Abstract
The Cretaceous shallow marine Gboko limestone, Yandev, Nigeria is a component of the sedimentary fill of the 800 km NE-SW trending Benue Trough, Nigeria. The limestone is made up of thin bedded to massive limestone beds interspersed with laminated grey shale having foraminifera as the dominant fossil. The limestone has both mud supported and grain supported texture, and micrites constitute about 75% of the limestone. Bulk chemical composition analysis of the limestone reveals average CaCO3 of 92.41% and a range of 77.50% - 99.00%. Mineralogical impurities include quartz, dolomite, pyrrhotite, fluorapatite etc. Trace elements concentration analysis was carried out using Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDXRF) spectrophotometry and showed the following trace elements: Mn (841.3 ppm), Sr (444.6 ppm), Fe (470 ppm), Zn (114.6 ppm) and Pb (116.4 ppm). Calcining the limestone in a laboratory muffle furnace at 1050°C for 90 minutes produced a compact, soft burnt porous and reactive lime that does not crumble into fines. The lime so produced neither meets the requirements of the Steel Making Shop (SMS) of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant nor could it be used in the growing sugar refining industry in Nigeria. It can however be used in the food and the food by-products industry, environmental, agricultural and petroleum industries etc. The raw stone remains a major source of raw materials for cement manufacture for the ever expanding building industry.
Highlights
Nigeria in the comity of nations is rightly tagged developing country, a third world economy
The limestone is made up of thin bedded to massive limestone beds interspersed with laminated grey shale having foraminifera as the dominant fossil
Gboko limestone does not meet the requirements for the Steel Making Shop (SMS) limestone for the BOS (Basic Oxygen Steelmaking) shop of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant where the purity of the limestone must be greater than 95.5% and silica less than 1.0% (Table 8)
Summary
Nigeria in the comity of nations is rightly tagged developing country, a third world economy. A situation where the raw materials are abundant as is the situation in Nigeria, only what is needed is the political will and focus on the part of government so as to harness the resources, exploit and utilize the raw materials to produce goods and services to uplift the standard of living and boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This calls for very sound economic and political leadership to put right the priorities of the nation and acquire the needed technological expertise to utilise the abundant resources to produce goods both for export and local consumption. Nigeria is a vast market for diverse goods and services and given adequate time and focus will be satisfied and room for export created
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
