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Abstract
Geochemical and mineralogical determination of clay deposits with
integrated sedimentological characterization of their physical properties are fundamental in bridging the knowledge gap and raw material feed for industrial processes and applications. In this study, I investigated clays at locations with relatively little or no investigations carried out to discover the untapped mineral deposits. The clay deposits situated at Iguoriakhi, Ofunmwengbe and environs were investigated using several analytical techniques; X Ray Diffractometry (XRD), X Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF), Hydrometer Method, Wet Sieving Analysis and other geotechnical techniques. The average abundance of minerals in the samples derived from the XRD Peaks indicates that Clay minerals present include; Kaolinite, ranges between (19.52% - 22.33%) and (24.24% - 28.60%), Montmorillonite (10.49% and 4.6%), Illite (5.24% and 4.07%) and associated non clay minerals include; Mica (5.50% - 7.02%) and (4.88% - 6.03%), Feldspar (6.02% - 6.53%) and (3.03% - 3.50%), quartz (49.77% - 52.80%) and (54.11.0% - 55.99%) for Iguoriakhi and Ofunmwengbe samples respectively. Geochemical signatures Al2O3/TiO2 ratio for clastic rocks used to determine origin indicates that the Al2O3/TiO2 for Iguoriakhi and Ofunmwengbe clays range between (23.73 – 50.40) and (22.92 – 51.88) respectively signifying that the clays originated from
intermediate to felsic igneous rocks. The high Chemical Index of
Alteration (CIA) ranges between 86.14 - 93.57 and 86.05-93.47, Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW) between 93.59 - 97.71 and 93.55
- 97.67 and Weathering Index of Parker (WIP) between 10.27 - 12.02
and 10.04 - 12.1.
integrated sedimentological characterization of their physical properties are fundamental in bridging the knowledge gap and raw material feed for industrial processes and applications. In this study, I investigated clays at locations with relatively little or no investigations carried out to discover the untapped mineral deposits. The clay deposits situated at Iguoriakhi, Ofunmwengbe and environs were investigated using several analytical techniques; X Ray Diffractometry (XRD), X Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF), Hydrometer Method, Wet Sieving Analysis and other geotechnical techniques. The average abundance of minerals in the samples derived from the XRD Peaks indicates that Clay minerals present include; Kaolinite, ranges between (19.52% - 22.33%) and (24.24% - 28.60%), Montmorillonite (10.49% and 4.6%), Illite (5.24% and 4.07%) and associated non clay minerals include; Mica (5.50% - 7.02%) and (4.88% - 6.03%), Feldspar (6.02% - 6.53%) and (3.03% - 3.50%), quartz (49.77% - 52.80%) and (54.11.0% - 55.99%) for Iguoriakhi and Ofunmwengbe samples respectively. Geochemical signatures Al2O3/TiO2 ratio for clastic rocks used to determine origin indicates that the Al2O3/TiO2 for Iguoriakhi and Ofunmwengbe clays range between (23.73 – 50.40) and (22.92 – 51.88) respectively signifying that the clays originated from
intermediate to felsic igneous rocks. The high Chemical Index of
Alteration (CIA) ranges between 86.14 - 93.57 and 86.05-93.47, Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW) between 93.59 - 97.71 and 93.55
- 97.67 and Weathering Index of Parker (WIP) between 10.27 - 12.02
and 10.04 - 12.1.
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