Petrological, Geochemical and Mechanical Characteristics of Afghan White Marble

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the Geological, Geochemical, Mineralogical, and Physical-Mechanical characteristic of Afghan White Marble deposit in Nangahar province Afghanistan. The objective of the article includes information about the value, quantity & quality of the marble mine. In addition, this study summarizes information related to the marble mining methods, Processing and production tools technologies used for extracting of Marble in Afghanistan. To achieve, the aim of the research, library, field and Laboratory methods have been used. The library result shows the general information related to Geology, Tectonic and Magmatic of the study areas. A fieldwork was conducted in the study area and appropriate measurements i.e. Geographical location and reserve estimation were taken and also 10 sample of marble were collected from the mine of Ghondy n Mamakhail for lab analyses. The collected samples were analyzed by using different analytical methods such as XRF, Electron polarizing microscope and mechanical tests such as compressive strength, specific gravity, absorption, and unit weight. ASTM standard is used to interpret and compare the results from the above mechanical analyses. The XRF and microscopic analyses show that the marble from Nangrhar Province Shirzad district Kodikhel have dolomite composition. The results from different mechanical and physical tests showed that these marbles have high consistency against any types of applied pressure, and have high value, which can be used in various construction’s affairs. In Summary, you need to focus on the results and interpretation of those analyses.