Quaternary Geology and Paleo-

environment Reconstruction
 Quaternary Deposition
• During the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic Era, the
Earth experienced a marked climatic change, where
warmer and dry periods were alternating with cooler and
wet periods.
• This was the time of the last “Ice Age” in the middle and
high latitude areas and the time of the “Pluvial Rains” in
Africa.
• The heavy Pluvial Rains eroded the Ethiopian plateau and
the eroded materials were deposited in the Rift Valley
lakes.
• The excessive rain resulted in an excessive surface flow;
rivers were many and large. They carried a lot of water
and sediments. Lake and marshy areas became numerous
and deep.
• The formation of the Rift Valley is said to be
related with the theory of plate tectonics.
• According to the theory, the Rift Valley may be
lying on the Earth‟s crust below which lateral
movement of the crust in opposite directions
producing tensional forces that caused parallel
fractures or faults on the sides of the up-arched
swell.
• As the tension widened the fractures, the central
part of the landmass collapsed to form an
extensive structural depression known as the Rift
Valley.
• Rifting and faulting, however, continued all the time
throughout the Pliocene and even the Pleistocene
Epochs.
• The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden were connected
as a result of the rifting and faulting of the land
bridge that separated them. At the same period
(Pliocene), the Afar depression (including the Gulf
of Zula) was down-faulted allowing the Red Sea
water to penetrate far inside.
• As a result, thick saline materials accumulated.
During the same period, the area between the
Danakil Depression and the Red Sea was uplifted to
form the Afar Block Mountains.
• The Main Ethiopian Rift
(MER) represents an ideal
place to analyze the progressive
evolution of continental
extension, as it may encompass
the transition from border fault-
controlled to localized strain
within the central rift valley
[e.g., Hayward and Ebinger,
1996, Corti, 2009].
• The MER is thus one of the few
locations on Earth where the
whole rifting progression can
be analyzed successfully along
its length.
 Synrift volcanism had bimodal character, with predominant acid products
and associated basalts [Boccaletti et al., 1999].
 The Nazret pyroclastics were followed by upper Pliocene basalts (e.g.,
Bofa basalts of Abebe et al. [2005]) and pyroclastic deposits composed by
mainly comenditic rhyolites possibly fed by large caldera structures (Chefe
Donsa pyroclastics of Mazzarini et al. [1999] and Abebe et al. [2005]).
 The subsequent, Quaternary volcanic activity was spatially associated with
the oblique faults of the Wonji Fault belt affecting the rift floor and still
characterized by both silicic rocks (Bora-Bericha Rhyolites of Abebe et
al. [2005] and basalts (Wonji Basalts of Abebe et al. [2005]).
 Silicic rocks form large central volcanoes, some characterized by well-
developed calderas, which give rise to ignimbrites, lava flows, domes and
phreatomagmatic deposits, with compositions ranging from trachyte to
peralkaline rhyolites; basalts form small lava flows, scoria cones and
phreatomagmatic deposits.
 Radiometric ages of this activity are generally <1.8 Ma [e.g., WoldeGabriel
et al., 1990; Abebe et al., 2005], whereas the last eruptions are estimated to
be Holocene historical in age [Abebe et al., 2005].
 Quaternary Volcanic Eruptions and Depositions
• They include recent volcanic activities that took place
after the formation of the Rift Valley. This occurred in the
Pliocene-Pleistocene Epochs.
• This activity was generally limited to the floor of the Rift
Valley and the region south of Lake Tana, where the lava
covers an area of more than 3,000 km .
• Aden volcanics and recent faulting are more extensively
developed in the Afar region. The latter phenomenon is
also widely manifested in the main Ethiopian Rift,
especially in its northern section.
• Because of their recent occurrence, the Aden volcanics
have relatively well-preserved and visible morphological
features.
• The basic volcanic features of the Aden series
include the following:
– Numerous and freshly preserved volcanic
cones, many of which have explosive craters.
Some of these are active Dubi, Erta Ale, Afrera
etc. Of these, Erta Ale is the most active
volcano in Ethiopia.
– Volcanic hills and mountains, some of which
are semi-dormant (Fantale, Boseti-Gouda near
Adama, Aletu north of Lake Ziway, Chebbi
north of Lake Hawassa etc.).
• Many were enlarged and covered much area and
even merged together. For example, Ziway-
Langano-Shalla; Hawasa-Shallo; Chamo-Abaya;
and Lake Abe and the nearby smaller lakes and
marsh basins formed huge lakes.
• After the “Pluvial Rains”, the Earth‟s climate
became warmer and drier. Thus, it increased the
rate of evaporation that diminished the sizes of the
lakes.
• Today, there are lacustrine deposits of continental
origin around many of the Ethiopian lakes, river
valleys and lowlands.
• According to the place and manner of deposition and
depositing agents these deposits are divided as follow.
1. Lacustrine deposits: Deposits on former lakebeds, and
swampy depressions.
2. Fluvial deposits : Deposits on the banks of rivers, flood
plains both in plateau, foothills etc.
3. Glacio-fluvial deposits and erosional features: These
are occurred on high mountains, such as Bale and Kaka
Mountains.
4. Aeolian deposits : Are windblown deposits.
5. Coastal and marine deposits: Deposits on sea invaded
and sea-covered places.
• The quaternary deposits are mainly found in the Rift Valley
(Afar and Lakes Region), Baro lowlands, southern Borena,
and parts of northwestern low lands.
• Sedimentary geochemistry study about the paleoclimate at the
forefront of both outcrop- and core-based.
– Aided by the introduction of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core
scanning techniques,
– Down-core patterns of element intensities and
– Ratios in both marine and lake sediments
• Are routinely applied as proxies of past climate changes
• The link between the chemistry of deposited weathering products and
climate is complex, the distribution of mobile versus immobile
elements in sediment likely varies in accordance with climate
variables (e.g., temperature, precipitation)
• Element intensities (e.g., Zr, Ti, K) and ratios (e.g., K/Zr, K/Ti, K/Al,
and K/Rb) are routinely used to trace a wide range of climate-related
processes such as changes in rainfall amount and intensity of
weathering processes within lake catchments.
Quaternary deposit in the main
Ethiopian rift
• Steps for growth
Morphology of
main Ethiopian
rift
(A) Location of the Main Ethiopian
Rift (MER) within the East African
Rift System.
(B) Geological map MER.
1. Pleistocene fluvio-lacustrine
sediments;
2. Recent rift floor ignimbrites and
hyaloclastites;
3. Late Quaternary volcanism
(pumice deposits and obsidian
lavas);
4. Pleistocene rift floor ignimbrites
and pumice deposits;
5. Pliocene trachytic shield
volcanoes;
6. Oligocene to Miocene plateau
basalts and ignimbrites;
7. Main plateau boundary
(simplified from Di Paola, 1972;
Street, 1979).
• Ethiopian Rift MER between Ziway lake and the Eastern
Margin of the rift where the Chilalo central composite volcano
is located. The oldest rocks have a Pliocene age.
• They are represented by the fissure-fed basalts of the Eastern
Margin escarpment 1.8 Ma. and by the Chilalo basal lavas
2.3–1.3 Ma. WoldeGabriel et al., 1990; Bigazzi et al., 1993.
• A paleosol overlays the Eastern Margin unit, providing
evidence for a significant break in volcanic activity.
• The volcanic activity resumed at 1.7 Ma Asela unit. And was
largely dominated by felsic products Wolde-Gabriel et al.,
1990.
• However, basaltic lavas Galo Salen unit were erupted in
Pleistocene time, mainly along the central axis of the rift, and
were accompanied by felsic products Aluto Berecha unit. 0.8–
0.3 Ma; WoldeGabriel et al., 1990.. This bimodal activity has
lasted up to recent times.
• The rock types of this central sector of the MER
may be grouped into five units which are well
correlated with those of the Nazret–Dera area,
north of Asela Alula et al., 1992; Boccaletti et al.,
1995.
• The Eastern Margin basalts form lava piles, over
layed by pantelleritic ignimbrites exhibiting
different degrees of welding. The Chilalo central
volcano has a large crater 4 km N–S, 3 km E–W. at
its summit.
• It displays basaltic–trachyandesitic lava flows
interbedded with strombolian scoriaceous layers.
• The Eastern Margin basalts form lava piles, overlayed by
pantelleritic ignimbrites exhibiting different degrees of
welding.
• The Chilalo central volcano has a large crater 4 km N–S, 3
km E–W. at its summit. It displays basaltic–trachyandesitic
lava flows interbedded with strombolian scoriaceous layers.
• The younger volcanic activity was characterised by huge
volumes of felsic products, consisting of pantelleritic
ignimbrites and minor lava domes and flows.
• The Asela ignimbrites are fissure-fed and usually welded
with large vitrophyric fiamme, whereas the Tulu Moye–
Hate ignimbrites are strongly welded close to the eruptive
vents and usually related to caldera collapse. Lava domes
and flows locally consist of obsidian.
• The recent basaltic lavas Galo Salen unit. either have a
fissure origin along N-S structures or are related to
relatively small cinder and spatter cones aligned along
the same fault system or along N–S trends.
• The recent felsic products Aluto Berecha unit. Consist
of pantelleritic ignimbrites and obsidian lava domes and
flows.
• The Asela and Aluto Berecha units broadly extend
towards the south , up to the Awasa lake.
• In this sector of the MER, two distinct fault systems are
recognisable .:
– a series of trending faults which is well developed and
– a system trending en echelon faults Wonji Fault Belt, WFB
affecting the youngest volcanic units.
• According to Meyer et al. 1975., the WFB was active during
the Early Pleistocene about 1.6 Ma ago. and would be
responsible for the important unconformity observed
between the „Wonji Series‟ Pleistocene–Holocene and the
underlying „Nazret Series‟, whose youngest products were
dated at about 2 Ma Bigazzi et al., 1993..
• The most striking feature in this sector of the MER is the
bimodality basalts–pantellerites. of the oldest Eastern
Margin unit. and youngest Galo Salen and Aluto Berecha
units. volcanic products and the unimodal character
pantellerites. of the intermediate period Asela and Tulu
Moye–Hate units. products. Note that the felsic rocks
represent 80–85% of the exposed products.
Geological sketch
map of the Asela–
Ziway area after
Boccaletti et al., in
preparation.
Schematic
stratigraphic
columns
showing the
main rock
types
exposed in
the Asela–
Ziway and
Nazret–Dera
areas. Ages
are from
1.WoldeGabri
el et al.
1990., 2.
Bigazzi et al.
1993. and 3.
Morton et al.
1979..
Quaternary
deposit in
Abaya area
 Chewkare Ignimbrites (Ti)
• A succession of ignimbrites exposed on the west Abaya fault forming the western
margin of the Chewkare Graben
• The Chewkare Ignimbrites are brownish and grayish green, crystal rich ignimbrites
locally showing cooling joints and has an exposed thickness of about 100 m. On
the road to Abaya Plantation descending the fault scarp the ignimbrites are overlain
by lacustrine sediments (Ql1) which is intervened by Quaternary basalts.
Damota trachyte (Tt2)
• Trachytic lava flows from Damota volcanic complex which rises over 1000 m
from the surrounding rift escarpment represents rift margin volcanism in the late
stage of rift development along transverse (trans-tensional) line similar to the
Addis Ababa – Ambo – Nekemet Line (Abbate and Sagri, 1980).
• Exposures of Damota trachytes are light greenish gray, porphritic (anorthoclase)
trachyte with cooling joints that are more weathered near the flanks of the shield
than near the summit.
• No absolute isotopic age determination exists for Damota lavas, but it has been
generally accepted that Damota is correlable to genetically similar centers of the
MER and hence its Pliocene age, however its more youthful features suggest that
activity might have continued into the Quaternary.
 Quaternary Ignimbrites (Qi)
 Obicha Caldera is covered by a brown, lithic rich, weakly welded
ignimbrite. In river valleys forming tributaries to Hamesa River
several tens of meters of this unit are exposed interstratified with
Quaternary basalts.
• These ignimbrites are exposed in river valleys in an area covered by
Quaternary volcaniclastic sediments indicates that the ignimbrites for
the most part are older than the lacustrine sediments.
• Quaternary ignimbrites are related to earlier caldera forming
pyroclastic eruptions from centers such as Obicha and Simbura.

Quaternary basalts (Qb1 and Qb2)

• The NNE trending fault system along the axis of the rift floor has been
a conduit for basaltic eruptions with lines of scoria cones making fault
traces. These Quaternary basalts in some exposures are interstratified
with the earlier succession of the lake sediments.
• Two Quaternary basalt members (Qb1 and Qb2) were
mapped distinguished primarily on the basis of degree of
preservation of volcanic structures and intensity of post-
emplacement tectonic movements of flows rather than
petrologic or geochronologic evidence.
• The first pulse of basaltic effusion (Qb1) is exposed over a
broad area between Lake Abaya and Duguna Fango. This
unit which is exposed all along the Bilate River ( Tena
Bilate basalts) with adjoining rift floor being covered by the
overlying intensely denuded lacustrine sediments.
• The younger episode of basaltic eruptions crops out along
an axial zone of more recent volcanotectonic activity of the
northwest Abaya hydrothermal field.
 Rhyolitic volcanic centers (Qr1, Qr2 and Qr3)
• Quaternary rhyolitic volcanic centers which straddle along the active
volcano-tectonic axis of the rift have produced large volumes of
peralkaline lava flows (Qr1, Qr2 and Qr3) and pyroclastic deposits
(Qp) with earlier members intercalated with lacustrine sediments.
• Obitcha rhyolitic center with a horse shoe shaped caldera structure
with a diameter of 10 km is situated off the active axis of the rift
adjacent to Damota volcano.
• Large volumes of lava and pyroclastic products are exposed on the
flanks and caldera rim of the volcano.
• A K–Ar age of 1.57 Ma has been reported for a rhyolite flow (Qr1)
from the inner caldera wall of Obitcha (EIGS-GEP, 1981) and
represents the earliest phase of rhyolitic volcanism in the Quaternary.
• Duguna Fango volcanic complex is the most prominent of the
Quaternary volcanic centers with a base diameter of about 10 km and
a summit caldera which produced pumice and ash fall deposits (Qp)
which attain a thickness of over 30 m in the summit caldera.
• Stratified pyroclastic layers which gently dip to the northeast and
other field observations suggest a caldera collapse structure with a
displacement in excess of 500 mts.
• The complete circular outline of the collapse structure is marked by
smaller rhyolite domes to the southeast which probably acted as a
hinge during the caldera subsidence.
• The Salwa Dore – Hako rhyolitic center have produced very recent
obsidian and pitchstone flows probably representing the youngest
rhyolitic activity (Qr3) in the study area.
• Other rhyolitic volcanic centers include Simbura (Donga) rhyolitic
volcanic complex which rises about 100 m from the level of Lake
Abaya and is composed of stratified ash and pumice deposits with the
base of the volcano being composed of flow banded rhyolite flows.
• Chericho whose near perfect cone rises about 700 m from the rift
floor with a classic summit caldera a few kms in diameter and other
minor rhyolite flows and domes such as Kilisa (Gedano), Metincho
and Bukisa are all found along the axis of the rift.
 Lacustrine sediments (Ql1, and Ql2)
 Horizontally bedded yellowish brown poorly indurated
siltstone, mudstone with interbedded reworked and
waterlain pumice and ash crops out over a wide area north
of Lake Abaya.
 Two major lacustrine sedimentary units (Ql1, and Ql2) were
characterized.
 The earlier unit (Ql1) related to the pluvial periods of the
Pleistocene cover a wide area north of the lake and crop out
up to 1700 m a.s.l. elevation near Bedesa town over 500m
above the present lake level.
 The second phase of lacustrine sedimentary unit (Ql2) is
related to fluctuations of the present Lake Abaya level
during the Holocene and is restricted to the vicinity of the
lake. As in the central MER these lacustrine sediments form
an important cap-rock for the hydrothermal system.
 Alluvium (Qal)
• The lower courses of two major rivers (Bilate and Gidabo)
which drain most of the study area into Lake Abaya are
covered by fluvial deposits along the gentler courses.
• Both Bilate and Gidabo Rivers have formed lacustrine
deltas a few kilometers wide on the northern part of Lake
Abaya. Colluvial and outwash debris are also found
widespread in the study area particularly along foothills of
major fault scarps.
• As regional studies has indicated the Tertiary volcanic
succession down faulted in the rift is the reservoir rock for
the prevailing hydrothermal system with graben filling
lacustrine sediments providing a cap-rock (Lloyd, 1977).
Quaternary
deposits in
Tana and its
surrounding
 The area around lake Tana has been site of volcanic activity since the initiation of
the East Africa Rift system.
 Berhe et al (1987) lake Tana Basin represents a proto rift west of the present east
Africa Rift System and is associated with the oldest volcanic rocks(40ma) of the
northwestern plateau of Ethiopia.
 King et al 1972 and Bellieni 1981 lake Tana basin is formed in similar fashion to the
formation of lake turkana.
 Mohr 1971, Kazmin 1972 ; Merla et al ., 1979 stated that the basin is formed by
recent volcanic activity relate to the set of North south faults known as the lake
Tana rift.
 The later workers grouped rocks of lake Tana with the recent alkaline volcanics of
the main Ethiopian Rift , The Afar depression, and the Aden Volcanic series.
 According to the classification of basaltic rocks of Ethiopia (Stewart et al 1996 the
rocks in Tana are most likely post rift basalts (<5Ma).
 The volcanic rocks of the lake Tana are usually described as olivine alkaline basalts,
whereas the oldest rocks in the northwestern plateau of Ethiopia are transitional
from subalkaline (Tholeetic ) to alkalic (Wolde, 1996).
 Tefera et al 1990), described the rocks in the region as plateau basalts, consisting of
quaternary alkaline basalts and trachytes. The area is covered with quaternary
alkaline olivine basalts (Merla et al (1979) which have thickness of up to 1300m
(Mohr 1971).
 Around lake Tana pumice and scoria are found in several locations. These volcanic
rocks are formed due to the intraplate magmatic activity in the main Ethiopian rift.
The main Ethiopian rift as center of Continental Rift Zone magmatism (CRZ).
• Igneous rocks comprise the Mio-Pliocene „Trap Series‟ and the
Quaternary „Aden Series‟ (Gani, Gani, & Abdelsalam, 2007;
Kazmin, 1972).
• The Trap series (mainly basalts) extruded from fissures and centres
of flood lavas and built up a 500–1500 m thick volcanic pile (Mohr,
1964; Mohr & Zanettin, 1988).
• Trap series also contain two shield volcanoes from the Miocene
which partially form the water divide on the south-eastern margin
of the basin: Mount Choke and Mount Guna.
• The entire basin consists of these lavas which are outcropping
where they are not overlain by the more recent Aden series or by
lacustrine deposits.
• The Aden series are characterised by the presence of several
strombolian volcanoes that are striking features of the landscape.
During the field study, it was observed that parts of the outcropping
Quaternary Aden series were more intensively weathered than their
surrounding Mio-Pliocene Trap series.
• Magma conduit,
with lava tube
(i.e. a cave, note
two persons
standing at the
entrance) in a
strombolian
volcano near
Merawi.
• A dyke is also
visible within the
scoria and the
cave is
surrounded by
volcanic ashes,
lapilli and
volcanic bombs
(in the
foreground).
 Unconsolidated sediments
• Unconsolidated Quaternary sediments stem from lacustrine, fluvial or
hill slope processes. Lacustrine sediments were recognised in the field
as black, clearly layered fine sediments which often occur on a large
plain or in a drowned valley. These sediments are situated north and
east of the lake, where the lake is bordering flat to gently sloping land
(Nilsson, 1940).
• Occurrences of these sediments helped determine the paleoshoreline.
Soils formed on these sediments have been analysed by Colot (2012).
• Alluvial/colluvial deposits generated from fluvial processes, are
locally mixed with slope colluvium.
• These sediments have a brownish/red colour in the field and are found
on slopes and along rivers. drawn based on field evidence of
lacustrine deposits at that height. A stage-area curve was calculated for
the lake: the equation for lake stage (in m) is: Y ¼ 0.035 X (lake
extent in km2) + 1677.
• The Lake Tana Basin is perched on a topographic
high part of an uplifted dome that was active during
the Tertiary volcanic events . It is located on a
faulted depression between the erosional escarpment
overlooking the Sudan plains to the west, and the
tectonic escarpment of the plateau margin
overlooking the Afar depression to the east
• Stratified Tertiary volcanic rock piles in
northwestern Ethiopia overlie the Mesozoic
sedimentary rock stratigraphical sequence where
there is a major unconformity between the
sequences . They have an average thickness of 1 to
1.5 km and covers a significant area of the basin .
• The volcanism for the formation of this Tertiary flood
basalt is related to massive crustal warping along the main
Ethiopian rift margins that happened during the
Quaternary Era . Furthermore, Quaternary basalt covers
most of the southern part of the Tana Basin.
• The Lake Tana Basin was formed by the junction of three
grabens. It acquired its present form through damming by
a 10,000-year-old Quaternary lava flow on its southern
part. Prave et al. used ages of the different mafic and felsic
rocks of the basin and conclude that the basin was formed
by central volcanism which formed a 60–80 km diameter
caldera, about 1-km deep, contradicting the hypothesis
that the basin was formed by the junction of three grabens.
• The high topography of the upper Blue Nile River
Basin is the result of regional uplift, and Tertiary
and Quaternary lava flows.
• During the later stages of volcanism, magmatic
outlets became focused and built up large shield
volcanoes.
• The Tana area is also characterized by many dike
and pipe feeders. The flat plain, towards the mouth
of major rivers to the Lake Tana, is covered by
Quaternary lacustrine sediments, reworked with
alluvial process (some call it alluvio-lacustrine).
• Geological map of
Lake Tana Basin
(a) and a cross-section
from Sekela to
Gondar mountain (A–
A0)
(b) modified after Nigate
et al. [41], (2017).
 Quaternary deposits of Raya valley
• Is a flat plain dominated by deep to very deep
undifferentiated alluvial, lacustrine, and beach sediments.
These sediments are bounded on the east and west by
Ashangi formation, which is a series of volcanic rocks
characterized by deeply weathered alkaline (olivine) and
transitional basalt flows with tuff intercalations, rare
rhyolites from fissures and dissected by dikes and sills.
• The valley lies in a region occupied by marginal grabens
formed in the escarpment zone of the Afar- Ethiopian
Plateau boundary. The northern portion of the area is
occupied by the southernmost part of Corbetta graben,
which has a total length of about 90 kilometers. It is
known that the depressions in the rest of the area are also
formed by smaller grabens.
• The Tertiary volcanics are predominantly basalt. The basalts
are fine-grained and light to dark greenish-grey in colour.
• They occupy significant parts of the western mountain and
escarpment areas. They are slightly to moderately fractured
and highly weathered in the upper part.
• The basalts in the western mountains and eastern escarpment
overlie the Upper Sandstone. In the southern adjacent Kobo
Valley, Tertiary rhyolites form ridge features.
• Quaternary sediments fill the valley floor and form
important aquifers. Recent sediments consist of fluvio-
lacustrine deposits, which are at places covered with
channel and fan deposits, and by colluvial deposits at the
foot of the eastern escarpment.
• The borehole logs clearly display that the
Quaternary sediments vary widely in grain size and
are characterized by inter-fingering in the valley
floor, dominantly deposited by fluvial processes.
• The fluvio-lacustrine deposits seem to have been
deposited due to the damming of the proto-river
during the faulting that gave rise to the eastern
escarpment. These sediments are sandy toward the
western and eastern sides, and deep (see the
geophysics logs in Ayenew et al., 2011), and become
silty and clayey toward the centre.
• The different rocks are extremely faulted. The
faults are prominent in the eastern and western
escarpments, forming the normal marginal faults
that form the graben. The graben floor is filled
with thick Quaternary sediments.
• The prominent geological structures in the study
area are normal faults trending in the NW-SE,
NE-SW and N-S directions, and a few E-W
faults. Fractures, joints and dykes are common
along major tectonic trends.
Ethiopia‟s geology potential for
mineral and fuel exploration
and development.
• Ethiopia’s geology shows extraordinary potential for
mineral and fuel exploration and development.
1) Metallic minerals (gold, platinum, iron, nickel, chromite
and base metals)
2) Fertilizer raw minerals (potash and phosphate)
3) Gemstones (sapphires, emeralds, fiery opals)
4) Energy minerals (lithium, graphite and tantalum, oil shale
and coal)
5) Cement raw minerals (limestone, gypsum, clay, pumice)
6) Ceramics raw minerals (kaolin, feldspar)
7) Glass raw minerals (silica sand)
8) Dimension stones (marble, granite, limestone, sandstone,
diatomite, bentonite, soda ash, salt, graphite and sulphur)
9) Natural gases and hydro-carbons
• Exploration in Ethiopia conducted during
– The 1970s by the Ministry of Mines, with work
suspended from 1975 to 1993 due to civil war.
– Upon cessation of hostilities (1994 to 1995)
Ministry of Mines fieldwork resumed in the form of
regional and follow-up geological and geochemical
surveys.
• Additional fieldwork, including geological mapping,
trenching and IP geophysical surveys in selected
areas was undertaken by the Ethiopian Geological
Survey Bureau.
• Exploration and mining development
activities so far undertaken in the country
show the low grade volcano-sedimentary
assemblages as the main host rock for
precious, base, rare and ferrous and ferroalloy
metals.
• Three low-grade volcano-sedimentary
domains and the associated intrusive of the
Arabian Nubian shield occur in southern,
western and northern Ethiopia.
 Metallic mineral deposits
 Major metallic ore deposits of Ethiopia consist of precious
metals (Au, Pt), rare metals (Ta) and to a lesser extent Ni and
Fe;
 Some deposits are currently mined for Au and Ta (e.g. Lega
Dembi, Kenticha) or are at an advanced stage of investigation
(e.g. Bikilal project, Fe); to date, base metals (Zn, Pb, Cu) and
alloy metals (Cr, Mo, Mn) are only known as occurrences or
non-economics mall- size deposits.
 Metallic resources are mostly genetically linked to the tectono-
thermal evolution of the various low-grade metamorphic
volcano-sedimentary belts belonging to the Upper
Proterozoic(900–5 00 Ma) Arabian–Nubian terranes.
Gold
• Gold located within modern
day's Ethiopia has been
mined for centuries and it is
believed that the Assosa
gold mine could be the
oldest mine in the world,
dating back over 6,000
years.
• Today the largest active
gold mines in Ethiopia are
Lega Dembi and Sakaro
which are located in the
Southern People's and
Nations Regional State and
controlled by the Saudi-
Ethiopian billionaire The gold mined at these locations is believed to be in the
Mohammed Al range of five tons a year.
Amoudi, through his
company Midroc.
 Primary gold
1. Northern
greenstone
belts
2. Western
greenstone
belts
3. Southern
greenstone
belts
Primary and placer gold deposits and occurrences have been reported from the
Panafrican volcano-sedimentary sequence in Southern Ethiopia (Adola gold field),
Western Ethiopia (Wollega region), Southwestern Ethiopia (Akobo region), and
Northern Ethiopia (Tigrayregion).
Placer gold
 Ethiopia hosts numerous placer gold deposits, which have been
exploited for several thousand years by small-scale miners using
rudimentary techniques.
 Present day small-scale mining uses virtually the same technique as
was used a thousand years ago.
 Today an estimated 350,000 small-scale miners extract gold from
placer deposits. The miners extract gold from most rivers crossing all
major greenstone belts of Ethiopia.
Epithermal gold
 The East African Rif t valley transecting Ethiopia hosts a large number of
geothermal fields which are used for power generation.
 Within East African Rift beside to develop geothermal field low grade epithermal
gold deposit was discovered at Tendaho in the Afar region in northern Ethiopia.
 Geothermal drilling revealed highly silicified zones returning grades of 1 g/t gold.
 Currently foreign investors are intensively exploring to define best targets of
epithermal gold around the Tendaho region.
• Discovered in the
western part of
Ethiopia, in a place
called Yubdo,
platinum was ignored
by the locals who Platinum
opted for gold
For a time, Yubdo Gold and
prospecting instead.
Platinum, an English company,
• The location of an conducting small scale project was
estimated 150 the only platinum mining operation
kilometer belt that in Ethiopia.
contains a variety of Located in Oromia Regional State,
ultramafic stratiform they annually produced about 2.5 to
deposits where 2.8 kilograms of platinum in the
platinum is found. western part of the country.
 Tantalum (niobium, REE, lithium,
beryllium) deposits
 Columbo-Tantalite concentrates
represent a complex raw material for
the extraction of other (in addition to
Ta) rare metals (e.g. Nb, Zr, REE).
 Currently, niobium has been identified
in the area of Adola in the south of
Ethiopia, the localities name is
Kenticha.
 There exists a line of over 100
kilometers which contains many rare
metals, this was given the name
Kenticha belt.
 The belt is to the eastern side of the
gold mining operations in Adola.
Another famous Ethiopian gold mining
town, Shakiso is only fifty kilometers
away.
 The Kenticha rare-metal pegmatite is found in the Adola area .
 Production is now running at about 120,000 lb/year of tantalum
oxide from weathered pegmatite and alluvial ore.
 The pegmatites in the Kenticha rare-metal field are genetically
related to dome and lenticular-shaped differentiated granitic and
pegmatitic intrusions along a discrete NS fault and shear system,
including biotite granite, two-mica granite and alaskitic granite.
 The main mineral associations found in the pegmatite rocks include
Columbo-Tantalite group minerals, ixiolite, beryl, lepidolite,
phosphate minerals (apatite, amblygonite and lithiophillite) and
tourmaline (schorl and elbaite).
 In addition to tantalum, Li, Rb and Cs could also be commercially
exploited in the future from the pegmatites of the district, especially
by selective mining.
 Nickel (cobalt, chromium) deposits
 Exceeding twenty nickeliferous occurrences
have been identified in association with
serpentinite bodies belonging to the Adola
and Kenticha belts (Sidamo).
 All these occurrences are associated with
the ultrabasic rocks metamorphosed to
serpentinites, almost entirely altered.
These serpentinites (lizardite and antigorite
with some chrysotile stringers, Clark, 1978)
are all enclosed in a ‘‘halo’’ of talcan d
bands of talcsc hists, tremolite, chlorite  The average metal contents for unaltered ultrabasic
source rocks are uneconomical: nickel (0.1–0.3%),
cobalt (0.02%), copper (0.998%).
schists and actinolite schists.
 The nickel mineralization, of residual type,
is hosted in laterites capping the
serpentinite bodies and is apparently
mainly held in a secondary mineral of the
garnierite group (pimelite).
• Significant copper reserves were
identified in the southern part of
Ethiopia, in the Sidamo region.
• Further discoveries were located
in the Tigray region, which is in
the northern part of the country.
• Tigray Resources is the company
that encountered additional
copper-polymetallic minerals
close to the site of its successful
drilling at the Terakimti prospect.
• Another company, Altus
Strategies Plc. holds 322 square
kilometers in the Tigray-Afar and
Negash copper-silver exploration
Copper
areas in northern Ethiopia
through its 100% owned Tigray-Afar is subject to a memorandum of
subsidiary Altau Resources Ltd. agreement with Japan Oil Gas and Metals
Corporation and comprises manto style copper-
silver mineralisation, forming lenses, pipes or veins.
 Manganse
• Largely found in the Wollega region , Afar
and in Wollo around Woldia .
• There are three characteristics that
define the manganese deposits in
Ethiopia.
1. Residual concentration type is closely
connected with secondary iron
accumulations.
2. 2. Hydrothermal type is connected with
telethermal iron.
3. 3. Sedimentary type is of marine origin.
(Milan Hamrla) The Enkafela deposit in
Ethiopia should be given more attention
as it will be a valuable to world markets.
Industrial Minerals
• Cement Raw Minerals:-
– LST,Gyp,Cly,Pumice- M tones
• Fertilizer Raw Minerals:-
– Potash-billion tones &
phosphate- 181Mt
• Ceramics Raw Minerals:-
– Kaolin-20Mt, Feldspar-
500000t,
– Qtz-400000t
• Glass Raw Minerals
– Silica Sand-more than 3.4Mt,
• Dimension Stones:-
– Marble, Granite,Lst,SSt – in
Mt
– Diatomite- 120Mt,Bentonite-
172Mt Soda ash-460Mt,Salt-
4.3Bt,
– Graphit-460000t, Sulfur-6Mt,
Talc- 120000t, kayanite -10Mt
• Gemstones:- Opal, Emerald,
Sapphire, ruby Peridot,
Tourmaline, garnet
 Limestone
• Ancient Jurassic marine sediments cover much of the
early sediments including a planation surface of the
Triassic age.
• The sediments were deposited as a result of marine
transgression in the region which swept over the eastern
Africa during the first break-up of Gondwana.
• The result was to have rocks suchas sandstone, limestone,
shale, marls and evaporites, covering large areas of
Ethiopia.
 Sandstone
• Similar to limestone...Ancient Jurassic marine
sediments cover much of the early sediments
including a planation surface of the Triassic age.
• The sediments were deposited as a result of
marine transgression in the region which swept
over the eastern Africa during the first break-up
of Gondwana.
• The result was to have rocks such as sandstone,
limestone, shale, marls and evaporites, covering
large areas of Ethiopia
 Gypsum
• Modest amounts of gypsum were produced for
domestic consumption in the Mugher Valley, at
Filikik, and at Dewelle near Dire Dawa.
• Most of Ethiopia's gypsum was used in cement
and stucco production (Ethiopia Ministry of
Mines).
 Phosphate
• There is a very high demand for phosphate in Ethiopia, due
to its importance as a fertilizer.
• Importing fertilizers, furthermore, is prohibitively
expensive. As a result, there has been extensive
exploration for phosphate in recent times. These efforts
have uncovered to At least two major mafic complexes,
Bikilal in the west and Melka Arba in southern Ethiopia.
• However more work is required before we can tell whether
extracting these resources would be economically feasible
 Clay Kaolin
• Kaolin, also called China Clay, is a soft
white and plastic clay mineral which is
utilized for ceramics paint, paper filling
and coating, plastic rubber, raw material
for agricultural fertilizers and
pharmaceuticals.
• Kaolin is found in regions of Amhara,
Oromia and Southern Regional States  The EMRDE operated a small mine at
(specifically in Debretabor, Hosaena and Bamba Wuha.
Hadiya areas) of Ethiopia.  Had a processing capacity of 15,000
tons/year of kaolin. At the time,
• Inadequate research on the geological
Ethiopia had no paper factories.
location and deposit of the mineral,
 Consumers of kaolin that produced at
inadequate knowledge on the type of the
Bamba Wuha included the Melkasa
mineral and its benefits and the lack of
Aluminum Sulfate and Sulfuric Acid
promotion are the causes for having a
Factory, Nazret Aluminum Sulfate
very weak clay mineral industry in
Industries, and the Tabor Ceramics
Ethiopia.
Factory. Kaolin was also found at
Kombelcha (Ethiopia Ministry of
Mines).
Clay Diatomite
The most favorable site for accumulation
of fresh water diatomite deposits in
Ethiopia is the main Ethiopia rift with its
wide spread silicic volcanism and
lacustrine basins.
• Best diatomite deposits are found in
the central part of the rift Gade
Motta, Adamitulu, Chefe Jilla and
Abiyata deposits.
• Proven resources of the diatomite
mines in the Wonji area near Addis
Ababa amounted to 430,000 tons.
• Less than 2,000 tons/year was
consumed by Ethio-Tyre and Rubber
Private Ltd. Co. as a filler.
• Diatomite was also reported to be
used in local plastics factories and
pesticides (Ethiopia Ministry of
Mines).
 Clay Bentonite
• Bentonites in main Ethiopian rift is formed by the chemical alteration
of volcanic ash in the presence of water such as in a lake. Such a
unique volcanic setting has been provided by the spreading of tectonic
plates along the East African Rift.
• Bentonitic clay resources are found in the Afar National Regional
State, Amhara regional state north Shoa (Angolola, Chacha area) and
Southern Peoples, Nations and Nationalities Regional State.
• The Afar region Bentonite occurrences are easily accessible, as they
are located near the main road.
• The main occurrences in afar are located at Warssiso, Hadar, Gewane
and Ledi.
• The Warssiso Bentonite deposit located 500 Km Addis Ababa- Semera
main road and 0.7 Km-3.0 Km towards north, between Badona river
and Warseiso. Gewane bentonite deposit 15 Km NNE of Gewane
town, at which Gewane itself is 376 Km north east of Addis Ababa –
Semera main road.
• Huge deposits of bentonite occur in the Afar region at
several sites (e.g. Warseisa, Ledi, Gewane area, Hararghe)
(Mengistu, 1987) and at Gidicho island (Lake Abaya) in
Sidamo (Knot and Abera, 1983). Much higher quality
deposits of bentonite have been found at Lake Abaya.
• The bentonite-bearing beds are part of lacustrine
sediments, which consist of clays, salt bearing beds,
sandstones, calcareous sandstones, conglomerates and
interbedded volcaniclastic rocks. They result from the
alteration of glassy magmatic materials (Mengistu and
Fentaw,.2000).
• In the Afar region, the total resources have been estimated
at 170,000,000 t of bentonite (Mengistu and Fentaw,
2000).
• The largest bentonite deposit, Gewane, is located about
17 km north-east of the town of Gewane. The reserves at
this site have been estimated at 77,035,000 m3. The
average thickness of the bentonite clay is about 11.8 m.
• The second largest deposit is Warseisa, situated 1–3 km
north of the Dessie-Assab highway between the Badona
river and Warseisa. The bentonite deposit occupies an
area of about 127 km2.
• The reserves have been estimated at about 7,000,000 m3
and the average thickness is about 5.6 m. At Ledi, the
average thickness of the bentonitic bed is estimated to
be 3.2 m and the calculated reserves are 1,784,000 m3.
• The total reserves in the area are estimated to be
7,000,000 m3. The reserves a Gidicho island (Lake Abaya,
Rift Valley) are estimated to be 6,440,000 m3.
 Iron occurrence
• Iron ore occurrences of Ethiopia can be classified
based on the following geological setting;
1. Metamorphic type of primary sedimentary origin,
subsequently mineralogically and texturally altered
by regional metamorphism.
2. Combined metamorphic-contact metasomatic type,
formed by a combination of sedimentation,
metamorphism and metasomatism.
3. Residual concentration type, having resulted from
decomposition and leaching of extrusive or other
ferruginous siliceous rocks
4. Magmatic type (Hamrla, 1966).
Three different types of deposits are reported from
Ethiopia, though small in size. They include
1. Magmatic iron (Fe-Ti type) of Precambrian age
from Bikilal, Melka Arba areas,
2. Banded iron formation (BIF type) of Precambrian
age from Koree, Gordoma, Chago areas, and
3. Lateritic (also gossan related) iron deposits
(residual type) from Melka Sedi, Garo, Gato, Billa,
Gambo, and Gammalucho areas.
Among them, Garo, Dombova and Melka Sedi (in
Kaffa) have about 12.5 mt each in terms of reserve.
Iron Ore
 Bikilal:
• Bikilal area is located 24 km NE of Ghimbi
town, Western Ethiopia .
• A total ore reserve of about 57.8 million
tons, with average grade of 23.3% magnetic
iron and 41%total iron, was calculated for 27
identified ellipsoidal ore bodies.
• They are intimately related to a metagabbro
and amphibolite complex (Ethio-Korean Iron
.Exploration .Project, 1988).
 Soda ash (sodium carbonate) in Ethiopia
• The Ethiopian Rift valley lakes, particularly Lakes Abiyata and
Shala, contain huge volumes of trona brines (460,000,000 t of
sodium carbonate in solution at concentrations ranging
between 1.1% and 1.9%, Mengistu and Fentaw, 2000).
• Ash soda deposits are localized in major volcano-tectonic
depressions (calderas) infilled by lacustrine deposits. Prolonged
evaporation is responsible for the elevation in concentrations.
• Lake Abiyata alone has revealed the presence of 400,000,000 t
of brines of soda ash (EIGS, 1989). At this locality 25,000 t of
brines are produced annually by a small scale pilot plant.
 Saline or Normal salt
In northwestern Ethiopia, artisanal miners produced rock salt in the
Assal, Badda, and Gabro areas of the Denkali depression. Total resources
of rock salt in the Denkali depression were estimated to be more than 3
billion metric tons.
In the area of Assal, production was about
30,000 tons/year. Salt was also produced
from brine lakes in the areas of Assal,
Afdera, and Badda in the Denkali
depression and from ponds at Emi and
Krime in southern Ethiopia.
Large-scale salt production was expected
to commence at Afdera in the near future.
Salt resources at Afdera were estimated to
be 290 Metric tons.

This project and two others of a similar scale were expected to eliminate Ethiopia's
dependence upon imported salt. National salt consumption amounted to about
250,000 tons/year; a substantial portion was imported from Djibouti and Yemen
(Ethiopia Ministry of Mines, 2002).
 Potash in Ethiopia
• Of all of Ethiopia‟s mineral potential, potash has garnered
some of the greatest interest.
• 95% of the world‟s potash is mined for use in fertilizers, while
the rest is used for feed supplements and industrial production.
• It is located in the Danakil Basin, approximately 600km from
Ethiopia's capital city.
• The deposit holds 4 potash bearing minerals including sylvite,
carnallite, polyhalite and kainite.
• The sylvinite layer ranges up to 11 meters in thickness and
comprises large amounts of sylvite along with trace amounts
of carnallite, anhydrite, clay and dolomite.
• The kalnitite member that averages 9 m in thickness is
dominated by kainite with lesser amounts of kieserite,
carnallite and insoluble material.
Potash reserve are located mainly in the
Danakil depression (Salt Valley), where
160,000,000 t at 20–25% K2O equivalent
are estimated (EIGS, 1989). Dallol (Danakil)
is a major deposit hosting sylvite, halite and
potash salt reserves within shallow marine
evaporitic sediments that also contain
gypsum and anhydrite.
Proven and probable reserves amount to
21,520,000 t of KCl for one of the two
known orebodies (Mengistu and Fentaw,
2000).
 Gemstones and semi-precious stones
• Gemstones and semi-precious stones are apparently
rare in Ethiopia, and very few details are known
about their occurrence.
• Minerals of gemstones (e.g. Opal, beryl, aquamarine,
tourmaline, garnet, spinel, topaz, chalcedony and
agate) are reported to occur in Sidamo (Kenticha,
Kibre Mengist area), Harrar, Tigray (Axum and Adwa
area: amethyst).
• Primary occurrences are related to pegmatite–granite
rocks. The gravels of some of the major rivers of
Ethiopia host some secondary alluvial occurrences.
 Sapphires
 High quality deposits of new and unique sapphire had been found in
Tigray near to the villages of Awaet, Adi-Shumbro and Chila . These
deposits fall within the western greenstone belts that run from the
northeast to the south-west of Tigray. These sapphires are dominated
by a blue-yellow-green series but they also include exciting varieties
such as red, purple, white, orange, yellow and even a deep pink.
 Ethiopians have been mining sapphires artisanally for many years in
Tigray, the northern-most of the nine regions of Ethiopia, particularly
around a local town called Chila. There are three well-known types of
sapphire in Ethiopia.
 Blue Star sapphire and Fancy sapphire are common, but it is the
‘colour-changing’ sapphire from the areas surrounding Chila which is
of highest quality and commercially sought. These colour changing
gemstones feature a blue, star and green series and can be classified
as either ‘High-Fe’ sapphire or ‘Low-Fe’ sapphire, and are formed by
magmatic and metamorphic processes.
 Emeralds
• The emerald deposits are located in the
Sebo Boru district in the Oromia Region
and in southern Ethiopia the rural villages
of Kenticha and Dermi host particularly
high-quality deposits.
• Mining conducted there is low tech and
skills, but shows promise as the quality of
the emeralds is gaining in its reputation
worldwide.
• Most of the mined emeralds are of the
lighter green hue and found below 5
carats, but there are bright green 10 carat
Ethiopians on the market.
• According to current standards, discovery
and production, it is highly unlikely that The emeralds are natural and do not
Ethiopian emeralds will ever de-throne require the addition of oil to improve
Colombian dominance in the market, but its clarity, more prospecting and
low prices and high quality will ensure that better technology could bring forth
it will be a stone to contend with. more discoveries around Ethiopia.
 Opals
 Ethiopia is well on course to become the
first challenger to Australian opals In
2008, the discovery of spectacular Wollo
opals in northern Ethiopia.
 Precious, fire, and black opals are now
being mined in Ethiopia, under the name
“Wollo or Ethiopian Opals".
 The best and most abundant opals are
found in Wollo region, in the north of the
country,
 They have a wonderful variety of colours
and body variety but opals have also been  With no large mining companies or
identified in the Shewa region, now known jewelry brand, opal production in
Ethiopia is still in infancy, but with more
as "Mezezo or Shewa Opals".
investment in this mineral, Ethiopia is
 Opals from Ethiopia vary widely but the sure to become a major player in the
most abundant are the stable and world opal market, offsetting Australia's
transparent ones that offer a beautiful play hundred year domination.
of colors within them.
 Marble
• Marbles are widespread in the basement rocks of Ethiopia, in particular the
Proterozoic calcareous schists. Some of these have been exploited by the cement
industry and National Mining Company.
• Marble has been quarried in such localities as Daleti (Wollega), Metekel
Administrative region (Mora, Baruda and Bulen), Tigray, Hula Kuni and other
valleys of the Chercher Mountain area in Hararghe.
• Marble reserves at Mora and Baruda (Metekel) have been estimated to be about
46.54 and 13.58 million tons, respectively (Ghebre, 1991). The marble in Baruda
and Bulen is grey to dark grey, while the marble in Mora is white-grey.
• The Daleti Marble deposit in Wollega (Malish and Dejene, 1983) is situated 40
km north of Mendi at the road connecting Addis Ababa and Assosa. The marble
beds are confined to meta-sedimentary rock sequences and are mostly
homogeneously white or pink but banded and mottled varieties also occur.
Medium- and coarse-grained types predominate. Reserves of marble in this area
(12 marble occurrences are known) are estimated to be over 50,000,000 t (EIGS,
1989
 Granites
• Abundant good quality granites occur in various
parts of Ethiopia, generally as syn- to post-
tectonic intrusions .
• The Meleka, Negash, Hamaressa, Kombelcha,
Yubdo and Medir granites are considered to have
the best potential for dimension stones.
• At Hamaressa, close to the town of Harrar,
resources are estimated to be 2,500,000 t of
granite on two separate sites (Walle, 1996;
Mengistu and Fentaw, 2000).
 Energy resources:- Coal
• Coal occurrences, mainly lignite varieties, are known to occur in many areas in
Ethiopia (Gonder, Wollega, Showa, Kefa, Welo).
• Among these occurrences, Yayu (Illubabur), Delbi Moye (Kefa, Jimma zone), Chelga
(Gonder, 19,700,000 t), Nejo (Wollega, 3,000,000 t), Wuchale (Welo, 2,300,000 t)
and Mush Valley (Showa) are relatively extensive.
• Yayu (Illubabur) and Delbi Moye coal deposits (Jimma zone) are more economical
than other deposits in the country, with resources estimated at about 32 and 20
million tons, respectively.
• Mush valley (Debre Birhan) deposit are estimated at 300,000 metrictons.
• The coal seams are enclosed in sandstones and shales of either basal sediments
deposited on Precambrian schists or in sedimentary rock units within Cenozoic
volcanics (Chelga: late Miocene to Pliocene lacustrine sediments).
• The coal consists mainly of lignite that is of high ash content, low fixed carbon and
average moisture and volatile content.
• However, there are coal a with low ash contents and high calorific values in the
acceptable range for utilization in the energy sector.
Lignite
 Oil and gas
• The Inter-Trappean oil shale-bearing sediments are widely distributed on the
South-Western Plateau of Ethiopia in the Delbi-Moye, Lalo-Sapo, Sola, Gojeb-
Chida and Yayu Basins. The oil shale-bearing sediments were deposited in
fluviatile and lacustrine environments.
• Hydrocarbons (oil and gas) source rock in Ogaden are the Bokh shale , Urandab
Formation and Habab Formation and the sedimentary column amounts to over
5000 m (Getaneh, 1985).
• Many porous reservoirs are known, both in Jurassic carbonates, particularly the
Middle and Upper Hamanlei formations, consisting of grain stone, pack stone,
bioclastic wackestone and dolomite beds, and in pre-Jurassic clastic rocks (e.g. the
Triassic Adigrat sandstone and the late Paleozoic––early Mesozoic Calub
sandstone), consisting of quart zarenite or feldspathic sandstone and some shale
beds (Getaneh, 1985).
• A commercial gas condensate field has been discovered at Calub in the Ogaden
basin with enormous reserves estimated over two trillion cubic feet or 35 billion
metrictons of gas (Ethiopian Ministry of Mines and Energy, 1995).
• Other basins are less explored and have scarce data with respect to hydrocarbon
potential. The whole Ogaden basin (SE Ethiopia) has potential for oil and gas.
 Petroleum
• Oil and gas in Ethiopia has a history which is a little
over a century old. In 1860, an oil seep was
discovered, but it wasn’t till the 1920’s that
inexhaustible seeps of oil were verified.
• It was generally referred to as oil in the Red Sea
coast but was later attributed to specific areas in
the Ogaden basin.
• Places such as Garra Muleta, a mountainous region
near the city of Harar, Jijiga, the capital of the
Ethiopian Somali regional state, and the Gerger and
Fafan river valleys.
• The Ogaden basin covers 135,000 square miles
(350,000 square kilometers) and is believed to hold
massive reserves of natural gas and crude oil.
• The area is geologically comparable with
hydrocarbon rich basins in the Middle East and is
created from sedimentary rocks up to six miles thick
or 10,000 meters.
• The first actual exploration of oil and gas in Ethiopia
took place in 1915, the license was given to a
subsidiary of the British and American owned
Standard Oil Company.
• The company would later be incorporated into the
Esso group.
• In 1945, the American Sinclair Oil Corporation
entered the Ogaden region at the behest of
Emperor Haile Selassie, but was hindered due to
the citizens of Wardheer organizing mass
demonstrations against them.
• The German oil firm, Gewerkschaft Elwerath built
roads and conducted exploration operations in
1959, within the Ogaden basin.
• Between the years, 1950 and 1995, approximately 43 wells have
been drilled in the Ogaden region.
• In 1972-1974, an American company called Tenneco Oil
Exploration drilled the first exploration well in the Elkuran area
and discovered an estimated 68 million cubic meters or 2.4
billion cubic feet of gas.
• The years 1977, 1978 and 1988 saw war between Somalia and
Ethiopia for control of this resource rich region, making it
impossible to develop the discovered gas.
• Soviet Petroleum Exploration Expedition or SPEE confirmed
extensive gas reserves in the Calub and Hilala areas of the
Ogaden basin in 1980’s estimating them at 118 billion cubic
meters.
• Since 1984, the ONLF or the Ogaden National Liberation Front
has been fighting successive Ethiopian governments for self
determination.
• Threats made by this once declared rebel and
terrorist group has hampered gas and oil
development in the region.
• One incident worth noting occurred in April of
2007, when the ONLF attacked and destroyed an oil
exploration project facility within the basin near
Obala and Abole, an oil field site operated by
China’s Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau
(on behalf of Petronas) in the Ogaden basin.
• The Abole incident saw 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese
employees killed during a vicious attack on the
project site.
Groundwater potential
of Ethiopia
• Groundwater is an important source of water and is the
dominant source for domestic supply in many areas,
especially the dry areas where surface waters are scarce and
seasonal (e.g. Somali region in the east). Much of the
remaining water supply is from rivers, although these often
only supply water for parts of the year.
• Ethiopia, groundwater is obtained from volcanic aquifers
that are stored in the fractured and weathered parts of
volcanic rocks.
• Groundwater provides more than 90% of the freshwater used
for domestic and industrial supply in Ethiopia (Kebede et al.,
2018) and is dominantly abstracted from volcanic aquifers.
• Its occurrence varies spatially owing to complexities of
regional and local geology and associated geological
structures. Since surface waters are becoming increasingly
unreliable due to climate change and pollution,
understanding the groundwater system is essential.
• Many parts of Ethiopia have limited supplies of groundwater because of the poor
permeability of the crystalline rocks and variable water-table depths.
• Success with obtaining groundwater in these areas depends upon locating water-
bearing fractures. The permeability of the ancient (Precambrian) rocks is
generally poor and wells normally give poor yields as a result.
• The permeability of volcanic rocks within and flanking the Rift is generally more
variable, although is often good. Increased water yields often occur along joints
and fractures, in interbedded sediment horizons and in areas with porous
(vesicular) lava and ash flows.
• The sedimentary rocks of eastern, central and northern Ethiopia also have
variable groundwater potential. The sandstones are normally permeable and
porous and have good groundwater yields, although water levels are in places
deep and hence difficult to access (e.g. 280 m below surface in the Jessoma
Sandstone; UN, 1989). The limestones are often well-fractured and have
increased yields as a result. Permeability is however, hindered by the occurrence
of interbedded silty or clay horizons with poor permeability. In eastern Ethiopia,
limited groundwater resources also relate strongly to low rainfall
 Geological and hydrogeologic framework of the volcanic aquifers
associated with the board plateau of North western and eastern Ethiopia

Basal Basalt sequence (Ashangie basalts)

Rugged topography, thinly bedded, with cross cutting dykes, deeply

weathered, low permeability, dissected and irregular morphology,
brecciated, reddish when deeply
weathered, closer look at Ashangie formation may reveal presence of
three zones-the lower gentle slope forming part, the middle more
resistance layer and the upper gentle
slope forming unit. The middle part when exposed by erosion may form
locally extensive plateau which is normally rare in Ashangie formation
(e.g. around Upper Tekeze plains around Lalibela and Belesa plain).
More resistant layers are thin, the less resistance layers are mostly
scoracious, several thin beds of clay soils are common in the Ashangie
basalts, deformed and dipping in northern section up to 40
 Hydrogeologic framework
 Recharge takes place vertically from the overlying upper basalt,
springs are rare, discharge takes as diffuse discharge to slopes
and leading mostly to land sliding, cliff forming sub layers are
more productive, contact between Lower basalt and upper
basalt is characterized by discharge of springs, primary porosity
and secondary porosity are highly sealed by secondary
mineralization (calcite, zeolite, silica).
 Dykes crosscutting through the lower basalt are sites of
groundwater convergence and discharge, Rugged topography
does not allow extensive lateral size of the lower basalt,
depressions within the rugged terrain are site of scree slope and
groundwater discharge. At its base it is affected by
mineralization filling the fractures, dykes and gabro-diabase
intrusion.
 In several sectors the Ashangie basalts are brecciated. Field
evidence show that the brecciate parts are characterized by
 Upper basalt sequence (Aiba, Alaji,
Termaber)
• Dual porosity, permeable, plateau and cliff
forming, artesian, confined, Aiba formation
contains intercalations of rhyolitic formations,
Termaber forms or are associated with shield
volcanics, uniform topography and flat topped,
shows columnar jointing, mostly massif basalt but
columnar jointed layers are common, Laterally the
most extensive, layers of acidic rocks rhyolites and
tuffs are common, paleosol layers may be visible
between the contact of Ashangie and Aiba, flat
laying
 Hydrogeologic framework
• Recharge vertically through soil zone and fractures,
discharge to wetlands, and spring at the margin of cliffs,
water table varies between 0 and 250 m, yield generally
up to 20 l/s, transmissivity in the order of, groundwater
occurs in joints, fractures and scoracious layers,
Pumping test analysis and well logs of Termaber
formation show that, the aquifer system can be
categorized as fractured aquifer where the dominant
aquifer types are, confined-double porosity and single
plane vertical aquifer.
• The double porosity aquifers are related to deeply
drilled wells reflecting presence of large and narrow
fracture systems with high permeability but lower
storage capacity. Transmissivity varies between 0.5 and
1,400 m2/day. The Ashangie formation has
transmissivity ranging between 0.5 and 85 m2/day.
• The upper sequence is fairly tight basaltic cap
covered with slowly permeable clays, and scarcity
of groundwater outcrop in the deep eroded
canyons don not suggest the presence of large
quantities of groundwater.
• The streams reflect only a very slow yield from
groundwater, since their flow is almost entirely
depleted soon after rains cease.
• However, the wells that have been dug and other
observations indicate that generally an adequate
water supply for groundwater sources for
domestic use could be obtained in most locations
within the basin.
 Shield volcanics
• The basal diameters of the shields range from 50 to 100 km,
radiate from peak and dip at an angle of 5, compared to the flood
basalts rhyolites and trachytes are more common.
• Recharge through fractures at highlands, discharge in form of
springs.
• Prolific springs are common at the foot of the shields. The
intercalation of volcanic ash along with basaltic flows allow a
dual groundwater system whereby the ash act as storage medium
and the fractured part act as flow conduits.
• Shields dominated by acid volcanic rocks show lower
groundwater potential (e.g. in the Bale Massif)
• Volcanic plateau is mainly covered by the upper sequence forms
gently undulating plain that receives adequate rainfall and has
moderate run-off resulting in good direct rainfall infiltration and
formation of extensive and moderately productive or locally
developed and highly productive fissured aquifers.
• A feature of volcanic areas is the prevalence of springs which develop
at the basal contact of the shield sequence and the upper basalt cap.
Volcanic spring discharge rates are generally <0.1 l/s but may be
adequate for a village water supply.
• Exceptionally high spring discharge from volcanic highlands exceeds
100 l/s. These happens when discharge is taking place from lava tubes
or when regional groundwater flow emerge to the surface along the
foot hill of vast volcanic shields
 Quaternary basalts
 Related to volcanic centers, are mostly vesicular and
scoracious, limited lateral extent, associated with shield
volcanoes,
 The most extensive is found in the Lake Tana Basin
Highly productive, yield of wells reach 20 l/s, discharge
takes place to rivers and fracture springs,
 Elsewhere in Ethiopia the quaternary volcanics are highly
productive with dual porosity nature
 Quaternary basalt sequence: Scoraceous basalt thinly
bedded, central volcano related, highly productive
quaternary basalt (occurring in head waters of Ghibe,
Tepi, Lake Tana, Borena, Bale massif etc)
• The quaternary basalt sequence provides some of the
highest yielding shallow aquifers in Lake Tana basin.
• Springs flowing from volcanic rocks (e.g. Lomi Wuha
spring) are the source of water supply in Bahrdar-Capital
of Amhara regional state .
• Most of the springs emerging from tertiary volcanic rocks
are topographically controlled and others emerge along
structures indicating that the groundwater flow is
controlled by both factors.
• Infiltration is particularly good in areas where the plateau
is covered by thick elluvial sediments. Aquifers
outcropping in the plateau area also feed deeper fissured
aquifers developed in underlying volcanic and
sedimentary rocks.
• The groundwater flow direction in the
whole basin coincides with the
topography following the surface water
flow direction.
• The flow is partly controlled by the
structure and partly by the
geomorphology of the area.
• Local groundwater flow directions vary
from place to place according to the
local topography.
• Analysis of extensive pumping test data shows that the top
part of the upper basalt sequence (traditionally called the
Termaber formation) has been categorized as consolidated
fractured aquifer system where the dominant aquifer types
are ‘confined double porosity’ and ‘confined single plane
vertical fractured’ aquifers.
• The observed double porosity aquifers are mainly related
presence of two fracture systems;
– The first are large and wide fractures of high permeability and
low storage capacity and
– The second is; the matrix blocks of low permeability and high
storage capacity.
• Depth wise and age wise transmissivity variation analysis
shows that the younger trap basalts have higher aquifer
productivity than the older and both the older and younger
volcanic products shows decreasing aquifer productivity
trend with increased well depth (Gebresilassie 2010).
• A closer look at the structure of upper basalt sequence
reveals the presence of heterogeneity. The more massive
flows are generally impermeable, although the junctions of
many flows can be highly productive, as they may contain
shrinkage cracks and rubbly zones caused by the covering
over of the rough surfaces of the lava by the chilled bottoms
of the next flows.
• Little work exists on the hydrogeology of the broad volcanic
plateau of the South Eastern Ethiopia. However it is
observed that the behavior of the aquifers in that sector is
similar to those in the North Western Plateau. The Shield
volcanics of Bale Massif manifests emergence of several
high discharge springs.
• The Quaternary basalts occupying the vast plain around
Robe, Goba and Goro are highly fractured and productive.
The acid volcanic products forming the shield are however
of low productivity aquifers.
 conclusion
• Generally the basal (Ashangie) unit (lower basalt)
shows the least groundwater potential owing to
closure of the porosities by deep weathering and
isolation of the unit from recharge by overlying cap.
• The upper sequence of the basalt which forms the
‘plateau proper’ has highest groundwater storage and
recharge owing to well developed fractures and
connection to modern day recharge.
• The broad shield overlying the plateau is highly rugged
hindering any meaningful accumulation of
groundwaters, nevertheless ash beds intercalated
within the shield volcanics act as storage medium
while the fractured rocks as a permeable medium
through with groundwater move. These properties
when combined locally results in emergence of
sustained and high discharge springs
• There are at least four major
categories of aquifers in the
Lake Tana basin these are the
Tertiary volcanics (upper basalt
sequence and shield volcanics),
Quaternary volcanics, Miocene
sediments, and the alluvio
lacustrine sediments.
• Groundwater flow is mainly
controlled by regional tectonics
associated with the formation
of the Lake Tana graben
• The area around lake Tana has been site of volcanic activity since the initiation of
the East Africa Rift system. Berhe et al (1987) suggested that the lake Tana Basin
represents a proto rift west of the present east Africa Rift System and is associated
with the oldest volcanic rocks(40ma) of the northwestern plateau of Ethiopia. King
et al 1972 and Bellieni 1981 indicated that the lake Tana basin is formed in similar
fashion to the formation of lake turkana, Mohr 1971, Kazmin 1972 ; Merla et al .,
1979) suggested that the basin is formed by recent volcanic activity relate to the
set of North south faults known as the lake Tana rift.
• The later workers grouped rocks of lake Tana with the recent alkaline volcanics of
the main Ethiopian Rift , The Afar depression, and the Aden Volcanic series.
• According to the classification of basaltic rocks of Ethiopia (Stewart et al 1996 the
rocks in Tana are most likely post rift basalts (<5Ma).
• The volcanic rocks of the lake Tana are usually described as olivine alkaline basalts,
whereas the oldest rocks in the northwestern plateau of Ethiopia are transitional
from subalkaline (Tholeetic ) to alkalic (Wolde, 1996).
• Tefera et al 1990), described the rocks in the region as plateau basalts, consisting of
quaternary alkaline basalts and trachytes. The area is covered with quaternary
alkaline olivine basalts (Merla et al (1979) which have thikness of up to
1300m(Mohr 1971).
• Around lake Tana pumice and scoria are found in several locations. These volcanic
rocks are formed due to the intraplate magmatic activity in the main Ethiopian rift.
The main Ethiopian rift as center of Continental Rift Zone magmatism (CRZ).
•
 Maar
• A maar is a low relief volcanic crater that is created
by an explosion caused by lava or magma coming
into contact with groundwater.
• Typical feature of a maar is low relief of the
surrounding terrain and maar are found below the
general low relief surface.
• Maars are shallow, flat bottomed depression
having formed as a result of violent expansion of
magmatic gas or steam.
• Most maars have low rims composed of a mixture
of loose fragments of volcanic rocks and rock torn
from the walls of the diatreme. Maar depressions
. Notable cluster of maar lakes are found in the following locations:
1. Central Ethiopia in western shoulder of Main Ethiopian rift.
These are the five Bishoftu Crater Lakes (Hora, Babogaya,
Bishoftu, Arenguade and Kilole and more than 4 other empty
maars).
2. Southern Ethiopian lowland bordering Kenya. These vast
volcanic plain of the western Borena lowland is dotted by
numerous maar lakes often filled with salt deposits or brines (e.g.
Mega Crater, Goray etc.).
3. The maar lakes occur in the central Ethiopian rift near the head
waters of Bilate River. This cluster is located on the southern
portion of the so called Siltie Debrezeyit ridge (a fault zone that
runs parallel to the rift and defining the western margin of the
central Ethiopian rift). This cluster includes the Budameda, and
Ashenta maar lakes at the foot hill of Butajiara mountains.
4. The fourth cluster occurs in the central Gojam plateau on the
flanks of the Choke mountain shield. These include the Zengena
and Tirba maar lakes.
Distribution of maar
lakes and
quaternary basalts
in the western
lowlands of Borena
 Maar Lakes and Depression in Western Borena Lowlands
• The scoria cones, maars and flows in the southern Ethiopia bordering Kenya are
associated with volcanism related to current development of a new rift refered to as
Ririba fault belt.
• The lithologies associated with these features are mostly vesicular basalts and
scoraceous ejecta. The formation of maar signal explosive activity when magma
interacts with groundwater. The scoria cones and maars are confined to the central
and south eastern part of the Ririba basin.
• The cones and maars are often up to 2 km in diameter and protrude up to 200–400 m
above the surrounding plain. The cones are well preserved except in places where
they have been breached by subsequent eruption centers. The maar lakes contain
extremely salty waters and in places salt deposits (e.g. Goray and Mega craters).
• Hydrology of these maar lakes is poorly known. Nevertheless the maars in the south
eastern tip are associated with productive and high potential aquifers. Groundwaters
associated with the basaltic aquifers are characterized by relatively low EC and high
HCO3. The waters have low pH (high pCO2) indicative of volcanic gas input from
deeper sources. Ca, Mg and Na dominate the cations.
• The accumulation of salt in the crater lakes (Magado Crater and Goray) is indicative of
groundwater inflow to the lakes but limited or no groundwater outflow, a situation
that leads to accumulation of salt over time.
 The Mesozoic Sedimentary Aquifers of Ethiopia
• Hydrogeology is common to find estimation of hydrogeological features
(such as permeability, storage properties and aquifer potential) of the
Mesozoic sediments. For example the Mesozoic Adigrat sandstone aquifers
were anticipated to have similar hydrogeologic properties as that of the
Nubian sandstone underlying the vast region of north east Africa (Chernet
1993).
• There is a major distinction between the geologic history of the
Continental-Marine sediments of the Paleozoic–Mesozoic era of Ethiopia
and the rest part of Africa and Arabia (Enkurie 2010).
• In both the East African and North East African sedimentary basins, the
sedimentation occurred recognitions to the intraplate extensional
deformation.
• But this extensional deformation ceased in southeastern Gondwana
(including Ethiopia and Horn of Africa) and was replaced by a major crustal
uplift and accompanied intraplate magmatic activity.
• In contrast, the northeastern part of East Africa and Arabia formed part of
stable and slowly subsiding Neotethyan passive margin. These regional
scale tectonic cycles have resulted in differences in hydrogeologic
properties and groundwater resources potential.
 Structural Setup of the Mesozoic Sediments and
•
Groundwater Potential
The Mesozoic sediments are the most extensive lithologies in Ethiopia.
However, the Mesozoic and Tertiary sediments cover less than a quarter of
Ethiopia. Outside the zones where these sediments are exposed, the surface
structure is little known because of the plateau is covered by a large
volume and thick (often exceeding 1 km) volcanic materials which erupted
between 40 and 22 Ma.
• Notable hydrogeologic and geologic feature of the Mesozoic sediments of
Ethiopia are (a) Uplifting and formation of tabular plateaus (b) deep
incision by river gorges, (c) absence or limited karstification intensity in
karistifiable rocks (d) absence of regional folding and flexures at their
margins, (e) extensive cover by the volcanics. These contrast with the
typical sedimentary basins elsewhere in Northern and Eastern Africa.
• In contrast to the Sedimentary basin aquifers of northern and Sahel Africa,
in the Ethiopian Mesozoic sediments, structural traps such as syncline
formed from compressional deformation are uncommon leaving little room
for large volume groundwater storage.
• Regardless of their isolation by the thick volcanic
cover in some places buried Mesozoic sediments play
an indirect role in affecting the shallow groundwater
regime in the overlying volcanics (Kebede et al. 2006).
• In Lake Tana basin and the Yerer Tulu Welel Volcanic
Lineament zone the presence of volcanic activity and
low enthalpy geothermal systems lead to the heating
of the underlying Mesozoic sediments which then
liberate a considerable among of carbon dioxide gas
and other gases (nitrogen, sulphur and argon).
• The CO2 gas emanating from the Mesozoic sediment
de-carbonation has led to the formation of numerous
naturally sparkling springs, notably around Ambo,
Woliso, Diddessa Valley, South of Lake Tana, and
Filwuha thermal springs around Addis Ababa.
 Groundwaters in the Ogaden Multilayered
Sedimentary Aquifers
• The sedimentary basins of Southeastern Ethiopia occur in three
geologic zones namely the Ogaden, the Wabishebele and the
Genale Dawa basins. The western boundary of the Ogaden is
separated from the Wabisheble basin (west of the Ogaden
sedimentary basin) by a prominent NNW-SSE running regional
fault called the Marda fault.
• Groundwater occurrence: In the Ogaden sedimentary basin six
aquifer types occur. Detailed account of the groundwater
occurrence in the Ogaden sedimentary basin is given in Hadwen
et al. (1973) most of the knowledge to date about the
hydrogeology of this region is derivative of this study.
• In the lowlands of the Ogaden the main near surface aquifers are
the superficial deposits confined in the major valleys. Minor
aquifers are found in the Mustahil, Belet Uen and Auradu Series,
in trap series basalts and in localized superficial deposits. In Jijiga
area the lower sandstone and Antalo limestone form a single
continuous aquifer and are exposed west of the map (not
indicated in the map because of scale).
Few kilometers south of Jijiga boreholes drilled for the town water
supply, reached the total depth of 70 m after having encountered
between 20 and 50 m of water saturated Urandab Limestone and
Adigrat sandstone. They have shown a
discharge from 7.6 to 16.8 l/s with as specific capacity from 0.6 to 2.6
l/s meter drawdown (Hadwen et al. 1973).
However boreholes with much lower discharge have been drilled north
of Jijiga which showed an average discharge of less than
1 l/s with a specific capacity of about 0.3 l/s per meter drawdown,
having encountered a thickness of only 10 to 20 m of saturated
Urandab limestone and Adigrat sandstone.
In Jijiga area the quality of groundwater contained in the limestone and
sandstone is quite variable, showing TDS content from 1,500 to 2,000
ppm in boreholes located in Jijiga plain.
Generally evaporites layers within the Limestone Group, causes
splitting, stagnation and salinization of the underground water
elsewhere in the Sedimentary basin aquifers in SE Ethiopia.
The Jessoma sandstone covers the most extensive area in the Ogaden. It underlies most
of the Ogaden. It is poorly recharged it does not have a regional water table and even
perched water lies deeper than 300 m, and moreover because of its friable and
uncemented nature the formation gives great difficulties in drilling. Several wells drilled
(e.g. at Derar, Gashamo, Aroresa) in early 1970s turns out to be dry or abandoned due
to mechanical failure . In Jesoma sandstone drilling data shows water table is deeper
than 250 m. However when water is encountered at shallow depth the water quality is
potable.
Deeper drilling for petroleum holes reveal salt waters (up to 20 g/l) below depth of
1,560 m and fresh water zones above depth of 1,560 m (less than 10 g/l) in the 3,061 m
deep Boh well. Severe circulation loss has been encountered in variety of locations in
the Jessoma sandstone.
The Auradu Seiries (Late Paleocene early Eocene limestone) formation is massive
limestone and yields some fairly fresh water. There are successful boreholes, notably at
Burdar, Agarewein and Ado (Sinclair wells 13 and 13 A). The formation thins
westwards, in Somalia it is as much as 450 m thick, but in Ethiopia it seldom exceeds
200 m, though petroleum well at Boh shows above 430 m thick Auradu series rocks
under the Taleh formation. A number of boreholes were not completed due to problems
of lost circulation. Most of the water production holes drilled by oil companies were
originally capped as there was then no population in areas.
Taleh series is of alternating anhydrite, gypsum and shale with some thin interbeds of
dolomite. The unit is of Middle to Early Eocene age. Gypsum does not occur
everywhere in the sequence and several boreholes yield potable waters. At Geladi,
drilled wells struck mineralized water and sometimes with high ammonia content. At
BH-18 water is purgative but used. At Boh several holes were drilled through the
Taleh Series into the underlaying formation yielding up to 2 l/s with no evidence of
declining yields and in places the wells return potable water.
As concluded earlier by Hadwen et al. (1973) water supply in Ogaden cannot depend
on drilling boreholes into the three principal lithologies (Jesoma, Auradu or Taleh
formations), except perhaps in areas of Jurassic limestones around Jijiga or in
Mustahil formation west of the Marda fault, and even in those areas pockets of tracts
of salty water are common.
Alluvial deposits are the most reliable aquifers, and especially in the northern sector
of the alluvial valleys considerable storage of good quality water can be safely
exploited to a much higher degree. South of Kebre Dehar alluvial waters become
more and more saline. Alluvial deposits also play great role even in higher grounds
of the Wabisheble basin. In Fik shallow wells with hand pumps on Fik stream and
water holes on the wadi are the main source of water for the town of Fik. Hamero
town‟s water supply source is a shallow well with hand pump on the bank of Hamero
stream. The Fik wadi beds are covered by lose sediments, composed of boulders,
gravel and sand.