General Geology of Kijal area in Terengganu with emphasize on Characterization of Carbonaceous Slate

Kijal area is located on the southern part of Terengganu, where Sungai Perlis Beds
are exposed on the surface. Sungai Perlis Bed that consists of metasediments, such as
slate, carbonaceous slate and quartzite has been found in the study area. Granite,
which might be a part of the Eastern Granite Belt, is also found in Kijal area.
Geological fieldwork has been conducted to construct geological map of Kijal area,
petrographic study (thin section) for identifying the mineral of the rock samples and
chemical analyses (TOC analysis, XRF analysis and SEM/EDX analysis) have been
conducted to characterize the carbonaceous slate. Based on petrographic study, the
rock types of the study area has been confirmed, which consists of slate, quartzite
and granite. As for characterization of carbonaceous slate, it can be characterised
according to their sample colour as well as chemical contents. The colour of the
carbonaceous slate ranges from grey to black. In terms of chemical contents, the
TOC content of carbonaceous slate in Kijal area ranges from 0.223% to 8.81%. The
organic carbon content increases towards the eastern part of Kijal area suggests that
the eastern part might be the deepest part of the shallow marine environment and
have good potential for source rock. In terms of oxides, carbonaceous slates are
dominant in SiO2, Al2O3, and K2O, which indicated that the carbonaceous slate are
controlled by silicate minerals, particularly quartz, have abundance of feldspar and
clay minerals (kaolinite) as well as it is related to the presence of authigenic Kfeldspar.
Whereas, the low concentration of MgO and CaO suggests that the samples
did not associate with carbonate or dolomitization.