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Published:
Jan 28, 2005Keywords:
Kaolin deposit resistivity reserve quantification
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Resource quantification of a kaolin deposit using the electrical resistivity method – case study from Ikere-Ekiti, southwest, Nigeria.
Abstract
The vertical electrical sounding (VES) involving Schlumberger electrode configuration has been used to investigate a kaolin deposit at Ikere in Ekiti State of Nigeria. The survey which covered an areal extent of 20, 000 square meters, involved a sum total of 15 VES stations.
Four geoelectric layers were delineated from the survey area. The first layer is the topsoil whose thickness varies from 0.7 m to 1.5 m and resistivity values range from 150 to 1150 ohm-m. The second layer is lateritic clay with thicknesses ranging from 4.0 to 17.5 m and resistivity values of between 217 and 1460 ohm-m
The third layer which is the kaolin has thicknesses ranging from 19 m to 99.5 m and resistivity values range from 105 to 485 ohm-m. The fourth layer is the basement bedrock. The resistivity values of the bedrock range from 4370 ohm-m to infinity.
The investigated area was divided into eight square blocks. The sum of the product of the average thicknesses of the kaolin deposit per block and the surface area of each block was multiplied by an average density, 2.45 gcm-3 of the kaolin to determine the reserve of the deposit which was estimated at 2,732,305 tonnes. The volume of the excavable overburden was estimated at 219,818.9 cubic meters. The kaolin deposit can be open mined.
Key Words: Kaolin deposit, resistivity, reserve quantification.
Ife Journal of Science Vol.6(1) 2004: 35-40
Four geoelectric layers were delineated from the survey area. The first layer is the topsoil whose thickness varies from 0.7 m to 1.5 m and resistivity values range from 150 to 1150 ohm-m. The second layer is lateritic clay with thicknesses ranging from 4.0 to 17.5 m and resistivity values of between 217 and 1460 ohm-m
The third layer which is the kaolin has thicknesses ranging from 19 m to 99.5 m and resistivity values range from 105 to 485 ohm-m. The fourth layer is the basement bedrock. The resistivity values of the bedrock range from 4370 ohm-m to infinity.
The investigated area was divided into eight square blocks. The sum of the product of the average thicknesses of the kaolin deposit per block and the surface area of each block was multiplied by an average density, 2.45 gcm-3 of the kaolin to determine the reserve of the deposit which was estimated at 2,732,305 tonnes. The volume of the excavable overburden was estimated at 219,818.9 cubic meters. The kaolin deposit can be open mined.
Key Words: Kaolin deposit, resistivity, reserve quantification.
Ife Journal of Science Vol.6(1) 2004: 35-40
