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Geotechnical and Geochemical Analysis of Dichinama Marble in Northern Ethiopia: Quarrying Insights

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Geology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences,. Adigrat University, Adigrat, Ethiopia

2 School Earth Science,. Mekelle University, P.O box, 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia

3 Faculty of Mines, Aksum Institute of Technology,. Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia

4 Faculty of Mines, Aksum Institute of Technology, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia

5 Department of Geosciences, Geotechnology and Materials Engineering for Resources, Graduate School of International Resource Sciences, Akita University, Akita 010-0852, Japan

Abstract

The Dichinama area in northern Ethiopia is a potential source of dimension stone, but the quality of the marble has been a major challenge for mining operations. This research aims to evaluate the quality of dimension stone by conducting a comprehensive study involving geological mapping, geotechnical testing, and geochemical analysis. The study collected nine rock samples from three active mining sites in the Dichinama area, analyzing properties such as density, water absorption, compressive strength, flexural strength, and abrasion resistance. Additionally, ten samples were collected for geochemical analysis, focusing on parameters like calcite, CaO values, LOI, SiO2 content, and other oxide concentrations. The geotechnical tests revealed that the properties of the marble in the Dichinama area were mainly calcite, with compressive strength values ranging from 29.6 to 74.5 MPa, flexural strength from 7 to 52.5 MPa, abrasion resistance from 8.3 to 17.2, density from 2257 to 2562 kg/m3, and water absorption from 0.12 to 0.93. However, most of these parameters fell below the minimum ASTM standards for marble dimension stone. The results suggest that these inferior characteristics negatively affect the recovery and quality of the dimension stone.

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References
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Journal of Mining and Environment
Volume 16, Issue 1
January 2025
Pages 39-56
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