Management of Acid Mine Drainage within a Wetland in the Tarkwa Area

Abstract

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is an environmental phenomenon that is being experienced by some surface mining companies in Ghana. Consequently, there is the need to generate information and expand local expertise base in handling this phenomenon. This work explored the sustainable anaerobic wetland mitigation method for the management of this phenomenon. Results of water analysis showed that the pH at the acidic effluent discharge area is 4.4 but then it increased gradually to pH of 7.5 in the wetland. The study identified a sulphate reducing bacterium (Desulfovibrio desulfuricans) in the wetland, whose activity produced OH- ions that raised the pH of the acidic effluent resulting in the precipitation of heavy metals like iron, lead and nickel. Consequently, if the natural anaerobic remediation is engineered, the effluent from the AMD can be treated and discharged without causing any significant adverse impact to the geo-environment