Heavy Mineral Assemblages of Quaternary Alluvial Deposits in Coastal Environment: Their Implication for Depositional environment and Provenance Assessment in Eastern Dahomey Basin Southwestern Nigeria

The rock provenance of eastern Dahomey Basin has not been studied much, leading to insufficient information about the alluvium deposits around the coastal environment of the basin. This has prompted this research to examine the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of heavy minerals in the sediments, with the aim at inferring their provenance, tectonic settings and their economic implications. Thirty (30) sediment samples were collected and subjected to heavy mineral analyses and quantified by viewing under the microscope. The result of heavy mineral analysed under the microscope shows that the heavy mineral assemblages in this study area are dominated by opaque minerals among which is limonite, followed by non-opaque minerals, namely the pyroxene groups (orthpyroxene and clinopyroxene), amphibole group (hornblende, tremolite and actinolite), tourmaline, zircon and rutile. In conclusion, the heavy mineral studies revealed a range of basic and acidic igneous, metamorphic and intermediate rocks coupled with reworked sedimentary deposits in source areas, where there is a mixed depositional environment and varied intensity of weathering. More research work with large amount of samples is recommended to determine the specific source area for the sediments in Eastern Dahomey Basin.