STRATIGRAPHY AND STRUCTURAL PATTERNS OF THE BARYTE FIELDS OF YALA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA IN THE NORTHERN PARTS OF CROSS-RIVER STATE NIGERIA

Summary

This work discusses the stratigraphic and structural patterns of the baryte fields in Alifokpa-Osina -Gabu barite field in Yala Local Government Area of Cross-River State of Nigeria, with a focus to advocating adequate mining techniques. The stratigraphic sequence in the area consists of barytes and intrusive rocks as the basal beds, overlain by baked weathered clayey shales and limestones lenses, overlain by a feldspathic conglomeritic medium to coarse grained sandstones. The barytes have a variable colour which ranges from yellow to white and has a thickness that varies from about 1.4 ft to nearly 5 ft. The barytes also occur as vein fillers or as bedded deposits. Calcareous, ferruginous, or siliceous cementing material bound the barytes within the host rock. The medium to coarse grained feldspathic sandstones is very heavily fractured and has a prominent northwest – southeast (NW-SE) vein trend, and a northeast-southwest (NE-SW) vein trend The open pit or surface mining technique is suggested for the extraction of the barytes because of the lower thickness of overburden and its cost-effective nature when compared to other techniques.

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