Browsing by Author "Hussien Yessuf"

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    Geology Physicochemical Characterizations and Possible Industrial Use of Tegora Silica Sand Occurrence in the Abay Basin Central Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2023-06) Hussien Yessuf; Worash Getaneh
    Silica sand is the second most dominant mineral in the earth’s crust and the most often used technical term for sand or sandstone that easily disintegrates and contains a substantial amount of silicic acid (quartz grains). The Tegora silica sand occurrence is situated in the upper parts of the Abay basin, central Ethiopia, about 229 and 180 kilometers north of Addis Ababa and Debre Berhan respectively. Geologically, the deposit area is composed of Mesozoic age clastic to marine sedimentary successions that are unconformably overlain by thick Cenozoic volcanic rocks, such as limestone, mudstone, basalt, and sandstone in which silica sand is hosted. The main goal of the research is to investigate the geology, physicochemical characteristics, and possible industrial use of Tegora silica sand occurrence. To conduct this, field observation, and analytical investigation activities were applied. The Tegora industrial sand resource is dominantly found as light grey to white, poorly-consolidated sand layers interspersed with siltstone and conglomeratic beds, as the onsite investigation shows. Findings from the sieve analyses, the investigated quartz sand resource is described by the majority of sand-size grains (avg. 96.40%) with lesser amounts of gravel (avg.1.247%) and mud (avg.2.367%) size particles The dominant sand grains reveal an angular to sub-angular and less spherical shape. Complete silicate analysis reveals that silicon dioxide (SiO2) forms the abundant metal oxide in the entire samples with an average quantity of 92.25%, followed by (Al2O3=6.45%), (Fe2O3 =0.63%), (K2O=0.3%), (TiO2= 0.17%), (Na2O= 0.11%), (P2O5= 0.08%), (MgO=0.05%), and trace amounts of CaO, MnO, and Cr2O3. The mineralogical analyses on silica sand with the XRD method implied that quartz, kaolinite, feldspar, and tridymite show the most diffraction picks, and quartz (SiO2), which revealed a high phase average percentage proportion of above 80%, is the major crystalline component of the Tegora silica sand samples. Resource estimation and classification explained researched area has about 4.22 billion tons of quartz sand deposit in an indicated resource class. Based on Ethiopia’s present yearly industrial sand consumption (84.5 million tons), it can continuously extract for 50 years. Geological and physicochemical characteristics analysis shows that the silica sand resource from the Tegora area can be used for filter media, abrasive, foundry, and cement industries. Furthermore, with the beneficiation of the deposit, the upgrade silica sand is utilized for high-grade glass and ceramic sectors