TITLE:
Geoelectrical Inversion Study of Limestone Attributes at Mayo Boki Area (Northern Cameroon)
AUTHORS:
Theophile Ndougsa-Mbarga, Quentin Yene-Atangana Joseph, William Teikeu Assatsé, Arsène Meying, Pactrick Assembe Stéphane
KEYWORDS:
Geoelectrical Method, 1D Model, Resistivity, Limestone, Mayo Boki, Cameroon
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.5 No.8,
July
31,
2014
ABSTRACT: A geoelectrical
survey using the electrical resistivity method was carried out in the Mayo Boki
(Northern Cameroon), to investigate the subsurface layering and evaluation of the
limestone characteristics. In addition to geological data collection, three vertical
electrical soundings and one electrical resistivity profile were measured. Joint
interpretation of the DC data allows us to obtain reliable 1D models of the resistivity
distribution. The interpretation of the field data was carried out using the RES2DINV
software, which converts the apparent resistivity as a function of electrode spacing
to the true resistivity as a function of depth in two dimensions. The results obtained from the electrical resistivity
survey showed that: 1) A limestone layer was put in evidence at a depth of 4 m and
the thickness varies from 13 m to 44 m; 2) The limestone layer resistivity is ranged
from 125 to 2410 ohm.m; 3) An area of probable limestone deposit with interesting
thicknesses have been identified. These facts are useful for future mining exploration
as drilling map definition and operations. The geologic section of a nearby
location termed resistivity profile was delineated and its total depth was found
to be 57 m, which corroborates the lithologs of the boreholes from the area. The
correlation of geological data and the geoelectric section has led to envisage pursuing
exploration activities. Based on the limestone layer characteristics extracted from
this DC investigation, the exploration drilling operations have to be initiated
in order to define the limestone resource over the area of study, which will certainly
enables to built the exploitation project prefeasibility document.