STRUCTURAL AND PETROGRAPHIC STUDY OF CRYSTALLINE ROCKS IN PART OF OBAN
MASSIF, SOUTH- EASTERN NIGERIA.
Abstract
The study aims at differentiating lithologic units, general structural
trends and orogenic implications of crystalline rocks within part of
Oban Massif, Southeastern Nigeria. Field study involve geological
mapping, rock description and structural measurement, while laboratory
analysis covered photomicrograph. Field observation and microscopic
analysis reveal five petrological units; gneisses, schists,
granodiorite, pegmatite and quartz veins. The rocks are generally
siliceous and quartzo-feldspathic. The schist show foliation planes
trending ma-jorly in the NE-SW direction. The gneisses were highly
fractured, indicative of a polyphase deformation. Structural elements
such as joints, fractures, foliations and veins show series of
deformational episodes that affected the area. Rose diagram plot for
these structures show the NE-SW direction indicative of the Pan-African
orogeny (600±150 Ma) and interpreted as the most recent event affecting
the area. NW and NE trending joints are considered to be tectonic in
origin based on their alignments with major structures of the area.
Furthermore, the structures also showed weak NW-SE and E-W trends, an
imprint of older (Kibaran orogeny) deformational episodes.