Due to dissolution, weathering and erosion, limestone and marble form karstic landscape with precipitous hills, rugged valleys, caves and sinkholes. In the event of an intrusion, the magma, which resides below the limestone bedrock will ascend toward the earth’s surface and fill up the fractures within the pre-existing rocks, forming dikes and sills. Dikes and veins can also be formed when minerals precipitate from hydrothermal fluids within a fracture. The objective of this study was to determine the texture and mineralogy of the dikes cutting the marble in the study area. The findings suggest that the mineral composition and physical structure of the dikes differ from the marble host rock based on its mineral, chemical and physical properties. Three samples were collected and analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and petrographic microscope. The results show that there are at least two types of dike, which are quartz and a coarse-grained granite dike at the study area. The presence of these dikes may affect the chemical and mechanical properties of aggregates produced from the quarry, and in turn affect the excavated rocks of its usage.
Shale deposits from Belata Formation outcrops were examined geochemically and mineralogically to establish their paragenesis and, subsequently, to identify factors that govern their depositional environment. Fifty representative samples were examined through SEM/EDX, XRD and XRF. The findings show the mineralogical composition was abundant in quartz, with pyrite and calcite in trace amount. Zr–TiO2 bivariate diagram showed predominantly felsic and intermediate igneous rocks, suggesting that the shales may be coming from the hidden basement rocks of Peninsular Malaysia. The diagenetic controls on the geochemistry are suggested by the changes in compositional trends. The samples exhibit CIA values ranging from 62.2 to 80.2, and PIA values ranging from 65 to 100. According to the V/Ni, Ni/Co, and V/Cr ratios, these black shales were formed in a suboxic environment. Additionally, the high V/Ni ratios (1.47) point to a marine source for the organic content that gives the shales their dark color. The paleoclimate during deposition was interpreted to be semiarid to warm. The black shale samples are inferred to have originated from a passive margin tectonic setting that followed continental collision and rifting stages of the foreland basin development phase of Peninsular Malaysia based on geochemical proxies and associated diagrams.
The limestone hills of the Kinta Valley are remnants of extensive limestone beds, which are part of a Paleozoic carbonate complex that covered large parts of South-East Asia and south China. The original limestone beds of the Kinta Valley, presumed to be Carboniferous (Ingham & Bradford, 1960; Hutchison, 2007) or possibly Permian in age (Fontaine, 1995), have been severely eroded and karstified (Figure 1).
Peninsular Malaysia is already well known for having rare earth (RE) resources. However, pertinent data and information on upstream RE resources and reserve potential in Malaysia are yet to be established. It is vital to identify opportunities and challenges for value addition to rare earth elements (REEs) deposits in Malaysia. Therefore, this study evaluates the potential of Malaysian geological formations to serve as repositories for RE resources, such as rare earth minerals (REMs) and REEs, by elucidating the geological processes that are considered critical to the formation of the various deposit types. This paper concisely reviews possible REE mineralization in alkaline igneous rocks, pegmatites, placer deposits: monazite and xenotime, marine sediments, river and lake sediments, ion adsorption clays (IAC) deposits, and shale/coal deposits found in Malaysia. Comparisons between Malaysian deposits revealed that these deposits are potentially enriched with RE resources showing geological formations across the world. The paper reviews the methods and flowsheets used for the recovery of REMs and REEs from primary, secondary as well as alternative resources, with special consideration to the hydrometallurgical procedures comprising of leaching with acids and alkalis tailed by ion exchange, solvent extraction, or precipitation. The REEs ecosystem of Malaysia has also been discussed by considering the latest information from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), the REEs processing center, the Academy of Science of Malaysia (ASM), the People's Republic of China (PRC), Lynas Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (Lynas), Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (NRECC), Jabatan Mineral & Geosains (JMG), Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI), and the Malaysian Chamber of Mines. The information on upstream RE resources and recent hydrometallurgical approaches provided in this study will contribute to developing and enhancing midstream and downstream RE-based manufacturing and processing operations in Malaysia.
Amalgamation and accretion of Southeast Asia continental blocks has occurred during the Late Devonian to Late Cretaceous tectonic movements, its consequences led to the closure and opening of oceanic basins, and orogeny. The Southeast Asia carbonate complexes shared the same regional tectonic history of uplifting, faulting and compressional strains. The main Terranes of the present Southeast Asia were located within the palaeo-Thethys in an equatorial latitudinal setting in Permian period and the geological dating of the carbonates imply presence of regional relationship between carbonate buildups. Paleomagnetic data in northwestern Malaysia, biogeographic evidence throughout India, Australia, and China with palaeoclimatic conditions in the region were favored carbonate growth and might suggest that the Palaeozoic limestone formed continuous carbonate chain in the region, from Malaysia to Thailand. In addition to the microfossils, the absence of siliciclastics within the limestone sequences and syndepositional slope structures are considered as evidences for deeper depositional setting.
The Peninsular Malaysia is divided into Western, Central, and Eastern tectonostratigraphic belts based on major geological and geophysical phenomena. The Kinta Limestone is a Paleozoic succession located within the Western Belt. Due to structural and tectonothermal complexity, the sedimentological and paleontological works in these carbonates have proven to be problematic unless combined with geochemical approach. Thus, the current study has integrated stratigraphical, sedimentological, and geochemical studies to assess the lithofacies variations and to interpret the depositional environments. An intensive fieldwork has been carried out in order to assess the extent of metamorphism and to locate the less altered sections for further studies. Three boreholes have been drilled on N-S transect of the Kinta Valley recovering a 360 m core. The core description, the mineralogical analysis, and the geochemical analyses including major and trace elements and organic carbon contents have allowed for a significant advancement of the knowledge existing on this basin. The obtained results have indicated that the Kinta Limestone is chiefly composed of carbonate mudstones, siltstones, shales, and minor cherty units. It preserves the main sedimentary features from metamorphism, especially in the northern part of the Kinta Valley. The detrital siliciclastic debris is minimum in the limestones. The overall dominance of fine-grained textures, the lacking of detrital siliciclastic deposits, presence of bedded cherts, and high organic carbon content outlined by geochemistry and the occurrence of uncommon benthic fauna have suggested the deposition in a slope environment with low energy and low oxygen content. The lithological changes from carbonate to siliciclastic deposits have outlined the occurrence of sea level fluctuations in the Paleozoic. The various analyses combined with chemostratigraphy, an independent of type locality and stratotype, enable to interpret the depositional environment of the Kinta Limestone. Thus, it can be useful to correlate to other formations in or similar types of basins in the southeast Asia.
Kinta valley was a focus of interest in search of geological resources for the last ten decades. Most of those studies were oriented to reveal the genesis of tin mineralization. Few workers including the current authors have identified some micro faunal (bivalves, gastropods, rugose corals, foraminifera, crinoids) records for relative dating of the limestone sequences. Even though present day accessibility of the reported fossiliferous sites is limited; areas which are dated based on the fossil records in Chemor (Silurian to Devonian), near Batu Gajah (Devonian), Malim Nawar (Carboniferous), Tualang limestone (Carboniferous to Permian), Kampar (Permian), and Kampung Sungai Keruh (Permian), are part of the Kinta valley limestone. The age difference in the limestones is interpreted as a result of migration of the coral reefs in the palaeodepositional setting. This current study will review the fossil collections of the JMG in Ipoh in order to test these original age determinations. We will demonstrate how these historic collections and macrofossil will contribute to our new research project. Furthermore, we will outline how these data will contribute to our ongoing research into defining a reference stratigraphic section that will enable correlation between scattered outcrops in the western Belt of Peninsular Malaysia.
The paleogeography of the juxtaposed Southeast Asian terranes, derived from the northeastern margins of Gondwana during the Carboniferous to Triassic, resulted in complex basin evolution with massive carbonate deposition on the margins of the Paleo-Tethys. Due to the inherited structural and tectonothermal complexities, discovery of diagnostic microfossils from these carbonates has been problematic. This is particularly the case for the Kinta Limestone, a massive Paleozoic carbonate succession that covers most of the Kinta Valley in the central part of the Western Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. Owing to the complex structural and igneous events, as well as extensive diagenetic alterations, establishing precise age constraints for these carbonates has been challenging. Furthermore, the sedimentation history of these deposits has been masked. Three boreholes, totaling 360 m thickness of core, were drilled at either end of the Kinta Valley on a north-south transect through sections with minimal thermal alteration. The sections are composed chiefly of carbonaceous carbonate mudstone with shale and siltstones beds, in which the carbonates were sampled for microfossils. Five hundred conodont elements were extracted. Nine diagnostic conodont genera and 28 age diagnostic conodont species were identified. The identification of Pseudopolygnathus triangulus triangulus and Declinognathodus noduliferus noduliferus indicated that the successions ranged from Upper Devonian to upper Carboniferous. Further analysis and establishment of stage-level datum that range from the Famennian to Bashkirian (Late Carboniferous) enabled detection of continuous sedimentation and improved age constraints in undated sections of the Kinta Limestone. This higher-resolution conodont biostratigraphy suggests a prevalence of continuous carbonate deposition during the Early Devonian to Late Carboniferous in the Paleo-Tethys. Thus, the identification of diagnostic conodont species for the first time from subsurface data in the area has helped improve the biostratigraphic resolution and establishes depositional continuity of the Kinta Limestone. These data could provide clues to the Paleo-Tethys paleogeographic reconstruction and paleodepositional conditions, and could establish higher temporal resolution correlation than previously attempted.
Geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) requires the host rock to have the capacity to permanently store CO2 with minimum post-storage monitoring. Mineral carbonation in geological formations is one of the most promising approaches to CO2 storage as the captured CO2 is converted into stable carbonated minerals (e.g., calcite and magnesite). In this study, we investigated the geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of Segamat basalt in the Central Belt of Malaysia and evaluated its potential for mineral carbonation by using laboratory analyses of X–ray fluorescence (XRF), X–ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and petrographic study. The XRF results showed that Segamat basalt samples contain a number of elements such as Fe (21.81–23.80 wt.%), Ca (15.40–20.83 wt.%), and Mg (3.43–5.36 wt.%) that can react with CO2 to form stable carbonated minerals. The XRD and petrographic results indicated that Segamat basalt contains the reactive mineral groups of pyroxene and olivine, which are suitable for the mineral carbonation process. The results of this study could help to identify the spatial distribution of elements and minerals in the Segamat basalt and to assess its mineral carbonation potential for geological storage in Malaysia.
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