Geology Mineralogy And Geochemistry 0f Koton-Karfe Oolitic Iron Ore Deposit Bida Basin. Kogi State Nigeria

Geochemical investigation of koton karfe Oolitic iron ore was carried out in order to provide comprehensive data on the geochemical and mineralogical composition. The investigation involved mineral phase analysis major elements and grade determination. Result the XRF analysis shows high Iron Fe2O3 content ranging from 63.46 to 74.38. Aluminum Al2O3 and silica SiO2 contents are also fairly high ranging from 7.60 - 16.85 and 7.81 -18.55 respectively. Phosphorous content ranges from 0.89 - 1.20 and sulfur content between 0.07 - 0.26. In addition the ores contain other impurities such as CaO MgO TiO2 and MnO which exist in considerable negligible amounts. Petrographic studies revealed that most samples contain Goethite as the major Iron ore mineral with some minor amount of Hematite and Quartz as the gangue mineral. The quality of this ore was compared to generalized world standards and ores from other parts of Nigeria and other nations. This comparison shows that Koton Karfe Oolitic iron ore is of low grade with average grade of 47.43 and contain high percentages of gangue silicates and Aluminum impurities and deleterious elements phosphorous and sulphur which are all above the permissible limit.