Evaluation of Suitability of Some Selected Rocks for Dimension Stone Quarry in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The evaluation ofrock suitability for dimension stone quarry has been a thing of concern to the dimension stone industries. So, three granite rocks were selected in various locations in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. The locations are Iloyin, Oba‐ile and Apatapiti and on these outcrops,in‐situ tests were carried out on the outcrops and irregular rock samples were collected for laboratory tests. Schmidt hammer test and Scan line mapping for discontinuities analysis were done on site while sample test for density, specific gravity, average water absorption, point load strength and slake durability were done in the laboratory. The Apatapiti outcrop hasthe highest average density (3.12g/cm 3 ), specific gravity (2.822) and water absorption value (0.84%), while the Iloyin outcrop exhibits the highest average durability (97.88%) and point load strength (5.79MPa), the Oba‐Ileoutcrop have the highest compressive strength (190MPa)and average Schmidt hammer hardness value (47.0). The three outcrops volumetric joint count, Jv estimated gave medium block sizes but in the case of block quality of the rockssubjected to evaluation Iloyin happens to be of poor quality while Oba‐Ileand Apatapiti outcrop have prospect ofproducing fair quality block. With the information fromthe assessment of block size, block quality and mechanical and physical properties for the rocks consideredin this paper work, it was observed that these three selected outcrop are not good for dimension stone quarry but can be quarried as aggregate stone for construction purposes.