sure to cite all facts and really consider where to add certain information based on organization not which section is shorter. RebeccaWedley (talk) 20:26, 8 March 2018 (UTC)


I agree that it is important that information be relevant to the section rather than fill out the space. Currently I have kept the citations as following the sentence/paragraph they end with because until a different source is used it is assumed that the previously stated information is from that source, or else it starts to look messy because I could be making multiple statements from the same source back to back. E.g., "blablablabla (source 1). blablablabla (source 1). blablablabla (source 1)." looks a lot messier than "blablablabla. blablablabla. blablablabla (source 1)." Thank you for your input! It was easy to understand and helpful in organizing the draft. SailorJupiter4 (talk) 22:17, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

Week 10 to 12 - Draft Continuation and Moving things to Wikipedia

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  • Edits of original draft work based on Week 8 - Peer Review input


West African Craton

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Lead paragraph

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The West African Craton (WAC) is one of the five cratons of the Precambrian basement rock of Africa that make up the African Plate, the others being the Kalahari craton, Congo craton, Saharan Metacraton, and Tanzania Craton.[2] Cratons themselves are tectonically inactive, but can occur near active margins[6], with the WAC extending across 14 countries in Western African, coming together in the late Precambrian and early Paleozoic eras to form the African continent. It consists of two Archean centers juxtaposed against multiple Paleoproterozoic domains made of greenstone belts, sedimentary basins, regional granitoid-TTG plutons, and large shear zones. The craton is overlain by Neoproterozoic and younger sedimentary basins. The boundaries of the WAC are predominantly defined by a combination of geophysics and surface geology, with additional constraints by the geochemistry of the region.[2] At one time, volcanic action around the rim of the craton may have contributed to a major global warming event.

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Mining Activity

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Artisanal mining activity in the craton date back to the early 1960s which used quartz vein debris as a gold indicator.[1] Placer gold is primarily exploited by the artisinal miners, with other deposit types being mined by open-pit or by excavation mining (surface mining or sub-surface mining).[7] In 1985 the State of Burkina Faso created an official structure, known as Le Projet Orpaillage, for the management of gold mining and buying in the region. Metallurgical studies on the gold panning rejects were funded by the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and the Bureau des Mines et de la Géologie du Burkina (BUMIGEB). The treatment of mine tailings collected from artisanal working gold was the principle operation conducted by the Compagnie d'Exploitation des Mines d'Or du Burkina (CEMOB), operating a heap leach plant which processed approximately 500 tonnes of gold panning rejects per day.[1]


Mining in Sierra Leone

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Following the Mineral Act, organized mining began in 1927 with significant mineral discovery in the 1930s and 40s resulting in medium to moderately sized mines; iron ore, two extensive alluvial gold field deposits, placer gold, alluvial diamonds, and chromite deposits.Quarrying and mining provides a livelihood for greater than 250 thousand people in Sierra Leone alone, employing approximately 15% of its population, producing a significant amount of material to qualify as a resource-rich country. The mining of the WAC can establish a strong economy and government development support, helping the alleviation of poverty.[8]

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Location and Geology

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The WAC is made of two distinct regions north and south of each other; the Reguibat shield and the Man shield respectively. Both of these regions are mainly made of rocks that are either Archean or Paleoproterozoic in age [2], with western Archean nuclei.[6]. , and rock types are separated by major shear zones [7] The fold belts surrounding the WAC were folded and metamorphosed during the Pan-African and/or the Variscan orogenies.[9]

Reguibat Shield

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The northern Reguibat shield covers the countries of Algeria, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (state), Morocco, and Mauritania.[2] It contains exposed Paleoproterozoic units to the east, and Archean to the west, including kimberlites[6] making it a primary diamond source with gold and copper deposits occurring in a sub-domain of the shield (Paleoproterozoic Yetti).[7] It experienced at least one major cooling event during the Mesozoic and three minor cooling events from the late Cretaceous to present day. Low temperature thermochronology data indicates that the western side of the shield has an igneous differentiation post-Triassic thermal history, largely controlled by vertical movements of the crust via burial and exhumation processes. [9]

Man Shield

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The southern Man shield covers the countries Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea.[2] In this shield, a large portion of the WAC consists of Paleoproterozoic Birimian continent.[6] The Birimian units were initially produced in an immature volcanic arc setting, which was later metamorphosed during the Eburnean orogeny. The poor exposure of the [[greenstone belt] in the area limits interpretations of a broad structural context. The limited greenstone belt exposure indicates a major deformation event associated with granitoid intrusions.[10]

The shield hosts world-class gold deposits, important iron ore concentrations, and the mineralization of aluminum ore, lead-zinc, manganese, phosphate, and uranium. A majority of the gold deposit formations occurred during the Eburnean orogeny, but a number of the remaining gold deposits formed before this orogeny during a period of oceanic arc-back-arc basin formation and erosion during the Neoproterozoic and Cretaceous.[7]

Metamorphism and Evolution

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The metamorphic record of the craton is characteristic of Paleoproterozoic plate tectonics. A definitive evolution of the area has not been determined as a result of conflicting interpretation of the relationship between low-grade greenstone belts and high-grade gneissic terranes dominated by tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suites.[3] The three major, widely accepted tectonothermal events for the WAC; the 3.5 to 2.9 Ga Pre-Leonean and Leonean Orogeny, the 2.9 to 2.8 Ga Liberian Orogeny, and the 2.15-1.8 Ga Eburnean Orogeny.[7] A definitive answer has strong implications on the geodynamic processes controlling the craton stabilization and maturation after the [[Archean]-Proterozoic transition. Limited geochronological data indicate a prolonged period of metamorphic overprint, lasting approximately 70-million-years, with the support of Sm-Nd garnet-whole-rock isochron age data and U-Pb and Pb-Pb crystallization ages of zircon, monazite, and titanite.[3]

Overprinting relationships in the area indicate copper mineralization is associated with the first deformation event in the WAC, with gold mineralization occurring during subsequent deformation events via reactivation of magmatic and hydrothermal fluids.[2]


Constraints

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The metamorphic rock of the WAC include, but are not limited to, high-grade amphibolite facies amphibolite, gneiss, paragneiss schist, calc-silicate rock, and [migmatites]]. Portions of the region have also been metamorphosed to the greenschist facies [6], generally termed a greenstone belt in an Archean terrane.[10] The timing of the facies is constrained by the in-situ U-Pb dating, with garnet composition providing constraints for prograde evolution at the blueschist-amphibolite facies transition[3]. The tectonic environment is constrained by a combination of geophysics, surface geology, geochemistry, and metallogenesis.[4]

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Figures

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Fig.3(Map of the West African Craton with modern boundaries and geological map underlay. The dashed line shows the approximate modern margin of the West African Craton; mafic dykes extend across the whole craton[3]. The geological map shows the ages of the major terranes, modified from the Geological Survey of Canada [5])[2]

Decided against using this figure due to copyright concerns.

Geologic Time Scale

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Working on trying to make one for the page, like the ones from the eon, era, etc. pages.

Week 13 - Completing the Project

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Everything has been moved to the original Wikipedia article. Please refer to the talk page for my comments.

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References

  1. ^ a b c Tshibubudze A., and Hein K. (2016). Gold mineralization in the Essakane goldfield in Burkina Faso, West African Craton. Ore Geology Reviews. 78: 652-659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2015.10.030
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Jessell M.W., Liégeois J-P. (2015). 100 years of research on the West African Craton. Journal of African Earth Sciences. 112(B): 377-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2015.10.008
  3. ^ a b c d e Block S., Ganne J., Baratoux L., Zeh A., Parra-Avila L.A., Jessell M., Ailleres L., Siebenaller L. (2015). Petrological and geochronological constraints on lower crustexhumation during Paleoproterozoic (Eburnean) orogeny,NW Ghana, West African Craton. Journal of Metamorphic Geology. 33: 463-494. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmg.12129
  4. ^ a b Jessell M.W., Begg G.C., Miller M.S. (2016). The geophysical signatures of the West African Craton. Precambrian Research. 274: 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2015.08.010
  5. ^ a b Chorlton, L.B. (2007). Generalized Geology of the World: Bedrock Domains and major faults in GIS Format; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5529, 1 CD-ROM.
  6. ^ a b c d e Ennih N. & Liégeois J-P. (2008). The Boundaries of the West African Craton. Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 297: 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1144/SP297.1
  7. ^ a b c d e Markwitz V., Hein K.A.A., Jessell M.W., Miller J. (2016). Metallogenic portfolio of the West African craton. Ore Geology Reviews. 78: 558-563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2015.10.024
  8. ^ Jalloh A.B., Sasaki K., Thomas M.O., Jalloh Y. (2013). The Geology, Mineral Resources of Sierra Leone and how the Resources can be Used to Develop the Nation. Procedia Earth and Planetary Science. 6: 131-138 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeps.2013.01.018
  9. ^ a b Gouiza M., Bertotti G., Andriessen P.A.M. (2018). Mesozoic and Cenozoic thermal history of the Western Reguibat Shield (West African Craton). Terra Nova. 30(2): 135-145. https://doi.org/10.1111/ter.12318
  10. ^ a b Ganne J., De Andrade V., Weinberg R.F., Vidal O., Dubacq B., Kagambega N., Naba S., Baratoux L., Jessell M., Allibon J. (2011). Modern-style plate subduction preserved in the Palaeoproterozoic West African craton. Nature: Geoscience. 5: 60-65. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1321