Economic evaluation of Burum-Takalafia marble deposit, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

The physical and chemical properties of the Burum - Takalafia marble and lime products derived from it are documented in this study with a view to evaluating their suitability in various industrial applications such as improving soil quality. The marble has 31.04wt% and 20.75wt% CaO and MgO, respectively and very low SiO2 of 3.08wt%. The marble has CaCO3 content of 43% and MgCO3 content of 44.3%. The slaked lime prepared from the raw marble has 59.17wt% and 33.25wt% MgO content respectively. The physical tests show average apparent porosity of 0.68%, hardness of 3, bulk density of 2.66g/cc, specific gravity of 2.70, colour brightness of 85% and compressive, tensile and shear strengths of 92.83N/m2, 3.8 N/m2 and 13.63 N/m2 respectively for the raw marble samples. Agronomic tests show that there was an increase in Ph from 5.40-6.80, Ca (0.5-0.84%), Mg (0.1-0.13%), K (0.12-0.14%), CEC (2.36-2.76%) and organic matter content (0.52-1.03%). The results were compared with those of other workers and they revealed that the Burum- Takalafia raw marble and its lime products can be used in agriculture as acid soil ameliorants and nutrients status enhancers, building and construction materials and refractory lime in the manufacturing of chemicals. The deposit also finds application in the paper, paint and plastic industries were they are used as fillers/extenders.