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RMZ – MATERIALI IN GEOOKOLJE

RMZ – MATERIALI IN GEOOKOLJE

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Petrochemical characteristics and geotechnical properties of crystalline rocks in the ...349IntroductionRugged relief characterized by prominentinselbergs is a common feature ofmany parts of Nigeria and in particularEkiti State in the southwestern part ofthe country. These rocks, apart from notgenerating revenue from tourism, havenot been fully exploited for other majoreconomic purposes considering theavailable enormous quantity that occurin the area. Underutilization of theserocks may be attributable to insufficientgeological information on the assessmentof their properties on the one handand shallow knowledge of what theycould be used for on the other hand.These crystalline rocks could serve asraw material in most construction industriesand as such contribute tremendouslyto the socio-economic developmentof the study area. This investigationis therefore aimed at evaluatingthe compositional features and physicalcharacteristics of Ekiti crystalline rocksvis-à-vis their industrial application.Regional Geological SettingNigeria lies within the Pan-Africanmobile belt specifically between theCongo craton to the southeast andWest African craton to the west (Figure1). Geology of Nigeria is made ofsedimentary and crystalline rocks inalmost equal proportions. The sedimentaryrock sequences occupy themarginal and intracontinental basinsand belong to the Cretaceous-Recentage spectrum and lie unconformablyon the basement complex rocks.The rocks constituting the basementcomplex (Figure 2), despite disagreementson lithological delineations, areloosely categorized into three majorgroups: the migmatite-gneiss complex,the schist belts and the Pan-AfricanGranites (Elueze, 2000). The migmatitegneiss complex 2.0–3.0 Ga; (Rahamanet al., 1988, Dada & Briqueu,1998) is the oldest and most abundantrock type in the basement and is a productof several tectonothermal eventsthat have brought rocks of variousorigins together. In addition, the schistbelts, comprise low-grade metasedimentsand metabasic rocks that cropout in a series of distinctly N-S trendingsynformal troughs infolded intothe crystalline migmatite-gneiss complex.They are about the best-studiedgroup of rocks in Nigeria (Russ, 1957,Truswell & Cope, 1963) because ofthe mineralization such as gold, BandedIron Formation (BIF), tin, tantalum,niobium and marble, associated withthem (Oyinloye, 2006). These rocksshow distinctive petrological, structuraland metallogenic features (Okunlola,2005). The schist belts in southwesternNigeria include Iseyin-Oyan,Egbe-Isanlu, Ife-Ilesha and Igarraschist belts (Rahaman, 1976; Odeyemi,1977; Annor et al 1996). Others<strong>RMZ</strong>-M&G 2012, 59

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