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The Sao Francisco and the Congo cratons represent sectors of a Neoproterozoic palaeocontinent preserved from the Brasiliano-Pan African orogeny, recorded in their marginal belts. The boundaries between the Sao Francisco Craton and the surrounding belts are marked by intensive folding and overthrusting. In the interior of the craton, Neoproterozoic sedimentary covers are horizontal or gently deformed, forming isolated basins. The term Sao Francisco Basin includes Palaeo- and Mesoproterozoic successions but in this chapter it is restricted to the Neoproterozoic sedimentary successions of the Sao Francisco Supergroup, characterised by a glaciogenic unit at the base and an argillaceous–carbonatic–arkosic unit at the top. The Neoproterozoic evolution of the Sao Francisco Craton, including its marginal belts and sedimentary cover, is reviewed. The lithostratigraphy, Neoproterozoic mineralisations (lead, zinc, fluorine, barium and phosphates) and geochronological and stable isotope studies are also presented. The geological record of glacial events and stable isotope data of related cap carbonates are also discussed.

In this review we provide a correlation scheme for Neoproterozoic palaeoclimatic events in southwestern Gondwana based on combined carbon and strontium isotope variations informed by emerging radiometric constraints on glacial deposits. Strontium isotope ratios in particular hold promise as chronostratigraphic tools if well-preserved samples can be identified, and if long-term trends through the Neoproterozoic show a regular progression to more radiogenic values. Based on analyses of high Sr limestone samples from cap carbonate lithofacies, we recognise four discrete glacial events in southwestern Gondwana, including two Sturtian, one Marinoan and one Gaskiers ice age. Notably, the Namibian Maieberg cap carbonate – considered by many to be a Marinoan archetype – sits stratigraphically below a profound positive carbon isotope excursion (called the Huttenberg anomaly) and is correlated using Sr isotope ratios with an identical post-glacial cap in Brazil dated at ca. 740 Ma by Pb-Pb carbonate techniques. If correct, the Pb-Pb age constraint places the Ghaub ice age and its equivalents into the Sturtian epoch.