GEOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND DEPOSIT RESERVE ESTIMATE OF KPAUTAGI KAOLIN DEPOSITS IN MOKWA AREA, NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA

Abstract

A geophysical survey using the Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) technique was carried out to evaluate Geotechnical properties of Kaolin mineral deposit in Kpautagi village, Mokwa local government area of Niger State in Bida Basin, North-central, Nigeria. Twenty five (25) Schlumberger vertical electrical soundings (VES) were acquired at five different profiles to delineate the lithological-unit across the selected portions within the Kpautagi-Kaolin deposit area. The data obtained was interpreted using IP2WIN software to characterize the outcropped Kaolin deposits of the area via the geophysical field data acquired. The result revealed that the average thickness of the Kaolin deposit across the study location was 30.11 m with an average resistivity value of 51.33 Ωm. all the investigated profiles indicated presence of the Kaolin deposit with Profiles 3 and 4 having the highest deposit thickness of 60 m each. The Kpautagi kaolin deposit-reserve for the investigated portion was estimated at 3.9 x 10⁵ t. This study has established that the investigated area within Kpautagi is rich in Kaolin deposit which could be economically exploited. More detailed geological and geochemical characterization to ascertain the quality and other influential professional and legal exploitability parameters