Petrographic characteristics of biotite- and amphibole-bearing granites of the Sara-Fier Ring Complex, Northcentral Nigeria: insights into variations across volcanic centres
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jnsrr/V2E11/2026-01Keywords:
Sara-Fier, Ring complex, Volcanic centre, Granite, Landsat.Abstract
The geology of Sara-Fier igneous Complex typifies the high level, anorogenic granite suites of Northcentral Nigeria which is part of the larger Younger granite province. A combined litho-petrographical investigation using remotely-sensed as well as field and mineralogical data were carried out with a view to establishing petrographic and mineralogical variations across the complex. Progressive changes in the prevailing tectonic and petrogenetic setting at the time of emplacement of granitic rocks usually result into different petrographical and mineralogical variations of different lithologies of a rock suite. In the Sara-Fier complex, these changes manifest in visual outline of the remotely-sensed imageries where comparative clarity of display for the different rock types vary across the complex. Physiographic and petrographic changes manifest in the physical cross-sectional outlines of the volcanic centres reflecting variations in size, shape and composition of different rock types at outcrop levels as well as observable variations of minerals at the microscopic level most especially in the biotite- and hornblende-biotite granite of the complex. Mineralogical changes manifest in the shape, size, composition and mode of occurrence of the major silicate minerals as well as indicating a trend of relatively high-temperature equivalent of these minerals becoming more prevalent and persistent from north to south. This is interpreted as a progressive increase in the relative mafic affinity of the magmatic fluid from centre one up north to centre five down south; this also indicates that the original magmatic fluids are not completely identical or homogenous across the different volcanic centres.
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