Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire

Ouattara Bakary; Aka Ané Maurice; Yao Kouakou Alphonse; Seka Yapoga Jean; Gnagne Essoh Yves; Yapo Ossey Bernard

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11

| Peer-Reviewed

Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire

Ouattara Bakary, Aka Ané Maurice, Yao Kouakou Alphonse, Seka Yapoga Jean, Gnagne Essoh Yves, Yapo Ossey Bernard

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 9, Issue 1)

Received: 5 December 2020 Accepted: 14 December 2020 Published: 22 January 2021

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Illegal gold mining has developed in recent years in the department of Djékanou with the rising cost of gold on the world market, due to the slump in local agricultural products and the unemployment of young people of working age. It has become an essential activity along with agriculture and farming in rural areas. It is an effective way to fight poverty. However, this practice is likely to cause significant environmental damage. Thus, to assess the environmental quality of this region prone to gold mining activity, the determination of the level of metallic contamination of environmental matrices (soils and sediments) was carried out. Four (4) soil and sediment sampling campaigns took place in dry and rainy seasons on the illegal gold mining site and near the dam, all located at about 685 m from Yobouékro, on the gold washing site of Taffissou at 3,425 m from Djékanou and at Groudji in the department of Djékanou. The sediment sampling was carried out by Strahler's method, while that of the soils was taken at random over the extent of the gold washing sites. The total concentrations of metals in the different matrices were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The analytical results show that the metal contents are lower than the natural content of each element in the earth's crust (UCC). Gold mining activities are not currently a source of metallic contamination of the environment. Also, the contamination factors recorded from the concentrations of metals are all less than 1, indicating low contamination of sediments and soils by trace metal elements despite intense gold mining activity. Notwithstanding, the evaluation of the environmental quality from the concentrations of the metals Cd, Co, Cr, Hg and Pb compared to the American guide values SQGs (TEC and PEC), it is noted that the receiving environment is contaminated only by mercury, cadmium and cyanide; the values of the other parameters studied being lower than the guide values. The two matrices mentioned above were also assayed with cyanide and the results revealed that the sites of Groudji and Taffissou are contaminated.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11
Page(s)	1-10
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Trace Elements, Physicochemistry, Geology, Gold Panning, Environment

References

[1]	Jacques, E., Orru, J.-F., and Pelon, R. (2005). Sustainable development: what place for the artisanal mine. Geoscience N ° 1 January 2005 page 67–70.
[2]	Goh Denis, 2016).
[3]	Joseph Bohbot, 2017).
[4]	Macdonald D. D, Ingersoll C. G. and Berger T. A. (2000). Development and evaluation of consensus-based sediment quality. guidelines for freshwater ecosystems. Arch. About. Con. Tox. 39: 20-31pp.
[5]	Long E. R., Macdonald D. D., Smith S. L. and Calder F. D. (1995). Incidence of adverse biological effects within ranges of chemical concentrations in marine and estuarine sediments. About. Management 199: 81-97.
[6]	Ingersoll C. G., Haverland P. S., Brunson E. L., Canfield T. J., Dwyer F. J., Henke C. E., Kemble N. E., Mount D. R. and Fox R. G. (1996). Calculation and evaluation of sediment effect concentrations for the amphipod Hyacellaazteca and the midge Chironomusriparius. J. Great lakesres. 22 pp. 2-623.
[7]	Camobreco et al., 1996.
[8]	UNEP. (2007). Manual of sediment sampling and analysis. UNEP (DEPI) / MED WG. 321 / Inf. 4, 26p.
[9]	Y. H. A. Yapi, B. K. Dongui, A. Trokourey, Y. S. S. Barima, Y. Essis and P. Atheba 2014. Evaluation of metallic pollution of underground and surface water in a gold mining environment in Hiré (Ivory Coast), Available online at http://ajol.info/index. php / ijbcs. Int. J. Biol. Chem. Sci. 8 (3): 1281-1289, June 2014. ISSN 1997-342X (Online), ISSN 1991-8631 (Print).
[10]	Atse ARM., (2007). Environmental impact study of the Bonikro gold project in Ivory Coast. French speaking Institute of Energy and Environment, moged technical sheet.
[11]	Miramond N, Miau D, and Brochard F. 2006. Diagnosis of the Acid Mining Drainage phenomenon on primary gold mines in French Guyana: Assessment of associated risks, Report, GEM Impact- DIREN, French Guyana.
[12]	N’guessan YM. 2008. Dynamism of trace elements without surface water in the agricultural watersheds of Cascogne. Doctoral thesis, Institut national polytechnique de Toulouse (INPT), University of Toulouse, Toulouse, p. 253.
[13]	Koné Mohamed., 2014. Assessment of the level of contamination of the "Nabion" river by ETM (Fe, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb) resulting from gold washing work, in the Department of Katiola.
[14]	Thesis to obtain the Diploma of Advanced Studies in Environmental Sciences and Management OPTION: Chemistry, Health and Environment, 69 pages, defended on July 29, 2014.
[15]	Jung M. C., 2001. Heavy metal contamination of soils and waters in and around the lmcheon Au-Agmine, Korea; 16: 1369-75.
[16]	Navarro M. C., Perez-Sirvent C., Martmez-Sanchez M. J., Vidal J., Tovar P. J. and Bech J., 2008. Abandoned mine sites as a source of contamination by heavy metals: A case study in a semi-arid zone. GeochemExplor; 96: 183-93.
[17]	Coulibaly A. S., Monde S., Wognin A. V., Aka K. (2009). Analysis of Metallic Trace Elements (MTE) in estuarine bays of Abidjan in Ivory Coast, Africa SCIENCE 05 (3) PP 77-96.
[18]	Gold, 2002. Mixed Dementia: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment, Vol. 50, Issue 8, Pages: 1321-1467, August 2002, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS).
[19]	Logsdon et al, 1999. Quality of life in Al Zheimer’s Disease. Patient and Caregiver Reports, University of Washington, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1999.
[20]	Joël ROAMBA, 2014. Environmental and health risks on gold mining sites in Burkina Faso: life cycle of the main pollutants and perceptions of gold washers (case of the Zougnazagmligne site in the rural commune of Bouroum, central-north region) obtaining the master's degree in water and environmental engineering, Option: water and sanitation, page 40-42, defended on October 13, 2014.
[21]	Akinpelu et al., 2015. Physical, functional, pasting and thermal properties of flours and starches of six Nigerian rice cultivars, vol. 44, February 2015, PP 478-490.
[22]	LuqueAlmagro et al., 2016. Biodegradation of cyanide wastes from mining and jewellery industries, April 2016, Current Opinion in Biotechnology 38: 9-3.
[23]	Mirizadeh et al., 2014. Biodegradation of cyanide by a new isolated strain under alkaline conditions and optimization by response surface methodology (RSM), May 2014, Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering 12 (1): 85.
[24]	Razanamahandry et al., 2016. Biodegradation of free cyanide by bacterial species isolated from cyanide-contaminated artisanal gold mining catchment area in Burkina Faso, August 2016, Chemosphere 157: 71-78
[25]	Lihong Liu, Yu Zhang, Zhaojun Yun, Bin He, Guibin, Jiang 2016. Estimation of bioaccessibility and potential human health risk of mercury in Chinese patent medicines, Journal of Environmental Sciences, Volume 39, January 2016, Pages 37-44.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Ouattara Bakary, Aka Ané Maurice, Yao Kouakou Alphonse, Seka Yapoga Jean, Gnagne Essoh Yves, et al. (2021). Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 9(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Ouattara Bakary; Aka Ané Maurice; Yao Kouakou Alphonse; Seka Yapoga Jean; Gnagne Essoh Yves, et al. Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2021, 9(1), 1-10. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Ouattara Bakary, Aka Ané Maurice, Yao Kouakou Alphonse, Seka Yapoga Jean, Gnagne Essoh Yves, et al. Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2021;9(1):1-10. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11,
  author = {Ouattara Bakary and Aka Ané Maurice and Yao Kouakou Alphonse and Seka Yapoga Jean and Gnagne Essoh Yves and Yapo Ossey Bernard},
  title = {Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-10},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20210901.11},
  abstract = {Illegal gold mining has developed in recent years in the department of Djékanou with the rising cost of gold on the world market, due to the slump in local agricultural products and the unemployment of young people of working age. It has become an essential activity along with agriculture and farming in rural areas. It is an effective way to fight poverty. However, this practice is likely to cause significant environmental damage. Thus, to assess the environmental quality of this region prone to gold mining activity, the determination of the level of metallic contamination of environmental matrices (soils and sediments) was carried out. Four (4) soil and sediment sampling campaigns took place in dry and rainy seasons on the illegal gold mining site and near the dam, all located at about 685 m from Yobouékro, on the gold washing site of Taffissou at 3,425 m from Djékanou and at Groudji in the department of Djékanou. The sediment sampling was carried out by Strahler's method, while that of the soils was taken at random over the extent of the gold washing sites. The total concentrations of metals in the different matrices were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The analytical results show that the metal contents are lower than the natural content of each element in the earth's crust (UCC). Gold mining activities are not currently a source of metallic contamination of the environment. Also, the contamination factors recorded from the concentrations of metals are all less than 1, indicating low contamination of sediments and soils by trace metal elements despite intense gold mining activity. Notwithstanding, the evaluation of the environmental quality from the concentrations of the metals Cd, Co, Cr, Hg and Pb compared to the American guide values SQGs (TEC and PEC), it is noted that the receiving environment is contaminated only by mercury, cadmium and cyanide; the values of the other parameters studied being lower than the guide values. The two matrices mentioned above were also assayed with cyanide and the results revealed that the sites of Groudji and Taffissou are contaminated.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire
AU  - Ouattara Bakary
AU  - Aka Ané Maurice
AU  - Yao Kouakou Alphonse
AU  - Seka Yapoga Jean
AU  - Gnagne Essoh Yves
AU  - Yapo Ossey Bernard
Y1  - 2021/01/22
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 1
EP  - 10
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11
AB  - Illegal gold mining has developed in recent years in the department of Djékanou with the rising cost of gold on the world market, due to the slump in local agricultural products and the unemployment of young people of working age. It has become an essential activity along with agriculture and farming in rural areas. It is an effective way to fight poverty. However, this practice is likely to cause significant environmental damage. Thus, to assess the environmental quality of this region prone to gold mining activity, the determination of the level of metallic contamination of environmental matrices (soils and sediments) was carried out. Four (4) soil and sediment sampling campaigns took place in dry and rainy seasons on the illegal gold mining site and near the dam, all located at about 685 m from Yobouékro, on the gold washing site of Taffissou at 3,425 m from Djékanou and at Groudji in the department of Djékanou. The sediment sampling was carried out by Strahler's method, while that of the soils was taken at random over the extent of the gold washing sites. The total concentrations of metals in the different matrices were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The analytical results show that the metal contents are lower than the natural content of each element in the earth's crust (UCC). Gold mining activities are not currently a source of metallic contamination of the environment. Also, the contamination factors recorded from the concentrations of metals are all less than 1, indicating low contamination of sediments and soils by trace metal elements despite intense gold mining activity. Notwithstanding, the evaluation of the environmental quality from the concentrations of the metals Cd, Co, Cr, Hg and Pb compared to the American guide values SQGs (TEC and PEC), it is noted that the receiving environment is contaminated only by mercury, cadmium and cyanide; the values of the other parameters studied being lower than the guide values. The two matrices mentioned above were also assayed with cyanide and the results revealed that the sites of Groudji and Taffissou are contaminated.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Ouattara Bakary

Polytechnic Doctoral School, Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast
Aka Ané Maurice

UFR of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources (ESMR), Felix Houphouet-Boigny University, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Yao Kouakou Alphonse

National Polytechnic Institute Félix Houphouet-Boigny (INPHB), Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast
Seka Yapoga Jean

UFR Environmental Sciences and Management, Laboratory of Environmental Sciences, Nangui Abrogoua University, Abidjan Ivory Coast
Gnagne Essoh Yves

UFR Environmental Sciences and Management, Laboratory of Environmental Sciences, Nangui Abrogoua University, Abidjan Ivory Coast
Yapo Ossey Bernard

UFR Environmental Sciences and Management, Laboratory of Environmental Sciences, Nangui Abrogoua University, Abidjan Ivory Coast

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Ouattara Bakary, Aka Ané Maurice, Yao Kouakou Alphonse, Seka Yapoga Jean, Gnagne Essoh Yves, et al. (2021). Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 9(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Ouattara Bakary; Aka Ané Maurice; Yao Kouakou Alphonse; Seka Yapoga Jean; Gnagne Essoh Yves, et al. Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2021, 9(1), 1-10. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Ouattara Bakary, Aka Ané Maurice, Yao Kouakou Alphonse, Seka Yapoga Jean, Gnagne Essoh Yves, et al. Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2021;9(1):1-10. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11,
  author = {Ouattara Bakary and Aka Ané Maurice and Yao Kouakou Alphonse and Seka Yapoga Jean and Gnagne Essoh Yves and Yapo Ossey Bernard},
  title = {Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-10},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20210901.11},
  abstract = {Illegal gold mining has developed in recent years in the department of Djékanou with the rising cost of gold on the world market, due to the slump in local agricultural products and the unemployment of young people of working age. It has become an essential activity along with agriculture and farming in rural areas. It is an effective way to fight poverty. However, this practice is likely to cause significant environmental damage. Thus, to assess the environmental quality of this region prone to gold mining activity, the determination of the level of metallic contamination of environmental matrices (soils and sediments) was carried out. Four (4) soil and sediment sampling campaigns took place in dry and rainy seasons on the illegal gold mining site and near the dam, all located at about 685 m from Yobouékro, on the gold washing site of Taffissou at 3,425 m from Djékanou and at Groudji in the department of Djékanou. The sediment sampling was carried out by Strahler's method, while that of the soils was taken at random over the extent of the gold washing sites. The total concentrations of metals in the different matrices were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The analytical results show that the metal contents are lower than the natural content of each element in the earth's crust (UCC). Gold mining activities are not currently a source of metallic contamination of the environment. Also, the contamination factors recorded from the concentrations of metals are all less than 1, indicating low contamination of sediments and soils by trace metal elements despite intense gold mining activity. Notwithstanding, the evaluation of the environmental quality from the concentrations of the metals Cd, Co, Cr, Hg and Pb compared to the American guide values SQGs (TEC and PEC), it is noted that the receiving environment is contaminated only by mercury, cadmium and cyanide; the values of the other parameters studied being lower than the guide values. The two matrices mentioned above were also assayed with cyanide and the results revealed that the sites of Groudji and Taffissou are contaminated.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Metal Contamination of an Underground Gold Picking Zone in the Department of Djekanou, Cote D’Ivoire
AU  - Ouattara Bakary
AU  - Aka Ané Maurice
AU  - Yao Kouakou Alphonse
AU  - Seka Yapoga Jean
AU  - Gnagne Essoh Yves
AU  - Yapo Ossey Bernard
Y1  - 2021/01/22
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 1
EP  - 10
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210901.11
AB  - Illegal gold mining has developed in recent years in the department of Djékanou with the rising cost of gold on the world market, due to the slump in local agricultural products and the unemployment of young people of working age. It has become an essential activity along with agriculture and farming in rural areas. It is an effective way to fight poverty. However, this practice is likely to cause significant environmental damage. Thus, to assess the environmental quality of this region prone to gold mining activity, the determination of the level of metallic contamination of environmental matrices (soils and sediments) was carried out. Four (4) soil and sediment sampling campaigns took place in dry and rainy seasons on the illegal gold mining site and near the dam, all located at about 685 m from Yobouékro, on the gold washing site of Taffissou at 3,425 m from Djékanou and at Groudji in the department of Djékanou. The sediment sampling was carried out by Strahler's method, while that of the soils was taken at random over the extent of the gold washing sites. The total concentrations of metals in the different matrices were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The analytical results show that the metal contents are lower than the natural content of each element in the earth's crust (UCC). Gold mining activities are not currently a source of metallic contamination of the environment. Also, the contamination factors recorded from the concentrations of metals are all less than 1, indicating low contamination of sediments and soils by trace metal elements despite intense gold mining activity. Notwithstanding, the evaluation of the environmental quality from the concentrations of the metals Cd, Co, Cr, Hg and Pb compared to the American guide values SQGs (TEC and PEC), it is noted that the receiving environment is contaminated only by mercury, cadmium and cyanide; the values of the other parameters studied being lower than the guide values. The two matrices mentioned above were also assayed with cyanide and the results revealed that the sites of Groudji and Taffissou are contaminated.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download