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The lead-zinc-barium deposits of the southern Benue Trough, Nigeria belong to a suite of clastic dominated fracture filling hydrothermal vein deposits. The alteration types and spread are poorly known yet required to aid exploration. Band ratio composites (BRC), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF) were applied to a full scene Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) imagery covering the study area. Spectral analysis of sulphide minerals known in the area led to the development of the (B1+B3)/2 ratio, which provided a highly effective sulphide discriminant. PCA and MNF bands with high eigenvectors in the absorption features of target minerals qualified as colour composite candidates for alteration mapping. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of combining the BRC, PCA and MNF techniques in the discrimination of ferric-ferrous/sulphide and silica alteration zones in the Southern Benue Trough.

This study investigated the impacts of asbestos wastes on soils in Emene-Enugu, southeastern Nigeria, generated by the activities of a major asbestos products manufacturing company in southeastern Nigeria. The methods of investigation included vertical electrical sounding (VES), 2-D horizontal resistivity profiling (HRP), induced polarization (IP) survey, chemical analysis of plant tissues and standard penetration tests of soil samples. The 2-D HRP and IP identified six closed waste pits alongside the two active pits. The VES revealed four geoelectrical layers in the area: from bottom to top; the inferred lithologies included dark shale, clay, gravel and recent sands. The geochemical data results revealed that Cd concentration of the soils of the waste pits is above the contaminated land exposure assessment soil guideline value for residential and allotment land uses. The geochemical pollution indices classified the soils as "unpolluted" to "extremely polluted". Bioconcentration factor of Pb in plant tissues was found to be above recommended limits of 0.045. The geotechnical parameters indices revealed that the soils varied from "very soft" to "stiff" and "very loose" to "medium". Soils of the active pits have very low strength and bearing capacity while closed pits have high strength and bearing capacity. It may be safe, therefore, to conclude that as the wastes are completely turned into soils, they will assume geotechnical properties similar to those of natural soils.