Geotechnical Characterization of Barytes from Ihugh Area, Lower Benue Trough, Nigeria

The Ihugh area lies within the Lower Benue Trough, southeastern Nigeria. Baryte mineralization in this area occurs generally as vein and cavity-type deposits in Turonian Lessel Sandstone. Baryte samples from Ihugh were subjected to density and moisture content tests to establish their physical attributes and quality. The result reveals that baryte from this locality exhibits low moisture content (1.18-1.28%), moderately high specific gravities (4.01 – 4.02), BaSO4, SiO2, SrO and low Fe2O3, CaO, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Hg contents. Barytes from the Ihugh area fall below the international standard specification of American Petroleum Institute and therefore are of moderate quality or Grade II barytes, but can be beneficiated to improve their quality.