Ages of detrital zircon grains from Neoproterozoic siliciclastic rocks in the Shakawe area: implications for the evolution of Proterozoic crust in northern Botswana

Abstract

The Precambrian rocks of northern Botswana comprise poorly exposed igneous complexes, high-grade metamorphic rocks, as well as sedimentary sequences including mainly siliciclastic and carbonate rocks. New U-Pb SHRIMP data are presented for detrital zircons from siliciclastic rocks collected from the Shakawe area in northern Botswana. These data show three main age groups at c. 1020 Ma, 1090 Ma, and 2050 Ma which support contentions for local provenance of the sediments. They also fix the maximum age of the deposition of these siliciclastic rocks at 1020 Ma. The results support field evidence suggesting that the siliciclastic rocks exposed in the Shakawe zone are part of the Ghanzi-Chobe Super-group.