Mineralogical and geochemical study of bentonite deposits of Garhi Chandan area, District Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The Pliocene-Pleistocene Ghari Chandan Formation consists of lacustrine-fluvio-deltaic deposits exposed in the Attock-Cherat Range. Three beds of bentonite deposits occur in the upper part of the formation. An average thickness of each layer ranges from 0.4 to 1 m with a total strike length of ~5 Km. Montmorillonite and saponite clay minerals with admixtures of quartz, feldspar, muscovite, biotite, and hornblende were identified in these samples. Compositionally these beds are similar and comprised of dioctahedral smectite. The differential thermal analyses of bentonite reveals high thermal stability of the deposits. Detailed mineralogical and geochemical investigations suggest that the Garhi Chandan deposit is a mixture of calcic and sodic bentonite derived from andesitic and trachyandesitic source rock. Heavy metal concentration reduces the overall adsorbing capacity of the deposit.