PRELIMINARY ASSESSEMENT OF AKEREBIATA CLAY DEPOSIT, ILORIN SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study focused on the preliminary assessment of Akerebiata clay deposit Ilorin south western Nigeria. The mineralogical and elemental compositions of the clay sample were determined using X ray diffraction (XRD) and X ray refractory fluorescence (XRF) techniques respectively while the probable reserve of the deposit was estimated using vertical electrical sounding (VES) and horizontalelectrical profiling (HEP)(dipole-diploe). Interpretation of results from XRD and XRF revealed that Kaolinite is the dominant clay mineral in the deposit while quartz is the dominant silicate mineral and this indicates that the deposit could be of residual origin. Chemical analysis revealed the predominance of SiO2, Al2O3 with values 61.73 % and 27.01 % respectively, and low CaO, MgO, K2O and Na2Oindicates that the clay is probably non expansive and with low feldspar content. Results of the VES shows three geo-electric layers which include: topsoil, clay and basement rocks. The average thickness of the clay layer is inferred to be 6.87m while the area of the deposit is calculated to 42,416.873 m2. With a specific gravity of 2.70, the inferred reserve of the deposit is 781,048 tons. These results will be of utmost importance to stakeholders and explorationists in the solid mineral sector.