Environmental Geochemistry of Mine Tailings Soils in the Artisanal Gold Mining District of Betare -Oya, Cameroon

Manga, Veronica E.; Neba, Gladys Nchang; Suh, Cheo Emmanuel

doi:10.5539/ep.v6n1p52

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The potential for elements present in soils and sediments to be mobilized/ immobilized and be redistributed depends on several factors such as organic matter, type and amount of clay, pH and the prevailing redox conditions; and pathways. These elements can easily be mobilized and transmitted through for example, water and the food chain to humans (Manga et al, 2017). Therefore, there is great need to investigate the physicochemical properties of soils for agricultural and environmental purposes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selected physicochemical properties and quality of soils around some rivers of Cameroon

Fomenky¹,

Tening²,

Chuyong³

et al. 2018

J. Soil Sci. Environ. Manage.

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Rivers Wouri and Meme feed the Wouri and Rio del Rey mangroves of Cameroon, respectively. This study examined the physicochemical properties of soils that were collected around the vicinity of these rivers. This was to ascertain the former's role in controlling the movement of chemical entities into these rivers and nutrient quality. Twenty-one surface soil samples were collected (0-20 cm depth) within the vicinity of both rivers and analyzed for their physicochemical properties using standard methods. All the soils were slightly acidic, probably dominated by kaolinitic clay minerals and sesquioxides. The mean ECEC (4.31 cmol/kg) of soils around River Wouri was higher than that (2.94 cmol/kg) of soils around River Meme. The average clay content of 11% in soils around River Meme was more than that (4%) in soils around River Wouri, suggesting that the higher ECEC of soils from Wouri could be contributed by organic matter and soil moisture content. The latter had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.82, p<0.05) with organic matter and clay, respectively, in soils from Wouri. There was also a significant difference (p< 0.01) in Mg (with higher levels in D soils) and in Na (with higher levels in M soils). There was yet other significant differences (p< 0.05) in sand (with higher values in M soils) and in clay (with higher contents in M soils). This again could be an indication that the mineralogical content of the soils could be different. The soils around both rivers have low major nutrients though more depleted around River Wouri and are vulnerable to increases in anthropogenic activities, such as farming practices, industrial and municipal waste disposal. A more stringent legislation about environmental management, as well as studies about the mineralogical composition of soils is recommended.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selected physicochemical properties and quality of soils around some rivers of Cameroon

Fomenky¹,

Tening²,

Chuyong³

et al. 2018

J. Soil Sci. Environ. Manage.

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“…Because stream sediments are an essential and dynamic component of catchments, they reflect the average chemical composition of the mixture of soils, sediments and rocks [ 32 ]. In this regard, the trace metal contents in this study were presented alongside local background levels in soils [ 49 ] and mean concentrations in ferralsols of the Sub-Saharan Africa region [ 75 ]. All trace metal concentrations (with corresponding data in local soils) in the Lom sediments were lower than the mean levels in local soils.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Geochemical background: median; Geochemical background threshold: median + 2 (median absolute deviation); metal concentrations in local soil are adapted from Manga et al [ 49 ] while data for ferralsols are after Towett et al [ 75 ] …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, baseline geochemical mapping of a watershed such as the Lom Basin which includes an important mining site is crucial for future environmental assessment. This region is an important prospective area for gold with extensive research having been carried out on the secondary alluvial gold and primary gold mineralization [ 44 – 48 ], soil quality [ 49 , 50 ] and water quality [ 51 ]. On the other hand, there have been no studies on the geochemistry of active bottom sediments for environmental purposes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regional geochemical baseline concentration of potentially toxic trace metals in the mineralized Lom Basin, East Cameroon: a tool for contamination assessment

et al. 2018

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The distribution of trace metals in active stream sediments from the mineralized Lom Basin has been evaluated. Fifty-five bottom sediments were collected and the mineralogical composition of six pulverized samples determined by XRD. The fine fraction (< 150 µm) was subjected to total digestion (HClO4 + HF + HCl) and analyzed for trace metals using a combination of ICP-MS and AAS analytical methods. Results show that the mineralogy of stream sediments is dominated by quartz (39–86%), phyllosilicates (0–45%) and feldspars (0–27%). Mean concentrations of the analyzed metals are low (e.g. As = 99.40 µg/kg, Zn = 573.24 µg/kg, V = 963.14 µg/kg and Cr = 763.93 µg/kg). Iron and Mn have significant average concentrations of 28.325 and 442 mg/kg, respectively. Background and threshold values of the trace metals were computed statistically to determine geochemical anomalies of geologic or anthropogenic origin, particularly mining activity. Factor analysis, applied on normalized data, identified three associations: Ni–Cr–V–Co–As–Se–pH, Cu–Zn–Hg–Pb–Cd–Sc and Fe–Mn. The first association is controlled by source geology and the neutral pH, the second by sulphide mineralization and the last by chemical weathering of ferromagnesian minerals. Spatial analysis reveals similar distribution trends for Co–Cr–V–Ni and Cu–Zn–Pb–Sc reflecting the lithology and sulphide mineralization in the basin. Relatively high levels of As were concordant with reported gold occurrences in the area while Fe and Mn distribution are consistent with their source from the Fe-bearing metamorphic rocks. These findings provide baseline geochemical values for common and parallel geological domains in the eastern region of Cameroon. Although this study shows that the stream sediments are not polluted, the evaluation of metal composition in environmental samples from abandoned and active mine sites for comparison and environmental health risk assessment is highly recommended.

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“…Such as pH, organic matter, clay type and redox conditions. The chemical properties could transmitted easily from water to human through the food chain (Manga et al, 2017). Therefore, it is important to obtain ideal physicochemical properties in accordance with environmental purpose and agricultural needs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Quality and the Selection of Physicochemical Properties around Maro Rivers in Merauke Papua

Sumani¹,

Supriyadi²,

Masiyah³

et al. 2020

MAS

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Merauke Regency has 216.196 Ha of mangroves area which most of it was fed by the Maro River. The purpose of this research was to study the chemical, nutrient movement, and physiochemical properties by collecting the soil around the Maro River. 10 collected soil samples (0-20 cm depth) were analyzed using standard methods. The result showed that the average CEC of soils around River Maro is 15.95 cmol/kg. Organic matter and soil moisture content could be the contributor to enhance the CEC of soil. The average organic carbon was 1.34%, while the BOD and COD were 2.44 and 5.70 mg/L. Soil could have different mineralogical content which nutrient around Maro is decreasing due to waste disposal to the river, agricultural practice, and other human activities. Environmental management needs to reevaluate and studies about soil mineralogy strongly recommended.

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Environmental Geochemistry of Mine Tailings Soils in the Artisanal Gold Mining District of Betare -Oya, Cameroon

Cited by 16 publications

References 20 publications

Selected physicochemical properties and quality of soils around some rivers of Cameroon

Selected physicochemical properties and quality of soils around some rivers of Cameroon

Regional geochemical baseline concentration of potentially toxic trace metals in the mineralized Lom Basin, East Cameroon: a tool for contamination assessment

Soil Quality and the Selection of Physicochemical Properties around Maro Rivers in Merauke Papua

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