Abstract

Five (05) clay samples from Sabongida-Ora in Edo State were analyzed using the X-Ray Flourescence (XRF) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques to determine their chemical and mineralogical properties and hence industrial utilization. Results from the geochemical analysis reveal MgO content of 26.62 – 36.60wt%, SiO2 of 14.20 – 20.18wt%, Al2 O3 ranges from 5.30 – 9.16wt%, CaO ranges from 14.77 – 21.85wt% and Fe2 O3 from 4.41 – 5.04wt%. The main minerals present are the vermiculite (45.45 – 68.52%), illite (10.93 – 20.00%), halloysite (5.47- 9.09%), magnesite (5.47 – 16.52%), tremolite (3.30 – 14.15%) quartz (5.79 – 17.19%) and hematite (2.83 – 17.19%). The SiO2 /Al2 O3 (1.91 – 3.48) ratio is fair indicating clay minerals with both asymmetric (<2.5 SiO2 /Al2 O3 ) and symmetric (> 2.5 SiO2 /Al2 O3 ) structures and the ignition loss (LOI) (22.68 – 27.01). The study revealed the suitability of the clay for the production of bricks for construction purposes, if the amount of alkalis and silica content are increased to meet standard requirements.