Dimension Stone Exploration and Development in Boki Area Southeastern Nigeria

Rock specimens can be cut to size and used as slabs, blocks and columns, where the strong and durable stone has been correctly selected it has stand the test of time, crushed into aggregates or treated by cutting and polishing to make them suitable for display or for use in jewelling. Attractive small irregular shaped specimens can be given a high polish by hand or by thumbing them in a tumbling machine. Very hard specimens can need a great deal of work to give them a perfect polish. Flat surfaces can be given a high polish by hand using sandpaper. Polishing faceted stones can be quite difficult. All the cutting of all the faces should be completed before any of them is polished. In Boki, large deposits of quarry rocks exist which can be crushed, cut, polished, screened to various sizes and marketed for different uses such as tiles, roads, bridges, buildings, foundations and piles construction. This report outlines the availability of granite and charnockite igneous rocks and granite gneiss metamorphic rock in Boki area, processes involved in dimension stone production and investment opportunities in Boki area.