Geology, Occurrences and Industrial Applicability of Barite Deposit in Gombe Inlier within Gongola Basin Upper Benue Trough, Nigeria
Mohammed Rabiu1 , Ahmed Isah Haruna1 & Sa’id Abdulkarim2
1Department of Applied Geology, Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa University, Bauchi
2PSC Exploration Department, National Petroleum Investment Management Services
(NPIMS/NNPC), Bauchi, Bauchi State Nigeria
Email: marrah201354@gmail.com.
ABSTRACT
The extensive Geological Mapping in Gombe Inlier has revealed that the area is characterized by two major Rock types: The Basement complex rocks represented by the Rocks of Biotite Granite, Migmatite Gneiss which is surrounded by the Cretaceous Sedimentary Sequences which encompasses; BimaFormation,Yolde Formation, Pindiga Formation followed by Gombe formation. Barite Mineralization in Gombe Inlier occurs along veins that are structurally control within the Inlier. There is a progressive increase in the BaSO4 content as well as specific gravity from the contact with the wall Rock toward the center of the vein, i.e. from creamy/white to smoky/dark variety. . For Gombe inlier deposit, obtained data indicate that it can be classified in to two grades Barite in terms of qualities and specifications for industrial applications. The creamy /white variety with 95.75% BaSO4 ,94.35% BaSO4 and 95.91% BaSO4 with average specific gravity of 4.83g/cm3 ,4.61 g/cm3 and 4.54 g/cm3 , white streak and hardness of 3.2 is suggested to be grade one type. The smoky/dark variety with 90.30% BaSO4 ,90.44% BaSO4 and 90.06% BaSO4 with average specific gravity of 3.81 g/cm3 3.95 g/cm3 and 3.33 g/cm3 ,white streak and hardness of 3.3 can ben consider as grade two Barite .The chemical composition of the Barite, when compare with international standards and specifications for various industrial applications make it pure and good quality that make it suitable for use in various industries that requires the commodity.
KEY: Geology, Occurrence, Quality and Structures.
