Chapter One

Introduction

Background to the Study

Quarry is the excavation, extraction and breaking of stones into aggregates for construction purposes such as bridges, houses, roads, railways and others[1] . Abakaliki before the coming of the quarry industry at Onuebonyi-Izzi in Abakaliki Local Government Area, Ebonyi state, earned their livelihood mainly through agriculture. About 85% 0f Abakaliki population are farmers. Very little of the agricultural production is mechanized and so the industry depends almost entirely on family labour[2] .

Abakaliki is the capital of the present day Ebonyi State in South eastern Nigeria. The inhabitants are primarily members of the Igbo ethnic nation. It used to be parts of both Anambra and Enugu States before the creation of Ebonyi State in 1996. Abakaliki town lies at the intersection of the Enugu, Afikpo and Ogoja roads. It is a leading producer of processed rice, yam and cassava for decades. Abakaliki has an estimated population of 141, 438 according to the 2006 census[3] .

Naturally, Abakaliki is endowed with two typical but very important stones namely shale/sedimentary and granite[4] . These stones are predominant in Onuebonyi-Izzi, Ezzamgbo (Odomoke) and Ezillo; but the focus of the study is mainly on Onuebonyi-Izzi in Abakaliki Local Government Area. See map 1. These stone types constitute construction aggregates, most of which are quarried

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