Fieldwork in remote areas of Angola: grains of sand from the South Hemisphere

As part of the FINGER-PT project, Principal Investigator Inês Pereira spent 12 days conducting fieldwork in Angola with her long-term collaborator, João Mata (Instituto Dom Luiz). The main objective of the fieldwork was to collect sedimentary rocks whose detrital record could be linked to the evolution of the Congo craton — specifically, the Kasai block. Other geological units of interest to the geodynamic evolution of the Kasai Block were also investigated and various samples were collected.

Due to the challenging logistical circumstances, staff from Betoteste Angola accompanied the Portuguese team. Prior to this, formal authorisation had been obtained from the national geological agency (IGEO) to conduct work in various provinces in Angola, and during the fieldwork, the team had to seek approval from local municipalities and traditional authorities. Ultimately, work was conducted in the provinces of Lunda Norte, Malanje, Kwanza Sul and Bié. In Lunda Norte, the team was fortunate to receive support from the Sachenda Mining Project, particularly from the project's geologist, Laurent Duarte, who provided valuable insights into some of the geological formations of interest to the project. As it is a diamond-rich province, access to certain areas is restricted. There are frequent police checks on the roads to and from Lunda Norte.

This enriching experience will provide research materials to support postdoctoral research projects at a later stage of the project. Will we find evidence of cold subduction and modern-like plate tectonics there?