Characterization of Graphite Mineral of Ningi in North-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

The future value of graphite due to its use in lithium-ion batteries, and the scientific possibilities of graphene has markedly increased both the demand and consequently the price of natural flake graphite amidst flat global supply in the last decade. Despite the boom, most graphite mineral deposits found in Nigeria remain unexploited due to lack of technical information thereby denying the country the opportunity to create wealth through mineral development. This study aims to characterize the graphite mineral deposit from Ningi, North-eastern Nigeria. Energy dispersive fluorescence (XRF), Bomb calorimetry, proximate analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Optical microscopy techniques were employed in the investigation. XRF results shows that Ningi graphite mineral contains 81.5 wt.% SiO2. It also confirms the presence of ZnO, MnO, and Ni up to 0.055 wt. %. Proximate compositional analysis indicated that Ningi graphite is a low-grade deposit as it analyzed 0.4 wt.% C and 88.51 wt.% ash. XRD studies indicate that the graphite mineral consists of quartz, mica, and graphite as major mineral phase and the graphite flake size as reported by optical microscopy ranges widely between 10 µm – 350 µm. Even as the probable reserve of Ningi graphite remain un-estimated, this study shows that it is technically feasible to exploit Ningi graphite towards concentration.  However, further structural and beneficiation studies are necessary to transform Ningi graphite resource into economic opportunities.