Geochemical and spatial distribution of minerals in the tailings of Ife/Ijesa gold mine zone, Nigeria

The main objective of this research is to identify the geochemical and mineralogical characteristics potential of unexplored tailings around gold deposit region of Ife/Ijesa using spatial statistics and map modeling. Some physicochemical parameters such as pH, redox potential (Eh), electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), total organic carbon (TOC), total organic matter (TOM), residual humidity (RH), cation exchange capacity and particle size were determined from both the mine drains and tailing samples using standard methods. The physico-chemical parameters ranges of tailings obtained were pH (6.0 – 7.3), Eh (−16 - 95 Mev), EC (49 - 156 μS/cm), RH (0.20-2.60%), CEC (3.64-6.45 cmol/kg), TOC (3.57-18.62%), and TOM (6.15-22.93%). The geochemical oxide composition were identified using Proton Induced X-ray emission and the results indicated that SiO2> Al2O3> Fe2O3> TiO2> K2O> MgO> CaO> Na2O> P2O5> MnO> Cr2O3> SrO> K2O> P2O5.The major mineralogical components in the tailing samples were determined by a quantitative x-ray diffraction techniques using Rietveld method. Geostatistical relationships among the known points were determined using ArcGIS 10.2 software to interpolate minerals concentration with respect to the study area. The Rietveld method gave generally quartz value as 73.73-92.76 %, limenite as 0.38-4.7 7%, kaolinite group as 3.19-20.83 %, and muscovite as 0.77-11.70 % with traces of other minerals. The high percentage of quartz is an indication of a sandy environment with loose binding site.