Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 4(11): 1534-1545, 2008

© 2008, INSInet Publication

Geoelectric Study of Coal Deposits at UNWANA/AFIKPO Area of Southeastern Nigeria

1
Michael Ilesanmi Oladapo, 2Oluwakemi Olanike Adeoye-Oladapo, 3Temitope Olorundare Alao
1
Department of Applied Geophysics, Federal University of Technology, Akure.
2
Department of Physics, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo.
1,3
Department of Applied Geophysics, Federal University of Technology, Akure.

Abstract: Geoelectric study of coal deposits has been undertaken at the Unwana/Afikpo area of
Southeastern Nigeria. The Afikpo coal bearing sequence occurs within Abakaliki sub-basin of the Benue
Trough Complex. The electrical resistivity method utilizing the Schlumberger electrodes configuration was
adopted while sixty-two sounding stations were occupied on six traverses in the study area. Observation
in two pits that intercepted coal seams in Unwana showed that they are contained within conductive
peat/shale units. Thus, the high resistivity characteristics of coal may be masked by the conductive host
rocks. The delineation of the coal seams thus became more intricate than ordinarily assumed. Sounding
curves were analyzed for anomalous points (geoelectric attributes) on presumably smooth outlay. Data
points outside smooth trend (positive cusps) are considered as anomalies presumably diagnostic of coal.
Shallow geoelectric attributes zones are situated within the northeastern, south central and southern parts
of the study area. Range of shallow coal seam thickness varies from 0.5 to 1.9m with average shallow
coal seam thickness estimated at 1.02m. Range of shallow coal seam overburden varies from 1.4 to 7.9m
while average overburden thickness is estimated at 3.42m. M oderately deep geoelectric attributes were
identified on ten (10) sounding stations with the attributes zones situated at the northeastern and southern
limits of the area. M oderately deep coal seam thickness vary from 1.1 to 7.7m, average lower coal seam
thickness is estimated at 3.37m. Range of moderately deep coal seam overburden varies from 7.4 to 27.9m
while average overburden thickness is estimated at 12.05m.

Key words: Coal seam, conductive peat/shale, geoelectric attributes, shallow, deep

INTRODUCTION associated with the sandstone host rocks in Kamptee.[3 ].

Many of the coal fields discovered in Nigeria are
situated in the Benue Trough Complex (Figure 1). Over
the years, exploration for coal in Nigeria has been
around Udi, Enugu, Ezimo, Orukpa, Okaba, Ogboyoga-
Odukpono and west of Enugu Escarpment. Coal was
first discovered at Afikpo in 1948 [4 ]. Another area of
coal occurrence in Nigeria is Lafia-Obi. The Afikpo
and some other discoveries occur in Cretaceous
formations which are older than Nsukka Formation
where few discoveries were made. The Afikpo coal
bearing sequence occurs within Abakaliki sub-basin of
the Benue Trough Complex.
Geophysical studies conducted for coal in Kamptee
coal field of Maharashtra in India involved the
electrical resistivity and magnetic methods.[3] The
Kamptee coal field is situated in a geologic
environment consisting of sandstones and shales
preserved in a faulted trough within granites and
gneisses. High resistivity values were associated with
occurrence of coal in contrast to the low resistivity
Unlike the environment of study referred to above,
crystalline rocks are absent in Afikpo thus the adoption
of the electrical resistivity method in this study.
Location Description: The study area covers from
about 2.7km south of Afikpo near M gbom in to
Kpogrikpo (Fig. 2). The area is traversed by a major
road that rends North-South. On the East-W est limit,
the area of study covers from Kpogrikpo to northern
limit of Ogbu hill.
The study area covers a total of 15 km [2 ]. with the
North-South traverse being 5 km and East-W est
traverse being 3 km. Major towns within the area are:
Kpogrikpo, Enohia Itim, Ogbu, Akpughuru and the area
south of Mgbom just before the Iyioka River.
Access to the study area is primarily through the
Afikpo-Unwana road and secondarily through minor
roads used as access which include the Ogbu-Unwana
road, the Akpughuru-Enohia road, and the Asaga-
Amangwu road. The minor roads run east-west
of the area.

Corresponding Author: Michael Ilesanmi Oladapo, Department of Applied Geophysics, Federal University of Technology,
Akure.
Email. oladapom@yahoo.co.uk
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Fig. 1: South-East Nigeria: Simplified Geology and Location of Coal Deposits (NIM AMOP, 2001).

Geomorphology: The study area is located within the
Cross River plains. The topography of the area is
highly undulating. It rises gently from the Iyioka River
at an elevation of about 29m at the northern end and
attaining a height of about 85m at Ogbu at the
southern end of the area (Fig. 2). The low lying lands
are dissected by streams and river channels which flow
from west to east; and into the Cross River. Three
main rivers flow within the area. These are the Iyioka
and U beyi at the northern and southern end
respectively of the traverses with the river W owo at
almost the centre of the area.
The vegetation of the area consists of thick forest
at the southern part with patches of same thick forest
around some of the villages and rivers at the central
parts of the study area. The central areas are
characterized by grass and farmlands.
The climate of the area is that typical of the
tropical rain forest: with the raining (wet) season
spanning from late March to October while dry season
lasts from November to early March, with the NE trade
winds (harmattan wind) intervening between December
and January. The mean annual rainfall ranges between
1875mm and 2500mm (Inyang, 1975) and the average
temperature is about 28°C. [4 ,2 ].
Geology of the Study Area: Afikpo belongs to the
Abakaliki T rough which is one of the Pre-Santonian
rift systems. From stratigraphic information, two
formations; Nkporo Shale and Nsukka Formation
contain coal seams (Fig. 3). The Nkporo shale is of
Upper Cenonian age.
These are composed dominantly of blue or dark
grey shale with occasional thin beds of sandy shale and
sandstones. [7 ,9 ]. The sediments passes upwards into the
Lower Coal Measures now called Mamu Formation
(Reyment, 1965) which is Maestrichtian in age. [6 ,8 ]. The
Mamu Formation consists of sandstones, shale and
sandy shale with coal seams.[9 ].

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Fig. 2: M ap of the study area showing Vegetation and Settlement Pattern (courtesy: Ebonyi State Ministry of
Lands, Surveys and Housing, Abakaliki Nigeria) .

The Nsukka Formation was deposited under paralic
condition and consists of alternations of sandstones,
shales and coal seams [9 ]. The coal seam within this
formation is referred to as the Upper Coal Measure.
Of the four stratigraphic levels, the Mamu
Formation has been the most extensively explored and
exploited for coal. The older Awgu Shale Formation at
Lafia-Obi is known to contain Bituminous coal rank
with coking properties [5 ]. T hus th e se form ations are
generally considered to hold the best economic
potential of the coal bearing formations highlighted.
Nkporo Formation around Afikpo has not been tested,
though coal occurrences have been reported.
Previous exploration data around Afikpo indicate coal
of sub-bituminous rank occurs within the Nkporo Shale
Formation.[5 ].
The coals could have been sources of gas in
Anambra Basin.[9 ] . Detail description of the coals has
been given by De Swardt and Casey. [1 ].
M ATERIALS AND M ETHOD
ABEMSAS 1000. Terrameter complete with
peripherals were used for field apparent resistivity
measurements. A minimum of four (4) stacks
measurement was adopted to ensure high signal/noise
ratio. GARMIN (Global Positioning System) 72 was
used to determine co-ordinates and altitude while a
theodolite (Zeis Jena theo 10B model) was used to
measure angles and establish traverses.
Traverses were laid out with Vertical Electrical
Sounding (VES) positionings in the area (Figure 4)
using the Schlumberger electrode configuration. Five
test soundings were carried out at two pits at Ubeyi
area of Unwana. Geological logs of the pits are
presented in Figure 5. The results of the test soundings
served as control in the interpretation of geoelectric
sounding curves in the study area.

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Fig. 3: The Cretaceous and Tertiary Sequence in Southeastern Nigeria [6 ].

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The summary of selected geoelectric data

The results of the electrical resistivity field data
are presented as geoelectric sounding curves (Figure 6),
tables (Tables 1-4), geoelectric sections (Figures 7- 8)
and maps (Figures 8-11).
Geoelectric Sounding Curves and Sections: The
geoelectric sounding curves were evaluated for
signatures that are diagnostic of coal occurrence in the
study area. Further interpretation of curves involved
partial curve matching. Outputs were modelled using
computer iterations.
interpretation is presented in Table 1. All the
geoelectric sounding curves obtained show patterns that
are indicative of geologic sequence consisting of
laterite, sandstone, clay, peat and shale. One-
Dimensional (1-D) geoelectric sections of the sounding
curves are presented in Figures 7 and 8.
The coal seams were hitherto expected to be
characterized by high resistivity since coal is a poor
conductor of electric current. However, preliminary
studies around two pits that intercepting shallow coal
seams in Ubeyi area have shown that the coal seams
are contained within conductive peat/shale units.

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Fig. 4: Map showing geophysical (VES) data points.

Fig. 5: Geological logs of two pits at Ubeyi.

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Fig. 6: Typical Geoelectric Sounding Curves Obtained from Unwana/Afikpo Coal Field.

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Table. 1: Sum m ary of Selected Geoelectric D ata Interpretation Results of Afikpo Coal Survey
VES N o. D epths (m ) d 1 /d 2 /… … ../d n -1 Resistivity (Ώ -m ) p 1 /p 2 /… … ../p n Curve Type Rem arks
1 0.8/3.3/8.0/28.8 1422/2244/1591/3930/383 KH K N o anom aly traceable to coal
2 0.7/1.3/2.1/2.5/7.5/15.3 1827/1483/1313/1047/30/61/2.3 QQQHK 1 deep coal? anom aly
3 0.5/1.9/2.4/4.5/8.5/10.9/31.0 593/182/310/114/32/40/5.1/14 H KQ H KH 2 coal? anom alies
4 0.6/2.8/17.5/23.9 2968/208/17/14/0.3 QQQ 1 deep coal? anom aly
5 0.8/1.3/1.7/5.3/7.4/8.7/18.3 1384/1394/707/154/43/20/3.1/2528 KQ Q Q Q H 1 deep coal? Anom aly + peat
6 0.6/3.9/4.5/9.4/11.9/47.7 649/122/99/26/51/21/1170 Q Q H KH 2 coal? anom alies
7 0.8/3.3/6.2 1435/938/1882/764 HK 1 shallow coal? anom aly
8 1.2/11.1/12.2/69.1 402/34/53/4/1281 H KH 1 deep coal? Anom aly + peat
10 0.9/2.4/9.1 193/112/32/8 QQ Anom aly diagnostic of peat
11 0.5/2.3/5.3/11.1/21.5 3324/22665/4264/3222/1754/250 KQ Q Q 1 deep coal? anom aly
12 0.5/2.7/10.6/24.2 435/123/18/1.1/1517 QQH Anom aly diagnostic of peat
16 0.4/1.4/3.1/3.7/9.5/14.7/20.5 460/101/163/81/7/36/38/2825 H KQ H AA 1 shallow coal seam + peat
18 0.5/3.7/5.9/7.5 794/60095/11590/13072/977 KH K N o anom aly traceable to coal
19 0.8/3.3/4.6/11.1/33.7 387/23/13/5/23/11 QQHK 1 shallow coal seam + peat
21 1.5/31.8 782/12/2489 H Anom aly diagnostic of peat
22 0.5/2.3/4.5/17.8 168/3356/261/39/2684 KQ H N o anom aly traceable to coal
23 0.7/2.8/8.7/27.9 261/99/28/2.3/5012 QQH Anom aly diagnostic of peat
24 0.5/1.2/1.8/2.3 1348/2956/1355/1697/6 KH K Anom aly diagnostic of peat
25 1.3/2.3/7.9/8.6 2760/3048/520/1335/17 KH K 1 shallow coal anom aly + peat
26 0.4/1.8/2.3/7.5/18.8/34.0 528/118/131/7/45/18/10079 H KH KH 1 shallow coal anom aly + peat
27 1.2/4.8/6.6/15.1 4633/124/38/7/2546 QQH 1 shallow coal anom aly + peat
28 0.4/1.1/1.4/1.8/4.9/14.9 2445/8934/3177/2403/148/1189/31 KQ Q H K 1 shallow coal? anom aly
29 0.8/2.0/13.9 1738/3202/681/3868 KH N o anom aly traceable to coal
30 0.7/3.1/9.1/24.1 373/129/7/14/2.4 QHK Anom aly diagnostic of peat
32 0.6/1.4/1.9/2.6/8.1/10.3/25.6 313/389/227/232/116/98/16/55 KH KQ Q H 2 coal? anom alies
33 1.0/4.6/6.5/13.0/16.9 1687/55/22/8/66/3.6 QQHK 2 coal? anom alies
34 0.5/1.2/2.2/17.2/25.5/38.4 109/517/128/11/29/18/1315 KQ H KH 1 deep coal anom aly + peat
38 0.7/2.5/4.1/7.0 3711/40315/43675/7461/554 AKQ D eep peat anom aly
41 1.8/10.1 1979/10/10250 H M oderately thick peat + coal?
43 0.7/2.7/3.2/20.0/25.1 361/119/171/9/10/4.4 H KH K 2 coal? anom alies
45 0.9/2.4/9.8 727/53/968/145 HK N o anom aly traceable to coal
46 1.0/1.6/5.8/8.7/28.3 2656/1687/4115/1464/44/1302 H KQ H D eep peat anom aly
47 1.8/7.3 3554/19/11018 H M oderately thick peat + coal?
48 0.9/7.4/17.3/21.6 7811/27705/1202/1571/81 KH K 1 deep coal? anom aly + peat
49 0.4/4.0/9.1/10.6 729/107/10/51/1.2 QHK 1 deep coal? anom aly + peat
54 0.9/8.7/16.4 71/32/48/6 HK 1 deep coal? anom aly + peat
60 0.8/2.7/5.7/10.2/27.9/35.0 788/1329/844/283/91/145/28 KQ Q H K 2 coal? anom alies

Table. 2: Geoelectric Characteristics Typifying Shallow Coal Seam s Table. 4: Geoelectric Characteristics Typifying Peat (Sub-bitum inous
VES N o Resistivity of Coal Seam D epth to top of coal?)
Layer(Ω -m ) Thickness (m ) coal seam (m ) VES N o Resistivity of Peat D epth to top of
3 310 0.5 1.9 Layer(Ω -m ) Thickness (m ) peat (m )
6 99 0.6 3.9
2 61 7.7 7.5
16 163 1.7 1.4
4 14 6.4 17.5
19 13 1.3 3.3
25 1335 0.7 7.9 5 3.1 9.6 8.7
26 131 0.5 1.8 10 32 6.8 2.4
27 38 1.8 4.8 12 18 7.9 2.7
32 232 0.7 1.9 16 37 11 9.5
33 22 1.9 4.6 21 12 10 1.5
43 171 0.5 2.7 23 28 5.7 2.9
25 50 5.6 2.3
Table. 3: G eoelectric Characteristics Typifying M oderately D eep 26 45 11.3 7.5
Coal Seam s
27 7 8.5 6.6
VES N o Resistivity of Coal Seam D epth to top of
30 7 6 3.1
Layer (Ω -m ) Thickness (m ) coal seam (m )
34 29 8.3 17.2
3 40 2.4 8.5
5 20 1.2 7.4 38 554 5 7.0
6 51 2.5 9.4 41 10 8.3 1.8
8 53 1.1 11.1 43 10 5.1 20.0
32 98 2.2 8.1 46 44 9.6 8.7
33 66 3.9 13.0 47 19 5.5 1.8
48 1571 4.3 17.3 49 10 5.2 4.0
49 51 1.4 9.1 54 48 7.7 8.7
54 48 7.7 8.7
60 145 7.0 27.9

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Fig. 7: 1-D Geoelectric Sections of VES 1, VES 8, VES 12, VES 19, VES 23, VES 30, VES 34, VES 41 and
VES 45 on Traverse 4

Fig. 8: 1-D Geoelectric Sections of V ES 5, V ES 16, VES 21, VES 27, VES 32, VES 38, VES 43, VES 49, VES
54 and VES 60 on Traverse 5.

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Fig. 9: Isopach Map of Shallow Coal Seam.

As a result, the high resistivity characteristics of
the coal are significantly masked by the overwhelming
low resistivity peat/shale units encasing the coal seams.
Thus, the delineation of the coal seams became more
intricate than assumed. In this investigation the curves
were observed for anomalous inconsistency of data
points on presumably smooth outlay. Data points
outside smooth trend (positive cusps) are treated as
favourable anomalies (or geoelectric attributes) and are
presumably diagnostic of coal seams. Such positive
cusps are interpreted as coal seams within conductive
peat/shale horizon. The peat in the area of study is
generally characterized by low resistivity values.
Thus, areas of low resistivities in this study are likely
to contain coal seams and are thus marked out and
presented along with areas of possible coal occurrence
in Figure 12.
Arising from the assumption that anomalies
observed on presumably smooth bi-log curve could be
diagnostic of target, shallow positive cusps were
identified on ten (10) sounding stations. T he sounding
locations showing shallow attributes considered to be
diagnostic of coal are VES 3, 6, 16, 19, 25, 26, 27, 32,
33 and 43 (Table 2). Map showing areas of possible
deposit of shallow coal seams is shown in Fig. 13.
Shallow coal attributes zones are situated within the
northeastern, south central and southern parts of the
study area.

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Fig. 10: Isopach Map of Moderately Deep Coal Seam.
Moderately deep geoelectric attributes (Table 3)
presumed to be diagnostic of coal (positive cusps) were
identified on ten (10) sounding stations. The sounding
locations exhibiting such attributes are VES 3, 5, 6, 8,
32, 33, 48, 49, 54 and 60. The map presenting the
distribution of the attributes is presented in Fig 14.
Deep attributes zones are situated within the
northeastern and southernmost limits of the area.
Low resistivity zones that are presumably underlain by
peat (Sub-bituminous coal?) were delineated beneath
twenty (20) sounding stations. Sounding stations
exhibiting peat attributes are VES 2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 16,
21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 30, 34, 38, 41, 43, 46, 47, 49 and
54. The summary of the peat attributes are presented in
Table 4 and Fig 15.
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Eight (8) sounding curves are not displaying
attributes traceable to coal or peat and are thus
considered to be barren zones. The curves are VES 1,
7, 11, 18, 22, 28, 29 and 45.
Conclusions: A qualitative geoelectric study has been
undertaken at Unwana/Afikpo area of Southeastern
Nigeria for the delineation of coal seams. The results
of the electrical resistivity study have shown that the
coal seams are predominant on the northeastern flank
of the area of study with possible coal occurrences
outside the present area of study in the direction of the
Cross River.
Signatures diagnostic of shallow coal seams observed
on resistivity data typified the northeast, central and
southern limits of the study area.
 J. Appl. Sci. Res., 4(11): 1534-1545, 2008

Fig. 11: Isopach Map of Peat.

The western, northwestern and east central to ACKNOW LEDGM ENT

southeast areas appear barren. Signatures depicting
moderately deep coal seams were obtained in the The authors are grateful to Messrs Kefas Malguri,
northern and northeastern areas while other areas Abraham Enukpere, Opalua, A.K. Ogundana, A.J.
appear barren. Bello, C.A. Fagoroyo and Kola Jegede for assisting in
Low resistivity columns diagnostic of peat/shale the field apparent resistivity data acquisition.
are more widespread. They are predominant in
northeast, central and southwestern parts of the study
area. The areas delineated as peat are likely to also
contain coal. This is due to the masking of the high
resistivity coal seams by the conductive peat/shale/clay
columns within which the coals occur.

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Fig. 12: General Area of Coal Occurrence.
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