Geological Field Characteristic of the Black Shales in the Belata Formation, Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia is made up of three fundamental stratigraphic belts; the Central Belt, the Eastern Belt, and the Western Belt with little data on their shale lithologies. The Belata Formation is situated in the Western Belt and is at the southernmost part of Tanjung Malim in the Perak State bordering the Selangor State. Belata Formation falls in between the Terolak and the Karak formations to the north and south respectively. Six Carboniferous shale outcrops were discovered during fieldwork. Outcrop description, sample collection, and laboratory studies were conducted on the Belata Formation. The outcrops include shales that range from black to grey. For laboratory investigation, twenty-two samples were obtained from the shale outcrops. Total organic carbon (TOC) analyses carried out on the samples revealed an average of 3.4 wt. %. The black color is possibly introduced in these shales because of organic matter incorporated in the sediments. Hence, these shales tentatively could be regarded as potential shale gas exploration targets in the Peninsular. However, the effect of the regional rnetarnorphisrn which affected the Sibumasu Terrane should be considered even though shales are not affected by contact metamorphism due to their distance further away from the granitic intrusions.