Zone G

Figure 9: Geological map of Zone G with the concession areas on offer (Geological map is adapted from KARVAK 2022).

Zone G covers entire area of the enclave, Special Administrative Region of Oe-cusse-Ambeno (RAEOA) with an estimated total area of 814 km2. The geology of this zone consist of seven different formations namely the Bobonaro Complex, Manamas Formation, Viqueque Formation, Aitutu Formation, Igneous Intrusion, Ultrabasic rocks, and Quaternary Alluvial (KARVAK 2022).

There are a number of metallic and non-metallic mineral indicated within this zone, such as gold, copper, manganese, gypsum, bentonite and limestone (UN-ESCAP 2003). The gold mineralisation within this zone is most likely associated with the volcanic rocks of Manamas Formation, however further detail exploration work need to be carried out to confirm this.

No detail mineralisation study has been carried out within the zone for their economic potential except for manganese exploration. The manganese exploration work carried out by PEM (2020) in Zone G particularly in Nipane and Passabe area shown that there is indeed manganese deposit within these areas, occurring as manganese fragment in chert boulder, manganese layers and manganese nodules (PEM 2020).