Intense lateritic weathering (30 - 50 m) in humid tropical terranes oxidises primary magnetite to haematite/goethite, generating shallow parasitic anomalies that obscure the deep structural signatures of Fe–Au mineralising traps. In the NE Akom II sector of the Paleoproterozoic Nyong complex (Southern Cameroon), banded iron formations (BIF) and Fe–Au occurrences are concealed beneath this oxidised regolith, making conventional regional surveys (500 - 1,000 m line spacing) insufficient for precise targeting. We integrate Geotech 2013 high-resolution aeromagnetic data (100 m line spacing, 30 m terrain clearance) with K/eTh airborne radiometry, six multi-scale edge-enhancement filters (HG, FVD, THD, ASA, TDR, CET), Landsat-8 structural lineament extraction, and ground validation along 28 km of traverses (52 specimens; pXRF + SM-30 susceptibility). The combined dataset reveals: (1) a quadrimodal structural network (NE–SW Eburnean, NNE–SSW Liberian, E–W Pan-African, NW–SE transcurrent) confirmed by all six filters and the rose diagram (r > 0.9); (2) high-amplitude magnetic corridors (+410 nT residual; ASA max. 5 nT/m) delineating preserved magnetite-BIF extending the Gouap bodies south-eastward; (3) elevated K/eTh anomalies (>1.2 %/ppm) co-located with magnetic minima and CET complexity nodes, indicating potassic hydrothermal metasomatism along auriferous shear corridors; and (4) a K/eTh–HG composite index (r = 0.88) providing a robust criterion for drill-target prioritisation. The 100 m/30 m survey resolves sources through up to 50 m of regolith, surpassing regional surveys, and the proposed four-dimensional exploratory model positions Akom II as a strategic pivot of the Nyong–Ntem metallogenic district. The workflow is directly reproducible for Fe–Au exploration beneath tropical lateritic cover.

This study integrates LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb ages and the first zircon trace element data from metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks of the Nyong Complex (NyC) in the NW Congo Craton, southern Cameroon, to constrain its petrogenesis, tectonic setting, and crustal evolution. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns show strong HREE enrichment, depleted LREE–MREE, and pronounced positive Ce and negative Eu anomalies, indicating a magmatic origin for the zircons. Trace element signatures suggest that the zircons derived from continental crustal magmas generated under variable oxidation conditions in a long-lived arc-related tectonic environment. Detrital zircon ages range from Archean to Paleoproterozoic, with five major age peaks at 2885 ± 8 Ma, 2775 ± 6 Ma, 2654 ± 7 Ma, 2469 ± 11 Ma, and 2316 ± 11 Ma. These ages correspond to major magmatic and metamorphic events recognized in both the Congo and São Francisco cratons. The preservation of felsic continental crust between 2.9 and 2.2 Ga in the NyC and the Borborema Province (NE Brazil) likely records a critical transition in Earth’s geodynamic regime, marked by enhanced consumption and recycling of mafic crust during Proterozoic accretion compared to the late Archean. This transition reflects the onset of modern-style plate tectonics, enabling craton stabilization and contributing to the assembly of the Nuna/Columbia supercontinent. The NyC is thus interpreted as part of the Trans-Amazonian belt, analogous to that in NE Brazil, and formed during the collision between the Congo and São Francisco cratons.