Effect of small scale gold mining on rivers Jimi and Nyame at Obuasi
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Date
NOVEMBER, 2018
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Abstract
Small scale gold miners in Ghana rely mostly on water resources for gold processing
resulting in the release of harmful substances that impact negatively on water quality.
The purpose of this study was to examine the heavy metal content and physicochemical
parameters of River Nyame and River Jimi at Obuasi and its environs in Ashanti
Region of Ghana. To achieve these objective, standard methods for portable water
quality were used to examine the physicochemical parameter whilst Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer (AAS) was used to determine the concentrations of metals in the
sampled water. The study found that most of the concentrations of physicochemical
parameter such as, temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen
(DO), and metals such as mercury, zinc, lead, and manganese, as well as toxic anions
like Nitrate (NO3−
), Sulphate (SO4
2−) and Phosphate (PO4
2−) were within the prescribed
limit for water quality standards. However, the study identify higher concentrations of
Arsenic slightly above the prescribed water quality guideline values and also realized
that, the concentration of cadmium had also reached the maximum prescribed
permissible limit of 0.003 mg/L given by World Health Organization. Retrospective
analysis shows that the pH of the water bodies had influence on the concentration of
metals such as zinc, arsenic, and manganese by altering their availability and toxicity.
Although mitigation efforts have had a limited impact, it is expected that the policy
recommendations of this study if adopted and strictly adhered to will help reduce, if not
completely ameliorate the environmental ramification of small scale mining in Ghana.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master of Science Degree in Environmental Science.
Keywords
Mining, River Jimi, River Nyame, Obuasi