GEOLOGY, GEOCHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL CONTROL OF KERAWA TENTALITE MINERALIZATION, SHEET 123 KADUNA NE, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA
GEOLOGY, GEOCHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL CONTROL OF KERAWA TENTALITE MINERALIZATION, SHEET 123 KADUNA NE, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA
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Date
2018-08
Authors
USMAN, Mohammed
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Abstract
Geological, structural and geochemical studies of the study area (Kerawa NE Kaduna) were undertaken to determine the tantalite bearing pegmatite. The study area is underlain by migmatite gneiss, schist, granite, granodorite, and pegmatite. Field, petrographic structural and geochemical studies of the muscovite from pegmatite in the study area have been undertaken with a view to characterize them based on their geochemical nature, determine their genesis and their tantalite mineralization potentials. Geological mapping on a scale of 1: 50,000 reveals that these pegmatites intrude the host granodiorite, trending NE-SW. Muscovite from the pegmatites were sampled and analyzed for major, trace and rare earth elements using inductively couple plasma mass spectrometry (IC-PMS) using litho-4 and peroxide fusion techniques. The samples of the host rock and the other lithologic units were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques. The result obtained revealed that the pegmatites are peraluminous and belong to the rare element class. The high Li-Cs-Ta values in the muscovite suggest that the pegmatite group belong to the lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) family of the rare element class. The plot of K/Rb ratio vs Rb, REE chemistry and the gradual increase of Rb, Cs, K, Nb, Ta, Li, F, P, Ti and U in muscovite of the pegmatites indicate fractional crystallization that lead to late stage concentration of the rare metals. Fractionation trends of muscovite indicate that the pegmatite crystallized from the margins inward, thus mineralization is primarily magmatic: Alteration led to complex internal zonation with muscovite rich replacement zones. These late zones are further enriched in Nb - Ta and Sn indicating that magmatic and metasomatic processes played a role in metal enrichment.
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A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY ZARIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER DEGREE IN GEOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY
ZARIA, NIGERIA
Keywords
GEOLOGY,, GEOCHEMISTRY,, STRUCTURAL CONTROLS,, KERAWA TENTALITE MINERALIZATION,, SHEET 123 KADUNA NE,, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA,