Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone

Ishmail Sheriff; Eldred Tunde Taylor; Alusine Bai Kamara; Abdul Sannoh

doi:doi:10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11

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Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone

Ishmail Sheriff, Eldred Tunde Taylor, Alusine Bai Kamara, Abdul Sannoh

Published in Earth Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 5)

Received: 18 July 2018 Accepted: 8 August 2018 Published: 6 September 2018

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Abstract

Access to clean water and sanitation is the centerpiece of Africa water vision 2025 and Goal six (6) of the 2030 UN agenda for Sustainable Development. Considering the current national WASH regulatory structures in Sierra Leone, meeting these targets enshrined in the policy documents would be a critical challenge for the government. The overarching objectives sought by the study were to determine the available composition of physio-chemical parameters and evaluate impact of mine tailings on nearby water bodies within the operational areas of Sierra Rutile Mining Company Limited. Twenty-four (24) water samples obtained from six (6) streams were tested for seventeen (17) physical and chemical parameters. About 30% of the indicators were noted to be above the permissible limit of water quality standard in almost all of the sampling sites. A pattern of decrease concentration downstream for Zn, Pb and Cu was observed but those at the tailing points were noted otherwise. The results revealed that mining activities have to an extent negative impact on the local water sources. Consequently, certain indicators were considered to be of public health concern considering their baseline levels. It would be necessary for the company to examine the mechanism of discharge of tailings and strengthen the environmental surveillance within its concessionary areas to enhance sustainability with the ultimate goal to improve environmental performance.

Published in	Earth Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11
Page(s)	202-208
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), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Tailing, Water Quality, Physico-Chemical, Impact, Chemicals

References

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APA Style

Ishmail Sheriff, Eldred Tunde Taylor, Alusine Bai Kamara, Abdul Sannoh. (2018). Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone. Earth Sciences, 7(5), 202-208. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11

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ACS Style

Ishmail Sheriff; Eldred Tunde Taylor; Alusine Bai Kamara; Abdul Sannoh. Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone. Earth Sci. 2018, 7(5), 202-208. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11

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AMA Style

Ishmail Sheriff, Eldred Tunde Taylor, Alusine Bai Kamara, Abdul Sannoh. Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone. Earth Sci. 2018;7(5):202-208. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11

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@article{10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11,
  author = {Ishmail Sheriff and Eldred Tunde Taylor and Alusine Bai Kamara and Abdul Sannoh},
  title = {Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {7},
  number = {5},
  pages = {202-208},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20180705.11},
  abstract = {Access to clean water and sanitation is the centerpiece of Africa water vision 2025 and Goal six (6) of the 2030 UN agenda for Sustainable Development. Considering the current national WASH regulatory structures in Sierra Leone, meeting these targets enshrined in the policy documents would be a critical challenge for the government. The overarching objectives sought by the study were to determine the available composition of physio-chemical parameters and evaluate impact of mine tailings on nearby water bodies within the operational areas of Sierra Rutile Mining Company Limited. Twenty-four (24) water samples obtained from six (6) streams were tested for seventeen (17) physical and chemical parameters. About 30% of the indicators were noted to be above the permissible limit of water quality standard in almost all of the sampling sites. A pattern of decrease concentration downstream for Zn, Pb and Cu was observed but those at the tailing points were noted otherwise. The results revealed that mining activities have to an extent negative impact on the local water sources. Consequently, certain indicators were considered to be of public health concern considering their baseline levels. It would be necessary for the company to examine the mechanism of discharge of tailings and strengthen the environmental surveillance within its concessionary areas to enhance sustainability with the ultimate goal to improve environmental performance.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone
AU  - Ishmail Sheriff
AU  - Eldred Tunde Taylor
AU  - Alusine Bai Kamara
AU  - Abdul Sannoh
Y1  - 2018/09/06
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11
T2  - Earth Sciences
JF  - Earth Sciences
JO  - Earth Sciences
SP  - 202
EP  - 208
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5982
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11
AB  - Access to clean water and sanitation is the centerpiece of Africa water vision 2025 and Goal six (6) of the 2030 UN agenda for Sustainable Development. Considering the current national WASH regulatory structures in Sierra Leone, meeting these targets enshrined in the policy documents would be a critical challenge for the government. The overarching objectives sought by the study were to determine the available composition of physio-chemical parameters and evaluate impact of mine tailings on nearby water bodies within the operational areas of Sierra Rutile Mining Company Limited. Twenty-four (24) water samples obtained from six (6) streams were tested for seventeen (17) physical and chemical parameters. About 30% of the indicators were noted to be above the permissible limit of water quality standard in almost all of the sampling sites. A pattern of decrease concentration downstream for Zn, Pb and Cu was observed but those at the tailing points were noted otherwise. The results revealed that mining activities have to an extent negative impact on the local water sources. Consequently, certain indicators were considered to be of public health concern considering their baseline levels. It would be necessary for the company to examine the mechanism of discharge of tailings and strengthen the environmental surveillance within its concessionary areas to enhance sustainability with the ultimate goal to improve environmental performance.
VL  - 7
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Ishmail Sheriff

Institute of Environmental Management and Quality Control, Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone
Eldred Tunde Taylor

Institute of Environmental Management and Quality Control, Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone
Alusine Bai Kamara

Institute of Environmental Management and Quality Control, Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone
Abdul Sannoh

United Nation Development Program, Global Environment Facility/Small Grant Program, Freetown, Sierra Leone

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Ishmail Sheriff, Eldred Tunde Taylor, Alusine Bai Kamara, Abdul Sannoh. (2018). Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone. Earth Sciences, 7(5), 202-208. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11

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ACS Style

Ishmail Sheriff; Eldred Tunde Taylor; Alusine Bai Kamara; Abdul Sannoh. Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone. Earth Sci. 2018, 7(5), 202-208. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11

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AMA Style

Ishmail Sheriff, Eldred Tunde Taylor, Alusine Bai Kamara, Abdul Sannoh. Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone. Earth Sci. 2018;7(5):202-208. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11,
  author = {Ishmail Sheriff and Eldred Tunde Taylor and Alusine Bai Kamara and Abdul Sannoh},
  title = {Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {7},
  number = {5},
  pages = {202-208},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20180705.11},
  abstract = {Access to clean water and sanitation is the centerpiece of Africa water vision 2025 and Goal six (6) of the 2030 UN agenda for Sustainable Development. Considering the current national WASH regulatory structures in Sierra Leone, meeting these targets enshrined in the policy documents would be a critical challenge for the government. The overarching objectives sought by the study were to determine the available composition of physio-chemical parameters and evaluate impact of mine tailings on nearby water bodies within the operational areas of Sierra Rutile Mining Company Limited. Twenty-four (24) water samples obtained from six (6) streams were tested for seventeen (17) physical and chemical parameters. About 30% of the indicators were noted to be above the permissible limit of water quality standard in almost all of the sampling sites. A pattern of decrease concentration downstream for Zn, Pb and Cu was observed but those at the tailing points were noted otherwise. The results revealed that mining activities have to an extent negative impact on the local water sources. Consequently, certain indicators were considered to be of public health concern considering their baseline levels. It would be necessary for the company to examine the mechanism of discharge of tailings and strengthen the environmental surveillance within its concessionary areas to enhance sustainability with the ultimate goal to improve environmental performance.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Impact of Tailings on Surrounding Streams at a Mining Area in Sierra Leone
AU  - Ishmail Sheriff
AU  - Eldred Tunde Taylor
AU  - Alusine Bai Kamara
AU  - Abdul Sannoh
Y1  - 2018/09/06
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11
T2  - Earth Sciences
JF  - Earth Sciences
JO  - Earth Sciences
SP  - 202
EP  - 208
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5982
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180705.11
AB  - Access to clean water and sanitation is the centerpiece of Africa water vision 2025 and Goal six (6) of the 2030 UN agenda for Sustainable Development. Considering the current national WASH regulatory structures in Sierra Leone, meeting these targets enshrined in the policy documents would be a critical challenge for the government. The overarching objectives sought by the study were to determine the available composition of physio-chemical parameters and evaluate impact of mine tailings on nearby water bodies within the operational areas of Sierra Rutile Mining Company Limited. Twenty-four (24) water samples obtained from six (6) streams were tested for seventeen (17) physical and chemical parameters. About 30% of the indicators were noted to be above the permissible limit of water quality standard in almost all of the sampling sites. A pattern of decrease concentration downstream for Zn, Pb and Cu was observed but those at the tailing points were noted otherwise. The results revealed that mining activities have to an extent negative impact on the local water sources. Consequently, certain indicators were considered to be of public health concern considering their baseline levels. It would be necessary for the company to examine the mechanism of discharge of tailings and strengthen the environmental surveillance within its concessionary areas to enhance sustainability with the ultimate goal to improve environmental performance.
VL  - 7
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download