Geochemical and Geological Characterization of Clay in the Eastern Part of Hawal Massif Around Mubi and Environs, Northeastern Nigeria

Abstract

The geochemical and geological characterization of clay is an important approach to determining the quality and productivity of clay for industrial use.  This paper is aimed at providing detailed geochemistry, distribution, and utilization of clay from the eastern part of Hawal massif. The field study revealed  that clay occurs in Bagira, Vimtim, Didif, Bulamary, Ngavahi, Dou-Gada, Madanya, TudunWada, Moda, and Kwabapale. The clays are residual  deposits formed by weathering of feldspars from the granitic rocks, the clay deposits are restricted to the basal parts of highly weathered granite. The  depth to which the samples were collected ranged from 0.6-1 meter. The clay was analyzed using the Xray Fluorescence (XRF) machine. The average  concentration of the major oxides shows that SiO₂ is 38.7%, Al₂O₃ is 9.62%, Fe₂O₃ is 5.48%, TiO₂ is 0.69% and CaO is 0.598% while MnO, ZrO2, ZnO, V₂O₅,  CdO, Cr₂O₃, SnO₂ and Sb₂O₅ all have lower than 0.07%. This result shows that the clay in the study area can serve as a good raw material for the  manufacture of traditional ceramics, refractories, and structural clay products especially burnt bricks.