The geology of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

formed beginning in the

Archean The Archean Eon ( , also spelled Archaean or Archæan) is the second of four geologic eons of Earth's history, representing the time from . The Archean was preceded by the Hadean Eon and followed by the Proterozoic. The Earth Earth ...

and

Proterozoic The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided ...

eons of the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

. The country forms the Nigerian Province and more than half of its surface is igneous and metamorphic crystalline basement rock from the Precambrian. Between 2.9 billion and 500 million years ago, Nigeria was affected by three major

orogeny Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...

mountain-building events and related igneous intrusions. Following the

Pan-African orogeny The Pan-African orogeny was a series of major Neoproterozoic orogenic events which related to the formation of the supercontinents Gondwana and Pannotia about 600 million years ago. This orogeny is also known as the Pan-Gondwanan or Saldanian Oro ...

, in the

Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...

at the time that multi-cellular life proliferated, Nigeria began to experience regional sedimentation and witnessed new igneous intrusions. By the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

period of the late

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

, massive sedimentation was underway in different basins, due to a large

marine transgression A marine transgression is a geologic event during which sea level rises relative to the land and the shoreline moves toward higher ground, which results in flooding. Transgressions can be caused by the land sinking or by the ocean basins filling ...

. By the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

, in the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...

, the region returned to terrestrial conditions. Nigeria has tremendous oil and natural gas resources housed in its thick sedimentary basins, as well as reserves of gold, lead, zinc,

tantalite The mineral group tantalite Fe,_manganese.html"_;"title="iron.html"_;"title="iron">Fe,_manganese">Mn)Tantalum">Ta2oxygen.html" ;"title="manganese">Mn)Tantalum.html" ;"title="iron">Fe,_manganese.html" ;"title="iron.html" ;"title="iron">Fe, manga ...

columbite Columbite, also called niobite, niobite-tantalite and columbate [], is a black mineral group that is an ore of niobium. It has a submetallic Lustre (mineralogy), luster and a high density and is a niobate of iron and manganese. This mineral group w ...

, coal and tin.

Stratigraphy, Tectonics & Geologic History

The oldest

rocks in Nigeria likely formed during the

or the

Paleoproterozoic The Paleoproterozoic Era (;, also spelled Palaeoproterozoic), spanning the time period from (2.5–1.6 Ga), is the first of the three sub-divisions (eras) of the Proterozoic Eon. The Paleoproterozoic is also the longest era of the Earth's ...

, forming the Beninian

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

, in the Benin-Nigeria Orogen, formed during the

. The crystalline basement rock of the country is grouped as the Nigerian Province, a southern continuation of the central Hoggar reactivated basement. The ancient rocks of the Nigerian Province are split up by thrust and shear zones. The Migmatite-Gneiss Complex covers half of Nigeria's surface area and encompasses Archean gray gneisses, with

tonalite Tonalite is an igneous, plutonic ( intrusive) rock, of felsic composition, with phaneritic (coarse-grained) texture. Feldspar is present as plagioclase (typically oligoclase or andesine) with alkali feldspar making up less than 10% of the total ...

and

granodiorite Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...

consistencies. Within this complex are occurrences of

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

migmatite Migmatite is a composite rock found in medium and high-grade metamorphic environments, commonly within Precambrian cratonic blocks. It consists of two or more constituents often layered repetitively: one layer is an older metamorphic rock tha ...

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...

sillimanite Sillimanite is an aluminosilicate mineral with the chemical formula Al2SiO5. Sillimanite is named after the American chemist Benjamin Silliman (1779–1864). It was first described in 1824 for an occurrence in Chester, Connecticut. Occurrence S ...

kyanite Kyanite is a typically blue aluminosilicate mineral, found in aluminium-rich metamorphic pegmatites and sedimentary rock. It is the high pressure polymorph of andalusite and sillimanite, and the presence of kyanite in metamorphic rocks generally ...

and

staurolite Staurolite is a reddish brown to black, mostly opaque, nesosilicate mineral with a white streak. It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, has a Mohs hardness of 7 to 7.5 and the chemical formula: Fe2+2Al9O6(SiO4)4(O,OH)2. Magnesium, zinc ...

, which together indicate high-grade metamorphism up to the level of

amphibolite Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose (flaky ...

on the sequence of

metamorphic facies A metamorphic facies is a set of mineral assemblages in metamorphic rocks formed under similar pressures and temperatures.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak The assemblage is typical of what is formed in conditions corresponding ...

. Granites are associated with

charnockite Charnockite () is any orthopyroxene-bearing quartz-feldspar rock formed at high temperature and pressure, commonly found in granulite facies metamorphic regions, ''sensu stricto'' as an endmember of the charnockite series. Charnockite series Th ...

bodies and

granulite Granulites are a class of high-grade metamorphic rocks of the granulite facies that have experienced high-temperature and moderate-pressure metamorphism. They are medium to coarse–grained and mainly composed of feldspars sometimes associated w ...

facies metamorphism. The Migmatite-Gneiss Complex differs in the Ibadan area, in the southwest. Banded gneiss, schist and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

formed from the metamorphism of

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

and interbedded sandstones. Some

layers record the metamorphosed remains of a

tholeiitic magma series The tholeiitic magma series is one of two main magma series in subalkaline igneous rocks, the other being the calc-alkaline series. A magma series is a chemically distinct range of magma compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic magma ...

. The early folding and metamorphism in the Ibadan area was followed by the emplacement of

aplite Aplite () is an intrusive igneous rock in which the mineral composition is the same as granite, but in which the grains are much finer, under 1 mm across. Quartz and feldspar are the dominant minerals. The term ''aplite'' or ''aplitic'' ...

schist and microgranodiorite dikes during the Liberian orogeny 2.75 billion years ago. More intense deformation followed 2.2 billion years ago during the

Eburnean orogeny The Eburnean orogeny, or Eburnean cycle, was a series of tectonic, metamorphic and plutonic events in what is now West Africa during the Paleoproterozoic era about 2200–2000 million years ago. During this period the Birimian domain in West Afri ...

. Metazquartzites in the Ibadan area, likely from the

, are overlain by

pelite A pelite (Greek: ''pelos'', "clay") or metapelite is a metamorphosed fine-grained sedimentary rock, i.e. mudstone or siltstone. The term was earlier used by geologists to describe a clay-rich, fine-grained clastic sediment or sedimentary rock, ...

schist, intruded by

mafic A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...

sills rich in magnesium. They are overlain by

Neoproterozoic The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time from 1 billion to 538.8 million years ago. It is the last era of the Precambrian Supereon and the Proterozoic Eon; it is subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran periods. It is ...

pelites, including

phyllite Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliated metamorphic rock created from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. It is primarily compo ...

and both

muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula K Al2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage ...

and

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more alumino ...

schists, as well as quartzites that form strike ridges in several parts of Nigeria. Younger metasediments are found in the southwest and northwest in synclinorial schist belts. Compared to the surrounding migmatite-gneiss complexes, these low-grade metamorphic rocks have isoclinal folding and steeply dipping foliation. They have faulted and sheared boundaries with the surrounding rock. Geologists have interpreted these schist belts the remains of paleo-rift systems. The

in the late Proterozoic affected all of the Archean and Paleoproterozoic rocks in the region. Continent-continent collision and eastward subduction affected the southern Trans-Saharan mobile belt and emplaced

granitoids A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quartz- ...

throughout the Nigerian Province. In Nigeria, Pan-African orogeny related granite,

syenite Syenite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock with a general composition similar to that of granite, but deficient in quartz, which, if present at all, occurs in relatively small concentrations (< 5%). Some syenites contain larger proport ...

and

diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-silic ...

intrusions formed between 700 and 500 million years ago and are known as the Older Granites.

Paleozoic (541-251 million years ago)

In the

, at the beginning of the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

, volcanic debris filled

molasse __NOTOC__ The term "molasse" () refers to sandstones, shales and conglomerates that form as terrestrial or shallow marine deposits in front of rising mountain chains. The molasse deposits accumulate in a foreland basin, especially on top of flys ...

grabens In geology, a graben () is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German, meaning 'ditch' or 'trench'. The word was first used in the geologic contex ...

, forming

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...

and

shoshonite Shoshonite is a type of igneous rock. More specifically, it is a potassium-rich variety of basaltic trachyandesite, composed of olivine, augite and plagioclase phenocrysts in a groundmass with calcic plagioclase and sanidine and some dark-colored v ...

, as the Older Granites continued to emplace. In some cases, granite intrusions formed large

batholiths A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, suc ...

and

. The end of the Pan-African orogeny was also accompanied by the intrusion of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

and

dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...

dikes.

Mesozoic (251-66 million years ago)

In the

, during the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

, ring complexes known as the Younger Granites intruded

and Paleozoic basement rocks in the Jos Plateau, as well as in the Air region in Niger. The Younger Granites are primarily alkali-feldspar granites, although the ring complexes also include

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

, gabbro and syenite. The ring dikes tend to be highly mineralized and enriched in

niobium Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has sim ...

and tin. Large sedimentary basins formed in southern Nigeria, divided by the Okitipupa Ridge. The basins did not begin to fill with sediment until the

Albian The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± 0.9 M ...

age of the

. In the southeast, poorly bedded sandy shale alternates with layers of sandstone and sandy limestone, containing

ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) ...

radiolarian The Radiolaria, also called Radiozoa, are protozoa of diameter 0.1–0.2 mm that produce intricate mineral skeletons, typically with a central capsule dividing the cell into the inner and outer portions of endoplasm and ectoplasm. The elab ...

echinoid Sea urchins () are spine (zoology), spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard s ...

and

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

fossils. Subsequently, some of these sedimentary rock layers experienced lead and zinc mineralization. The

arkose Arkose () or arkosic sandstone is a detrital sedimentary rock, specifically a type of sandstone containing at least 25% feldspar. Arkosic sand is sand that is similarly rich in feldspar, and thus the potential precursor of arkose. Quartz is c ...

sandstone, limestone and shale of the 600 meter thick Odukpani Formation formed during the

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

until the early

Turonian The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded by t ...

, in the vicinity of modern-day Calabar. Fish teeth, ammonites and echinoids date the Eze-Aku Formation to the Turonian, while the blue-gray shales and

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

limestone of the Awgu Formation dates to the

Coniacian The Coniacian is an age or stage in the geologic timescale. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series and spans the time between 89.8 ± 1 Ma and 86.3 ± 0.7 Ma (million years ago). The Coniacian is preceded by t ...

. During the

Santonian The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 86.3 ± 0.7 mya (million years ago) and 83.6 ± 0.7 mya. The ...

age of the

, sea levels dropped. However, by the

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campanian s ...

and the

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from ...

, the Nkporo Formation records shale, mudstone, limestone and sandstones formed in an offshore environment. In other parts of Nigeria, the Owelli Sandstone, Enugu Shale and Asata Shale formed around the same time in shallow water environments. Other formations of similar age include the ammonite-bearing coals of Mamu Formation and the Nsukka Formation, both from the Maastrichtian. The Maastrichtian age brought a large marine transgression to southwest Nigeria, depositing the Abeokuta Formation. The Iullemeden Basin, also known as the Sokoto Basin spans Mali, western Niger, northwest Nigeria and northern Benin and began accumulating sediments in the

, followed by the Maastrichtian Rima Group, which records a brackish environment. Approximately one-tenth of the

Chad Basin The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Africa, centered on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of semi-arid desert and savanna. The drainage basin is roughly coterminous with the sedimentary basin of the sam ...

is situated in Nigeria. Albian Bima sandstone lie unconformably atop Precambrian basement rock, followed by the Turonian limestone and shale sequences of the Gongila Formation. Marine shales of the Fika Formation formed during the Senonian. The Maastrichtian brought a shift to an estuary environment, leading to the deposition of the Gombe Sandstones, which are intercalated with ironstone, siltstone and shales.

Cenozoic (66 million years ago-present)

High sea levels continued into the early

. In the west, the Akinbo Formation and Ewekoro Formation both deposited in the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

, while the Ino Formation took shape atop the Nsukka in the east, with layers of thick, clay shale. The Sokoto Group in the Iullemeden Basin contains marine sediments. However, by the

, sea levels retreated and afterward Nigeria mainly experienced terrestrial sedimentation. Around the end of the Cretaceous and the start of the Cenozoic, the sedimentary rocks in the Chad Basin were folded into

anticlines In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the l ...

and synclines. Erosion created an

unconformity An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval o ...

with younger rocks. Terrestrial sediments built up in the Paleocene Kerri Kerri Formation, followed by

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Chad Formation.

Hydrogeology

Unconsolidated sediments 15 to 30 meters thick line the Niger and Benue rivers and are recharged from rainwater, along with the near surface, shallow aquifers of the Niger Delta Basin and the partially consolidated Benin Formation. In central and eastern Nigeria, regional occurrences of volcanic rock contain

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

in fractures, less than five meters deep. Most of Nigeria's large sedimentary basins have intergranular flow, rainwater recharge and few water quality issues. Within the Chad Basin, the Chad Formation is unconfined in some locations, with artesian flow from some deeper layers and a water table depth of 10 to 15 meters. The Gombe Sandstone is comparatively low permeability and the deeper Kerri-Kerri Formation remains poorly studied. The water table in the Sokoto Group varies widely between 20 and 100 meters deep, unconfined near the surface and confined in lower layers of the Gwandu Formation. Within the Sokoto Group, the Wurno Formation has moderate yields and limited recharge, while the Gundumi Formation conglomerates are good aquifers, with artesian conditions, bounded by deeper clay layers. Other sedimentary aquifers include the Nupe Basin, Upper Benue Basin and Lower Benue Basin. Precambrian crystalline basement rock supports regional aquifers in weathered zones, 10 to 25 meters thick, as well as in fractures. In particular, metasedimentary rocks often weather to be clay rich, forming aquitards.

Natural resource geology

Nigeria has extensive natural resources and is the largest crude oil producer in Africa and 20 billion barrels of reserves. As such, petroleum is central to

economy of Nigeria The Economy of Nigeria is a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market with expanding manufacturing, financial, service, communications, technology, and entertainment sectors. It is ranked as the 27th-largest economy in the world in term ...

, producing 80 percent of government revenues and 95 percent of export earnings. Additionally, Nigeria has 2.6 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and a high overall gas to oil ratio. Seventy percent of both oil and gas resources are onshore. The country also has extensive mineral deposits, although most are under-exploited. According to the Geological Survey of Nigeria Agency, Nigeria has some 34 known major mineral deposits across the country. Exploration of solid minerals like tin, niobium, lead, zinc and gold, goes back for more than 90 years, but there has been a world-wide scale production of tin and niobium only. Gold mines were active before World War II, extracting from crystalline basement rock in the northwest, but a combination of low gold prices and legal turmoil ended the industry, recently the demand for gold has gone up due its high prices and Gold can be found in commercial quantity in states like Osun, Zamfara and Cross River states in Nigeria. The Younger Granites of the Jos Plateau contain significant tin deposits, mined since before European colonization. However, in recent years,

tin mining Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use can ...

has been significantly curtailed by flooding in the mines and low tin prices, as well as water pollution from the mines.

Tantalite The mineral group tantalite Fe,_manganese.html"_;"title="iron.html"_;"title="iron">Fe,_manganese">Mn)Tantalum">Ta2oxygen.html" ;"title="manganese">Mn)Tantalum.html" ;"title="iron">Fe,_manganese.html" ;"title="iron.html" ;"title="iron">Fe, manga ...

and

are both associated with the tin ore in the plateau. The states of Anambra, Benue, Plateau and Taraba have small-scale lead and zinc mining, from deposits that also have large quantities of cadmium, arsenic and antimony.

Barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

veins commonly contain lead and zinc in

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

and other parts of eastern Nigeria.

Kwara State Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger state, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the internation ...

has iron ore in Agbaja Plateau and Itakpe Hills. Nigeria also has other resources useful for energy and construction, including a poorly understood

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

belt in the south,

kaolin Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...

and

feldspar Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...

. Coal mining provided much of the country's energy between 1915 and 1960, although the industry has been in a long-running decline, now providing energy only for small-scale kilns and smelters.

References

{{Africa topic, Geology of