Statistical analysis of stream sediment data from the Ife-Ilesha area of Southwest Nigeria

Statistical treatment of geochemical exploration data in the Ife-Ilesha area has not been fully utilized as a tool in their interpretation. The results of 176 stream sediment samples from an area of 1800 km 2 analyzed for Cu, Zn, Mn, Ni, Co and Cr after hot extraction were treated with both simple and sophisticated (R-mode factor) statistical analytical methods. All the elements were found to have density distributions closely approaching lognormal or a mixture of two lognormal populations. They all show strong positive correlations with correlation coefficient values ranging from 0.5 between Mn and Ni to 0.84 between Mn and Co, all considered to be real at 5% level of significance. R-mode factor analysis produced a three-factor model which accounts for 82.0% of the total variance in the data. Factor 1 (Cu-Co-Ni) correlates spatially with the area underlain by the amphibolite complex, thus reflecting the parent rock as dominant influencing factor. Factor 2 (Mn-Co) and the strong positive correlation between Mn and Co are interpreted as resulting from the influence of Co-adsorption by Mn-oxides. Factor 3 (Zn) is probably a mineralization factor.