Mineralogy and Pollution Status of ColumbiteTin Ore Contaminated Soil

Mining activities are one of the numerous ways by which man impacts on his environment. In this study, two nondestructive analytical techniques (XRF and XRD) were employed in the mineralogical characterization of ColumbiteTin ore and their contaminated soils. This investigates associated unnoticed minerals as well as the impact of mining on vicinity farmland soils on the YelwaMbar mining site, Nigeria. The chemical characterization of Columbite ore using electron dispersive XRF revealed that most of the Columbite mineral deposits in the Plateau mining sites contain Niobium mineral in various proportions and vary from deposit to deposit depending on the geochemical composition of the minerals that formed the parent rock. Tin content as determined by EDXRF impart that the ore can be utilized directly in the furnace because of its high cassiterite content (85.43%). The percentage elemental composition of soil around the mining vicinity unveiled the presence of Radionuclides K40, Rubidium and Thorium in the soil. This is of great concern. The XRD mineralogical investigation of Columbite shows the presence of associated braunite, cassiterite, ilmenite, quartz, and zircon while the phase pattern for Tin ore confirmed the availability of cassiterite, magnetite and litharge. Pollution status based on contamination factor and geoaccumulation indices gave both radionuclides and heavy metal concentrations that depicts moderate to extreme contaminations.