Geo-electrical Resistivity Investigation of Iron Ore Mineral Deposits in Mbeu Area, Meru County, Kenya
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Global demand for iron and its products has increased in recent years due to the expansion of the housing, road, and railway sectors as well as machinery manufacture, making the search for additional iron ore deposits increasingly important. This study used two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to characterise the subsurface of the Mbeu area, Meru County, Kenya (approximately 0°06′24″N, 37°50′49″E). Subsurface resistivity was measured at the ground surface using an ABEM Terrameter LS2 along eleven profiles, and the apparent resistivity pseudosections were quantitatively inverted using RES2DINV software. The results delineate two principal subsurface zones: alluvium and rock enriched with iron ore, and alluvium and rock containing disseminated iron ore. Resistivity values of 17.4–406 Ωm and 208–886 Ωm are interpreted as alluvium and rock enriched with iron ore, respectively, while values of 110–487 Ωm and 542–995 Ωm correspond to alluvium and rock containing disseminated iron ore. The Mbeu deposits constitute an extensive resource occurring at both shallow and deep levels, predominantly as granular magnetite mixed with alluvium and host rock, with magnetite identified as the dominant ore mineral. Ore-bearing alluvium and rock were detected at depths of approximately 1.25–65.6 m, and beyond 65.6 m on several profiles.
Source: Research Square
Authors: Antony Odek, Jasper Mujumbe, Zipporah Wanjiku¹
Institution: Chuka University
Language: English
Subfield: Geophysics
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204088232