Geotechinal and Mineralogical Charracterization of Soils Derived from Schist along Shango – Chanchaga Highway, Minna, Central Nigeria

Abstract

Geotechnical studies were carried out on soild from Shango-Chanchaga highway in Minna, in relation to the petrographic characteristics of the parent rock. Samples were obtained from 5 trial pits at 1 km interval for geotechnical analysis. The moisture content varies from 35.0% to 58.5%, liquid limit ranges from 29.0% to 43.0%, plastic limit ranges between 9.0% and 26.5%, while plasticity index ranges from 12.0% to 33.5%. The optimum moisture content (OMC) ranges from 12.0 to 14.0 and California Bearing Ration (CBR) ranges from 2 to 21. The difractograms showed that the dorminant minerals were clinocore (Mg,Fe)6(Si, Al)4O10(OH)2, quartz (SiO2), cordierite (Mg2,Al4Si5O18Ar0.625) and albite (Na0.98Ca0.02Al1.02 Si2.98O18). The results showed that there exicts a relationship between the mineral composition, the texture of the rock ant the geotechnical characteristics of the soil types.