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Quality and durability of some marble deposits in the southern schist belt (Nigeria) as construction stones

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Abstract

The quality and durability of some marble deposits from Nigeria as construction stones were evaluated. Results indicate that the whitish-pinkish-greyish marbles were pure to relatively pure (generally ≥85 wt% calcite) and possess geotechnical properties that appeared to be controlled largely by mineralogy and texture. While the coarse-grained variety indicated good performance as a result of favourable geotechnical properties such as relatively high values of bulk density, specific gravity, strength, and low water absorption, the fine- and medium-grained varieties would likely perform marginally due to comparatively poor geotechnical properties they possess. Caution is, however, required particularly for outdoor purposes, as weak constituents (chlorite and graphite) were present in some samples and appreciable material loss was recorded in all during laboratory experimentation. This could denote, generally, that the quality of marble stones may be progressively lowered by repeated changes of temperature and other climatic conditions, as is the case in a tropical region like Nigeria.

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(after Fatoye and Gideon 2013)

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Acknowledgments

The authors are dutifully grateful to Mr. Babadiya Gbadebo who was a key personnel during field work and laboratory analyses at the material laboratories of Ebonyi State Ministry of Works and Housing, Abakaliki. Mr. Tony Chukwu of the department of Geology, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, is appreciated for helping with the petrographic analyses.

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  1. Department of Physics, Geology and Geophysics, Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, P. M. B. 1010, Abakaliki, Nigeria

    O. P. Aghamelu & J. I. Amah

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  1. O. P. Aghamelu
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  2. J. I. Amah
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Correspondence to O. P. Aghamelu.

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Aghamelu, O.P., Amah, J.I. Quality and durability of some marble deposits in the southern schist belt (Nigeria) as construction stones. Bull Eng Geol Environ 76, 1563–1575 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-016-0939-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-016-0939-6

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