A Protocol-Oriented Scoping Review for Map-First, Auditable Targeting of Orogenic Gold in the West African Craton (WAC): Deferred, Out-of-Sample Evaluation

Focusing on the West African Craton (WAC) as a test bed, this protocol-oriented scoping review synthesizes indicators for orogenic gold and translates them into an auditable, map-first checklist that separates Fertility and Preservation, while deliberately deferring any performance estimation to a blinded, out-of-sample evaluation. There is a need for a transparent, auditable, and field-ready framework that integrates geological, structural, geophysical, and geochemical evidence. We (i) synthesize the state of knowledge into a map-first, reproducible targeting checklist, (ii) formalize an indicator decision matrix that separates Fertility from Preservation factors, and (iii) specify a deferred, out-of-sample evaluation protocol to quantify performance. We conduct a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR)-style scoping review (2010–2025) and codify commonly used indicators (e.g., transpressional jogs, lineament density, proximity to tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG)/tonalite contacts, Sr/Y proxies). Indicators are operationalized as auditable pass/fail rules and assembled into a decision matrix with explicit uncertainty handling and risk logging. We further define a deferred evaluation protocol using classification and ranking metrics (receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and precision–recall (PR) curves, odds ratios), ablation/sensitivity tests, and district-level threshold calibration. We deliver (1) a unified, auditable checklist with default (tunable) thresholds; (2) an indicator decision matrix that disentangles Fertility vs. Preservation signals; and (3) a deferred evaluation protocol enabling a reproducible, out-of-sample assessment without inflating apparent performance. All numerical thresholds reported here are explicit placeholders that facilitate transparency and auditability; they are not optimized. A properly blocked train/validation/test scheme, operating-point selection criteria, null models, and uncertainty procedures are prespecified for future evaluation. By publishing the checklist, data lineage, and audit-log schema now—without performance claims—we enable reproducible adoption and stress-test the framework ahead of calibration.