Abstract
Sandstones from Qwa Qwa in South Africa were
characterised for their mineralogical and physical properties.
Six samples (whitish, greenish, blackish, reddish, yellowish and
greyish) were collected and studied. The X-ray Diffraction
(XRD) revealed that the samples were quartz based. Scanning
Electron Microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray
spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) revealed the differences in the
morphology and Silicon element was found present in all the
samples. The X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) exhibited that the
samples contained 43.14% of Silicon (whitish). The grain sizes
of the samples ranged from coarse, medium to fine grains. The
Greyish sample had the highest compressive strength value of
56.74 MPa. Dielectric properties measurements were also
conducted on the samples; and the results were temperature
dependant. The water absorption by total immersion revealed
that the blackish sand stones had the highest percentage of
6.62%.