Clay Mineralogy of Lateritic Soils Derived from Granite Basement - A Case study of Minna Lateritic soils

Abstract

Lateritic soils samples taken from four different locations around Minna were subjected to clay mineralogical analysis using X-ray diffraction method. The results show three of the soil samples containing mostly kaolinite as their main clay mineral, while the fourth sample shows the presence of a mineral of the chlorite group. The study shows that kaolinite is the predominant clay mineral present within lateritic soil profiles found around Minna