Cenozoic

Cretaceous

Information provided by geoscience team at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria --see About

Select Region(s) to search
Hold Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or Command (Mac) to select multiple

Batati Ironstone Formation

Batati Ironstone Fm

Period:

Cretaceous

Age Interval:

Mid – Late Maastrichtian

Province:
Bida Basin- North and Central

Type Locality and Naming

The Batati Ironstone Fm consists of two members – the Edozhigiwhich is the top of the sequence and Kutugi Ironstone members at the bottom of the unit (Adeleye, 1972).

Reference section: Reyment,1965; Adeleye,1975; Dessauvagie, 1975; Kogbe, 1976; Petters, 1978; Offodile, 1980; Whiteman, 1982; Benkhelil,1989; Okosun, 1992; Guiraud, 1993; Akande et al., 1998; Zaborski et al., 1998; Jauro et al., 2007; Obaje, 2009; Nwajide, 2013

[Fig. 1 Stratigraphic successions in the Mid-Niger Basin (also known as Bida or Nupe Basin)]

Lithology and Thickness

The Batati Formation consists of clayey, oolitic and goethitic ironstones with ferruginous claystone and siltstone intercalations and shaly beds occurring in minor proportions, some of which have yielded nearshore shallow marine to freshwater fauna (Adeleye, 1973). The upper Edozhigi Member consists of goethitic and oolitic ironstones whereas the underlying Kutugi Member consists of mixed goethitic and kaolinitic oolites (Whiteman, 1982). The Edozhigi Member ranges from 1-15m in thickness while the Kutugi Member has a maximum thickness of 2m (Nwajide, 2013).

Lithology Pattern:

Continental marl

Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Overlies the Enagi Siltstone Fm

Upper contact

Overlain by Quaternary alluvial deposits

Regional extent

Central/Northern Bida Basin

GeoJSON

{"type":"Feature","geometry":{"type":"MultiPolygon","coordinates":[[[[4.5,9.6],[4.9,9.3],[5,9],[6.1,8.6],[6.56,8.7],[6.9,9],[5.1,10.3],[4.6,9.7],[4.5,9.6]]]]}}

Fossils

pollen and spores, ammonites, bivalves, and gastropods

Age

Late Cretaceous (upper Maastrichtian; but with K/T hiatus at top)

Age Span:

Beginning stage:

Maastrichtian

Fraction up in beginning stage:

0.5

Beginning date (Ma):

69.11

Ending stage:

Maastrichtian

Fraction up in the ending stage:

0.85

Ending date (Ma):

66.96

Depositional setting

Near shore shallow-water marine to freshwater conditions (Adeleye, 1972)

Depositional pattern:

Additional Information

Compiler:

Enam O. Obiosio, Solomon Joshua Avong and Henry Nasir Suleiman (2024)- Stratigraphic Lexicon compiled from the following books:

Nigeria: Its Petroleum Geology, Resources and Potential, by Arthur Whiteman, 1982; (Volume 1) Published by Graham and Trotman Ltd.

A review of the Cretaceous System in Nigeria by P. M. Zaborski (1998) In Africa Geoscience Review, Vol.5, No.4, pp385-483.

Geology and Mineral Resources of Nigeria by Nuhu George Obaje, Published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009; http://www.springer.com/series/772.

Geology of Nigeria Sedimentary Basins, Nwajide C. S., 2013; Published by CSS Bookshops Limited, Lagos Nigeria.