Geothermal Exploration in D.R. Congo Vikandy S. Mambo Université Officielle de Ruwenzori,,, Butembo, North-Kivu, Eastern Congo 1 Geochemical Study of Thermal Springs in Eastern D. R. Congo • Mambo Vikandy S., (UOR, Butembo) • Kasereka Mahinda, Yalire Mapendano and Wafula Mifundu, (OVG, Goma) 2 Introduction • D.R. Congo is known to be endowed with natural resources: • Minerals • Fresh water • Timber • Electric power is therefore mainly Hydropower Which enormous untapped resources. • In spi te o f l arge resources, on ly 10% o f population use electricity 3 Index map of the western and eastern rifts in Africa 4 Major ‘Great Lakes’ of the East Africa rifts valleys 5 MjMajor volcanoes and dis tr ibu tion of major 20th Century lava flows 6 The most recent eruption • Mt.Nyiragongo eruption – Date : January 17, 2002 – Dea th to ll: 100 peop le (60 dea ths by explosion of petrol stations) – Damages: 30 % of Goma town destroyed or covered with thick lava 7 Vol cani c Disast er in 2002 Lava flow pushes the Lake 100 m as the Lava enters 70 m deep A house couvered with lava (6 personnes died inside)8 Destruction of Goma town, mostly the business area 9 The most recent major earthquakes • Kalehe earthquake occured on October 24, 2002 with 12 deaths •Buk av u ear th quak e on F ebr uar y 3, 2 008 with 44 deaths 10 Damages caused by earthquake in Kalehe (70 km south of Goma) on 24 Oct 2002 11 Earthquake parameters and disaster in Bukavu ● Time ; S und ay F eb . 3 , 2008 07: 34 (UT) ● Location; 2.314°S, 28.896°E, Depth 10 km Birava ( ca 20 km north of Bukavu) ● Magnitude (M); 6.0 The largest earthquake in south Kivu since 1950 ● Mechanism ; Normal fault type Crustal block vertically faulting ------------ ● Death toll; RD Congo 7 (()1) Rwanda 37 (19) Total 44 (()20) 12 Damages of Steeple Birava, RDC→ ← → ← ↑Shangi, Rwanda Nkanka, Rwanda→ 13 Bukavu felt earthquake on Feb. 3, 2008 The eastern border of D.R. Congo: the western branch of EARS. The most rece n tl y r ecor ded sei sm s of m agni tude > 6 ar e al so indicated, with the year of occurrence. 14 Some water samppgling sites Mayi ya Rwin Makera Moto di Bukom HtHot spr ing o Nyamulagira Mpenge Kisuma Tingi KisumaSpring Sake Nyiragongo Cold spring Kihira Rukor Kabuno e Bay Lc GomaLs R Lake Kivu Rift limit Major regional faults Active Volcanic Centres Mahyuza Kankule I & II 15 Table 1: Sample and site information No Site Name Distr ict PiProvince TType LitdLongitude LtitdLatitude Altitud e 1 Uvira Uvira S-Kivu HS 29.07.72E 03.24.33S 855 2 Nyangezi Walungu “ HS 3 Mahyuza Kabare “ HS 28.50.45E 02.14.62S 1552 4 Kankule ““HS 28.50.12E 02.14.94S 1595 5 MibMaziba “ “ HS 12 Muganzo ““HS 6 Mayi ya Moto Rutshuru N-Kivu HS 7 Kambo Beni “ HS 29.40.17E 00.03.77N 1094 8 Masambo ““HS 29.41.75E 00.10.85N 100616 Table 1: Sample and site information (Cont. ) No Site Name Dis tr ic t PiProvince TType LitdLongitude LtitdLatitude Altitud e 9 Mutsora Beni N-Kivu HS 29.44.49E 00.18.35E 1094 13 Tingi/Sake Masisi ““ 14 “““CS 15 Kisuma “ “ HS 16 Kisuma Spr ing ““CS 17 Bukomo “““ 18 Kalieri Rutshuru ““ 19 Nyabugezi Rutshu ru ““ 17 18 Sampling and Analysis • Date of sampling: – 1994: one samppgling at Ma yyyi ya Moto – 2002-08: other samples • Chem ica l ana lys is: – 1994: in Japan (total analysis) – 2002-2003: Italy (total analysis) – 2008: Goma, OVG (only a few anions) 19 Chemical Composition • All hot spring samples are characterized by high CO2 content. • Volcanic gases of Nyirangongo volcano contain almost 50% CO2 inlike other high temperature gases where S02 is the most abundant after H2O • Lake Kivu also contain large amount of CO2 and CH4 • Suggestion: High CO2 content in hot springs in Eastern Congo is due to magmatic supply 20 Geothermometry • Analytical data were used to estimate underggpround temperature • Ca not used and no data for SiO2 • Na-KtK temperat ure were cal cu la ted us ing Truesdell, Fournier & Giggenbach formulas 21 Geothermometry (cont. ) • North-Kivu • Mayi-ya-moto: 163-177 degree • Tingi-Sake: 229-290 • Kisuma/Masisi: wide discrepency data 22 Geothermometry (cont. ) • South Kivu: • Muganzo: 339-364 • Kankule: 337-369 • Mahyuza: 345-374 • Maziba: 275-294 23 Conclusion/Recommendations • This is a preliminary study showing, on basis of geochemical data that geothermal potential exist Eastern DRC • Further investigggations are required including: – Expand to wider area – In-situ measurements of CO2, H2S, discharge rates.. – Geological and geophysical surveys – Isotope Hydrology 24 Acknowledgements 25 THANK YOU 26.