Recent Activity – Nigeria Geological Survey Agency

NGSA Acquires Z-300 LIBS Analyzer

NG Mod — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:09:16 +0000

NGSA has acquired brand-new state-of-the-art Analytical equipment through the Mineral Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) Project to enhance its capacity in the provision of analytical services. The Z-300 Laser–induced breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Analyzer is a handheld analyzer that measures every element in the periodic table of the elements from H to U.

The Z-300 LIBS Analyzer accomplishes what no other portable analyzer has done. The Z-300 uses the same laser as the Z-200, but with an extended spectrometer range from 190 nm out to 950 nm. The extended range allows emission lines from elements H, F, N, O, Br, Cl, Kb, Cs and S to be measured. These lines cannot be measured with the Z-200. The Z-300 also measures a more sensitive lines for lithium to achieve limits of detection in the 2-5 ppm range. The Z-300 is most widely used for mineral exploration including Lithium in both hard rock and brines. It is also used in the forensics, authentication, archeology, oil/gas exploration areas due to the wide elemental range.

This equipment will definitely help so much in lowering the cost of analysis thereby saving more money for the sector, it also helps in delineating anomalous zones in mineral exploration.

NGSA acquires Triple Quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (TQ-ICP-MS)

NG Mod — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 23:49:25 +0000

NGSA has recently acquired a state-of- the-art Analytical equipment (TQ-ICP-MS) through the MinDiver Project and is in the process of installing the equipment at its headquarters in Abuja.

The Thermo Scientific iCAP TQ-ICP-MS is a high performance ICP-MS utilizing triple quadrupole technology for ultra trace quantification of elements in a variety of challenging matrices, it offers a superior interference removal capability without compromising detection power. This instrument meets the needs of specialized areas of mining, geology, geochemistry as well as environmental.

It is expected that with this new equipment, a lot of savings will be made from doing analysis locally instead of overseas.

Geophysical Investigation of Copper Deposit in Azara Area, Nasarawa State

NG Mod — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 14:39:24 +0000

The impediment to economic growth and the challenges of mono-economy has prompted the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to generate interest and develop urgent policies on rejuvenation of the solid mineral industry in order to diversify the economy (Alabi et al., 2016). Solid minerals of different varieties are largely available in Nigeria, these cuts across States of the Federation. Among the minerals is copper ore which is found in Azara and Akiri area of Nasarawa State besides States such as Bauchi, Zamfara, Niger and the Federal Capital Territory. The need to harness these mineral resources for wealth creation and poverty reduction in tandem with the FGN’s policy made NGSA to embark on geophysical survey for copper deposits in Azara area of Nasarawa State.
Copper being a strategic mineral, hence its occurrence, mineralization and exploration will assist greatly in the understanding of geological structures, delineating anomalous copper deposit and if possible its reserve estimate. This will assist investors greatly in making investment decisions and further expand the copper resources of the nation. Copper and its alloy are well known for their excellent and near perfect electrical and thermal conductivities, resistance to corrosion and ease of fabrication etc.

In 2019, the Economic Geology Department of the NGSA carried out preliminary assessment of the copper deposits of the Azara metalogenic province. From the umpublished report, the potential copper resources fall within the Middle Benue Trough. It occupies the northeastern limb of the Keana anticlinorium of the Middle Benue Valley. According to the report, copper ores occurs as discordant, fracture controlled veins within the lower Cretaceous sandstones/shales of the Asu River Group. The major copper ore in the area is Chalcopyrite, with associated Azurite and Malachite.

During the assessment of the deposit by the Department of Economic Geology samples were collected from pits and trenches at mining sites in the area. From the twenty-five (25) samples analyzed, the occurrence of copper in the project area trends the Southwest-Northeast direction with highest concentration (19.01%) in the Akiri area. Nickel, Lead and Zinc mineralization is almost in the same trend (SW-NE) as the copper sampled in the studied area

In this geophysical investigation for copper mineralization, magnetic, electromagnetic (EM-VLF), resistivity and IP methods have been integrated and applied to map out mineralized veins in the area. Integration of these methods can delineate Copper mineralization with a high degree of confidence.

Geochronological Dating and Mapping of The Nigerian Geologic Settings

NG Mod — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:19:48 +0000

Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) is currently working on updating the geochronology of the Nigerian Basement Rocks with credible data on rock ages. The research aims to generate and fill in gaps on Geochronology Map of Nigerian Basement Rocks using Petrography, Geochronology and Isotope geochemistry techniques on selected rock samples. The various rock units of interest in parts of Western and Central Nigeria have already been mapped out and sampled. The first batch of samples has already been sent to Curtin University in Australia for analysis and some of the results have been received. The project, when completed, will generate a quantitative understanding of the geological evolution of Nigerian rocks and the actual timing of various mineralization there-in. It will serve as an avenue for researchers and explorationists interested in Nigerian Mineralization systems. The outcome of the research shall be published in a high impact peer-reviewed academic journal

Pictorial workflow of post field activity with yellow shades indicating project status