Preliminary investigation of pegmatites in Obudu Area, Southeastern Nigeria, using stream sediments geochemistry

Abstract

Stream sediments of Obudu Plateau were investigated with a view to elucidating their geochemical features, mineralization potentials and element concentrations. Stream sediment samples were collected from Southern Obudu Plateau area and analyzed for 22 elements, comprising major and trace elements, using Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The data obtained were statistically treated. Ba, Sr, Nb, Co, Pb, Ta and Na show moderate to high concentrations, when compared with threshold values of these elements. The concentrations of these elements in sediments of Southern Obudu show low mineralization potentials of pegmatites of the Obudu Plateau. The elements in Obudu stream sediments show perfect, strong, moderate and weak correlations among themselves, indicative of variations in their mobility.

Keywords: Correlation matrix, Major and Trace Elements, Stream sediments, Threshold