Irregular checking of waste especially in some medical facilities of Ghana leads to overflow of waste. A study by World Health Organisation (WHO) in February 2018 indicates that 15% of the total waste collected from medical facilities may be infectious, toxic, or radioactive and may contribute to unintended release of chemical or biological hazards. Considering the present COVID-19 pandemic and other diseases like ebola and hantavirus, it is critical to properly manage waste collected from medical facilities. In this study, Internet of Things (IoT) is used to design a smart bin to help reduce user contact to waste. Using a flowchart, a schematic model of the system was developed using Proteus 8.11 software. Two HCSR04 ultrasonic sensors were used to measure the waste level in the bin and detect proximity of objects to the bin to trigger an MG996R servo motor for automatic operation of the lid of the waste bin having a monitoring system. A NEO-6M GPS module was used to determine the location of the waste bin and displayed on a 16x2 LCD. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) was created for remote monitoring of waste over the internet. An ESP32 node MCU was programmed using Arduino software and used to interface the system with the GUI. The designed system was constructed and incorporated into a rectangular-shaped plastic bin. During testing, a hand wave at the sensor on the side of the container triggered opening of the bin. Sample waste placed in the bin were detected and real-time information regarding waste levels were sent to a self-designed HTML webpage called ‘Smart Bin’ with dynamic IP address. This system could be used in health facilities to prevent medical waste overflow, limit human contact to waste and avoid spread of infections.
{"title":"A Contactless IoT-Based GPS-Tracked Waste Bin to Curb Medical Waste Infections in Ghana","authors":"J. Annan, N. E. Akpeke, E. A. A. Kwesi, H. Appiah","doi":"10.4314/gm.v22i1.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v22i1.8","url":null,"abstract":"Irregular checking of waste especially in some medical facilities of Ghana leads to overflow of waste. A study by World Health Organisation (WHO) in February 2018 indicates that 15% of the total waste collected from medical facilities may be infectious, toxic, or radioactive and may contribute to unintended release of chemical or biological hazards. Considering the present COVID-19 pandemic and other diseases like ebola and hantavirus, it is critical to properly manage waste collected from medical facilities. In this study, Internet of Things (IoT) is used to design a smart bin to help reduce user contact to waste. Using a flowchart, a schematic model of the system was developed using Proteus 8.11 software. Two HCSR04 ultrasonic sensors were used to measure the waste level in the bin and detect proximity of objects to the bin to trigger an MG996R servo motor for automatic operation of the lid of the waste bin having a monitoring system. A NEO-6M GPS module was used to determine the location of the waste bin and displayed on a 16x2 LCD. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) was created for remote monitoring of waste over the internet. An ESP32 node MCU was programmed using Arduino software and used to interface the system with the GUI. The designed system was constructed and incorporated into a rectangular-shaped plastic bin. During testing, a hand wave at the sensor on the side of the container triggered opening of the bin. Sample waste placed in the bin were detected and real-time information regarding waste levels were sent to a self-designed HTML webpage called ‘Smart Bin’ with dynamic IP address. This system could be used in health facilities to prevent medical waste overflow, limit human contact to waste and avoid spread of infections.","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90600049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tarkwa Gold Mine is depleting its reserves to the east of the mine, on the Tarkwaian paleo placer deposit. It has, as a result embarked on vigorous near mine exploratory works to the west of the concession for reserve generation. Results indicate gold mineralisation of economic interest. The Mine seeks to provide optimal slope design that would satisfy shareholders and employees in the context of safety, ore recovery, and financial returns. Rock Mass Rating (RMR) and subsequent adjustment to obtain the Mining Rock Mass Rating (MRMR) was done for rock characterisation. The ratings for the various geotechnical zones ranged from 40.91 to 67.72 and rated from fair to very good. Kinematic stability analyses were performed for all the three design sectors using stereographic techniques to determine the failure modes kinematically possible in bench and/or multi-bench scale slopes. Multi-bench scale planar and wedge failures were kinematically possible in all sectors. Limit equilibrium analysis gave factors of safety that exceeded the minimum acceptable factor of safety of 1.05 for completely weathered material and 1.20 for fresh rock. The probability of failure was however less than 5%. Pit wall architecture for the geotechnical domains were 8 meters, 18 meters, 75 degrees for the berm width, bench height, and bench face angle respectively. Indicative overall slope angles fell between 50.02 to 59.21 degrees and rated from fair to very good.
{"title":"Geotechnical Modeling of Optimal Pit: West Limb of the Tarkwaian of Ghana","authors":"M. Affam, M. Balegha","doi":"10.4314/gm.v22i1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v22i1.1","url":null,"abstract":"Tarkwa Gold Mine is depleting its reserves to the east of the mine, on the Tarkwaian paleo placer deposit. It has, as a result embarked on vigorous near mine exploratory works to the west of the concession for reserve generation. Results indicate gold mineralisation of economic interest. The Mine seeks to provide optimal slope design that would satisfy shareholders and employees in the context of safety, ore recovery, and financial returns. Rock Mass Rating (RMR) and subsequent adjustment to obtain the Mining Rock Mass Rating (MRMR) was done for rock characterisation. The ratings for the various geotechnical zones ranged from 40.91 to 67.72 and rated from fair to very good. Kinematic stability analyses were performed for all the three design sectors using stereographic techniques to determine the failure modes kinematically possible in bench and/or multi-bench scale slopes. Multi-bench scale planar and wedge failures were kinematically possible in all sectors. Limit equilibrium analysis gave factors of safety that exceeded the minimum acceptable factor of safety of 1.05 for completely weathered material and 1.20 for fresh rock. The probability of failure was however less than 5%. Pit wall architecture for the geotechnical domains were 8 meters, 18 meters, 75 degrees for the berm width, bench height, and bench face angle respectively. Indicative overall slope angles fell between 50.02 to 59.21 degrees and rated from fair to very good.","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83667966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Large volumes of ferrous metallurgical slags (FMS) are generated annually as waste materials from metal extraction, purification, casting and alloying processes worldwide. Some attempts have been made to use bulk FMS in metal precipitation and concrete works but little success has been achieved because of unstable precipitates and volume expansion of concrete structures. As a result, significant quantities of FMS are still disposed in landfills. This disposal leads to land conflicts and poor environmental practices. The present study focuses on the characterization and separation of iron oxide from selected bulk FMS (Cupola Furnace Slag - CFS) obtained from Ghana into constituent components for use as engineering materials. Quantitative X-ray diffractometry was used to determine the mineralogy of CFS. Iron oxide morphology and spot composition in the CFS were determined using scanning electron microscopy, combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy. The inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry was used to ascertain the chemical composition of CFS after acid digestion. Wet low intensity magnetic separation technique was employed for beneficiating iron oxides from the CFS. It is shown that the CFS is amorphous and consist of ferrous and non-ferrous material. Results of the investigation confirmed that ferrous materials in the slags can be separated using magnetic separation technique. The study further confirmed that fine grinding (- 75 µm) liberates the magnetic portions of the slag efficiently, and as such, they can be recovered using a low magnetic field. The recovery was 99.04 % and the concentrates obtained from the beneficiation process consist primarily of pigeonite, quartz, magnetite and jacobsite. The beneficiated concentrates have the capacity to adsorb arsenic from mine effluent. This study has demonstrated that, slags can be utilized as secondary resources rather than a waste.
{"title":"Beneficiation of Iron Oxides from Cupola Furnace Slags for Arsenic Removal from Mine Tailings Decant Water","authors":"B. Koomson, J. Koomson, E. Asiam","doi":"10.4314/gm.v22i1.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v22i1.5","url":null,"abstract":"Large volumes of ferrous metallurgical slags (FMS) are generated annually as waste materials from metal extraction, purification, casting and alloying processes worldwide. Some attempts have been made to use bulk FMS in metal precipitation and concrete works but little success has been achieved because of unstable precipitates and volume expansion of concrete structures. As a result, significant quantities of FMS are still disposed in landfills. This disposal leads to land conflicts and poor environmental practices. The present study focuses on the characterization and separation of iron oxide from selected bulk FMS (Cupola Furnace Slag - CFS) obtained from Ghana into constituent components for use as engineering materials. Quantitative X-ray diffractometry was used to determine the mineralogy of CFS. Iron oxide morphology and spot composition in the CFS were determined using scanning electron microscopy, combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy. The inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry was used to ascertain the chemical composition of CFS after acid digestion. Wet low intensity magnetic separation technique was employed for beneficiating iron oxides from the CFS. It is shown that the CFS is amorphous and consist of ferrous and non-ferrous material. Results of the investigation confirmed that ferrous materials in the slags can be separated using magnetic separation technique. The study further confirmed that fine grinding (- 75 µm) liberates the magnetic portions of the slag efficiently, and as such, they can be recovered using a low magnetic field. The recovery was 99.04 % and the concentrates obtained from the beneficiation process consist primarily of pigeonite, quartz, magnetite and jacobsite. The beneficiated concentrates have the capacity to adsorb arsenic from mine effluent. This study has demonstrated that, slags can be utilized as secondary resources rather than a waste.","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89344983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Following calls for comprehensive National Action Plans (NAPs) that outline training programmes for the handling of mercury and strategies for reducing emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) under the Minamata Convention, other follow-up calls intensified the need for the formalisation or regulation of ASGM in the sector. Aside from the precarious emission of mercury and hazards to the environment, the ASGM sector resorts to unsafe methods for exploiting minerals due to inadequate funding. It is not surprising that anti-mining groups constantly advocate against mining in general as a result of the harm unprofessional ASGM operators expose man and the environment to. In this light, several studies have been conducted to propose safe techniques of exploiting minerals by ASGM operators and the need for governments to regulate the sector through legal instruments. Unfortunately, the problems of ASGM seem to linger on. Notwithstanding, much attention has not been given to the formulation of procedures for accurate resource estimation and subsequent feasibility studies of ASGM, which could probably be a major cause of ASGM challenges. This study proposes Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) technique for estimating the concentration of alluvium gold. The IDW method was successfully applied to the alluvial deposit of the Mpeasem Gold Project, and practical results were obtained for economic evaluations. The total volume of alluvial gold deposits was 3.4 Mm3 at an average grade of 0.46 g/m3. Economic evaluation yielded a net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) of USD 2.8 M and 48%, respectively. The results indicate that reasonable data from outcrop sampling, pitting and trenching, and detailed cost estimates can present a more compelling case for funding. This way, the funding inadequacies which contribute to the use of shortcuts and unsafe tools, materials, and methods can be minimised.
{"title":"A Geoeconomic Planning and Evaluation Model for Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana","authors":"R. Gyebuni, K. Ansah, D. Mireku-Gyimah","doi":"10.4314/gm.v22i1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v22i1.3","url":null,"abstract":"Following calls for comprehensive National Action Plans (NAPs) that outline training programmes for the handling of mercury and strategies for reducing emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) under the Minamata Convention, other follow-up calls intensified the need for the formalisation or regulation of ASGM in the sector. Aside from the precarious emission of mercury and hazards to the environment, the ASGM sector resorts to unsafe methods for exploiting minerals due to inadequate funding. It is not surprising that anti-mining groups constantly advocate against mining in general as a result of the harm unprofessional ASGM operators expose man and the environment to. In this light, several studies have been conducted to propose safe techniques of exploiting minerals by ASGM operators and the need for governments to regulate the sector through legal instruments. Unfortunately, the problems of ASGM seem to linger on. Notwithstanding, much attention has not been given to the formulation of procedures for accurate resource estimation and subsequent feasibility studies of ASGM, which could probably be a major cause of ASGM challenges. This study proposes Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) technique for estimating the concentration of alluvium gold. The IDW method was successfully applied to the alluvial deposit of the Mpeasem Gold Project, and practical results were obtained for economic evaluations. The total volume of alluvial gold deposits was 3.4 Mm3 at an average grade of 0.46 g/m3. Economic evaluation yielded a net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) of USD 2.8 M and 48%, respectively. The results indicate that reasonable data from outcrop sampling, pitting and trenching, and detailed cost estimates can present a more compelling case for funding. This way, the funding inadequacies which contribute to the use of shortcuts and unsafe tools, materials, and methods can be minimised.","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88176374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Asare, E. Anderson, M. E. Amosah, R. Ntiri-Bekoh, G. Ofori-Sarpong
The unsafe disposal of heavy metals is a serious environmental problem all over the world as it has devastating effects on plant biodiversity as well as animal and human health. Contamination can be caused by effluents from industries and exposure of rocks containing metalloid or heavy metals such as arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). Several techniques have been used to clean up soil and water bodies contaminated with these heavy metals or metalloid. Phytoremediation is one of the emerging methods which has proven to be ecofriendly and efficient. Plants such as Colocasia esculenta have been reported to be a hyperaccumulator. However, there are concerns regarding the excessive metal uptake by the plant when grown on mercury-contaminated sites, since high Hg levels can cause toxicity in human beings. This study was thus carried out to ascertain the toxicity of C. esculenta plants cultivated in 10 ppm Hg-induced soil sample for four weeks. The concentration of mercury in soil, water and cocoyam samples decreased after 28 days of planting. Accumulation of Hg in plant tissues was measured, and Translocation Factor (TF) was calculated. TF was in the order of Root-Stem (0.60) > Root-Leaves (0.56) > Soil-Root (0.23). The results indicated that Cocoyam plants have an excellent ability to remove Hg from contaminated soils and further accumulate it in their tissues. With the threshold level of Hg at 0.0016 mg/kg body weight (FAO/WHO), the results obtained suggest that cocoyam plants grown in such contaminated areas may pose health threats to humans.
{"title":"Assessing the Toxicity of Colocassia Esculenta (Cocoyam Plant) Grown on Mercury Contaminated Soil","authors":"D. Asare, E. Anderson, M. E. Amosah, R. Ntiri-Bekoh, G. Ofori-Sarpong","doi":"10.4314/gm.v21i2.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v21i2.6","url":null,"abstract":"The unsafe disposal of heavy metals is a serious environmental problem all over the world as it has devastating effects on plant biodiversity as well as animal and human health. Contamination can be caused by effluents from industries and exposure of rocks containing metalloid or heavy metals such as arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). Several techniques have been used to clean up soil and water bodies contaminated with these heavy metals or metalloid. Phytoremediation is one of the emerging methods which has proven to be ecofriendly and efficient. Plants such as Colocasia esculenta have been reported to be a hyperaccumulator. However, there are concerns regarding the excessive metal uptake by the plant when grown on mercury-contaminated sites, since high Hg levels can cause toxicity in human beings. This study was thus carried out to ascertain the toxicity of C. esculenta plants cultivated in 10 ppm Hg-induced soil sample for four weeks. The concentration of mercury in soil, water and cocoyam samples decreased after 28 days of planting. Accumulation of Hg in plant tissues was measured, and Translocation Factor (TF) was calculated. TF was in the order of Root-Stem (0.60) > Root-Leaves (0.56) > Soil-Root (0.23). The results indicated that Cocoyam plants have an excellent ability to remove Hg from contaminated soils and further accumulate it in their tissues. With the threshold level of Hg at 0.0016 mg/kg body weight (FAO/WHO), the results obtained suggest that cocoyam plants grown in such contaminated areas may pose health threats to humans.","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81984795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Bonsa river is an important tributary of the Ankobra river in the Western Region of Ghana. The catchment of the Bonsa river has been undergoing rapid land cover changes due to human activities such as farming, illegal mining, population growth, among others which are likely to promote soil erosion and sediment yield in the river basin. To estimate the amount of soil eroded over a period and subsequent sediment yielded along the Bonsa river basin, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) to model the spatial distribution patterns in soil erosion and sediment yield within the catchment. Data used included annual rainfall records, soil map, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and land-use map of the study area. Parameters of the model were determined and converted into raster layers using the raster calculator tool in ArcMap to produce a soil erosion map. The concept of Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) was applied to determine the annual sediment yield by combining a raster SDR layer with soil erosion map. The predicted soil loss and sediment yield values were found to be low. This may be due to high soil protective cover provided by vegetation as well as low topographic relief in the river basin. Though, the elements and processes responsible for soil erosion and sediment yield prevailing in the basin was found to be low, adverse situations could be developed with time if the prevailing conditions are not checked, as soil erosion is a natural gradual slow process. The gains made could be sustained by putting measures in place to control human activities, particularly, illegal mining (galamsey) in the basin, indiscriminate cutting down of trees and farmining activities along the Bansa river basin. This study will support monitoring, planning of water resources and help to improve sustainable water quality.
{"title":"Determination of Soil Erosion and Sediment Yield in the Bonsa River Basin Using GIS and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)","authors":"A. Asare, C. B. Boye","doi":"10.4314/gm.v21i2.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v21i2.1","url":null,"abstract":"The Bonsa river is an important tributary of the Ankobra river in the Western Region of Ghana. The catchment of the Bonsa river has been undergoing rapid land cover changes due to human activities such as farming, illegal mining, population growth, among others which are likely to promote soil erosion and sediment yield in the river basin. To estimate the amount of soil eroded over a period and subsequent sediment yielded along the Bonsa river basin, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) to model the spatial distribution patterns in soil erosion and sediment yield within the catchment. Data used included annual rainfall records, soil map, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and land-use map of the study area. Parameters of the model were determined and converted into raster layers using the raster calculator tool in ArcMap to produce a soil erosion map. The concept of Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) was applied to determine the annual sediment yield by combining a raster SDR layer with soil erosion map. The predicted soil loss and sediment yield values were found to be low. This may be due to high soil protective cover provided by vegetation as well as low topographic relief in the river basin. Though, the elements and processes responsible for soil erosion and sediment yield prevailing in the basin was found to be low, adverse situations could be developed with time if the prevailing conditions are not checked, as soil erosion is a natural gradual slow process. The gains made could be sustained by putting measures in place to control human activities, particularly, illegal mining (galamsey) in the basin, indiscriminate cutting down of trees and farmining activities along the Bansa river basin. This study will support monitoring, planning of water resources and help to improve sustainable water quality.","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88257689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
I. Cobbinah, G. M. Gbedemah, Z. K. Nurudeen, A. K. Saim, R. Amankwah
On average, small-scale miners can recover gold ranging from 20% to 70% of the total available gold by the conventional gravity separation methods only. As a result of this, tailings materials from Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) operations contain a significant amount of gold, and characterisation of these materials would inform metallurgical decisions concerning reprocessing of the tailings from ASGM. In this study, size-by-size analysis, gold grade, gold deportment, and cyanidation studies were carried out on ASGM tailings samples collected from five different locations (Asankragua, Bogoso, Prestea, Wassa-Akropong, and Tarkwa) in the Western Region of Ghana. Head grades of tailings samples from Asankragua, Bogoso, Prestea, Wassa-Akropong, and Tarkwa were 1.84 g/t, 4.12 g/t, 0.45g /t, 0.17 g/t, and 5.97 g/t, respectively. The 80% (P80) of the tailings materials passed through 1.797, 0.578, 1.636, 3.210, 0.380 mm screen sizes for samples from Asankragua, Wassa-Akropong, Tarkwa, Prestea and Bogoso, respectively, with an average of 1.52 mm. Also, the gold deportment analysis revealed that the highest metal distribution of 42.03% in -106 µm size fraction for samples from Bogoso, followed by 31.0% for Wassa-Akropong, 29.7% for Tarkwa, 27.0% for Prestea, and 22.0% for Asankragua. It was shown after cyanidation test works that the highest gold recovery was 81.5%, 72.3%, 75.3%, 65.6%, and 38.5% for samples from Wassa-Akropong, Asankragwa, Prestea, Tarkwa, and Bogoso, respectively. Cyanidation can thus be employed to get higher gold recovery in ASGM.
{"title":"Characterisation of Small-Scale Gold Mining Tailings in the Western Region of Ghana","authors":"I. Cobbinah, G. M. Gbedemah, Z. K. Nurudeen, A. K. Saim, R. Amankwah","doi":"10.4314/gm.v21i2.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v21i2.4","url":null,"abstract":"On average, small-scale miners can recover gold ranging from 20% to 70% of the total available gold by the conventional gravity separation methods only. As a result of this, tailings materials from Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) operations contain a significant amount of gold, and characterisation of these materials would inform metallurgical decisions concerning reprocessing of the tailings from ASGM. In this study, size-by-size analysis, gold grade, gold deportment, and cyanidation studies were carried out on ASGM tailings samples collected from five different locations (Asankragua, Bogoso, Prestea, Wassa-Akropong, and Tarkwa) in the Western Region of Ghana. Head grades of tailings samples from Asankragua, Bogoso, Prestea, Wassa-Akropong, and Tarkwa were 1.84 g/t, 4.12 g/t, 0.45g /t, 0.17 g/t, and 5.97 g/t, respectively. The 80% (P80) of the tailings materials passed through 1.797, 0.578, 1.636, 3.210, 0.380 mm screen sizes for samples from Asankragua, Wassa-Akropong, Tarkwa, Prestea and Bogoso, respectively, with an average of 1.52 mm. Also, the gold deportment analysis revealed that the highest metal distribution of 42.03% in -106 µm size fraction for samples from Bogoso, followed by 31.0% for Wassa-Akropong, 29.7% for Tarkwa, 27.0% for Prestea, and 22.0% for Asankragua. It was shown after cyanidation test works that the highest gold recovery was 81.5%, 72.3%, 75.3%, 65.6%, and 38.5% for samples from Wassa-Akropong, Asankragwa, Prestea, Tarkwa, and Bogoso, respectively. Cyanidation can thus be employed to get higher gold recovery in ASGM.","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75086001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
To present information such as causes of accidents and their consequences on the Ghanaian mining industry in the safety literature, classification schemes for incident analysis within the safety literature were studied. Human Factor Analysis and Classification Scheme (HFACS) emerged suitable for incident analysis. Base on its suitability for incident analysis within the Ghanaian Mining Industry (GMI), a derivative of the HFACS, namely HFACS-GMI, was proposed. This research seeks to study the usefulness and the applicability of the HFACS-GMI. Collectively, 56 incident investigation reports were obtained from an open cast gold mine in Ghana and analysed using the HFACS-GMI. Two cases, an equipment damage incident and an injury incident, were used to demonstrate the coding processing in identifying the causal factors. The analysis shows that most mishaps are associated with adverse workplace/operator conditions (151 references), with the physical environment (72.2%) being cited as the major causal code under the tier. Management decision showed a major contribution (74.1%) to mishap under the causal codes. Most cases were attributed to mistake error (57.4%) followed by the contravention (51.1%) of set rules and procedures with the operator's act tiers. Inadequate work standards (27.8%) and failure to ensure competency (24.1%) under the operational process and leadership flaw causal codes, respectively, were identified as the most cited nanocode. Management decision is critical in a mishap and should be given much attention in developing accident prevention strategies. The study has demonstrated that HFACS-GMI is very useful and applicable for incident analysis within the mining industry and is recommended to study causal factors across the mines.
{"title":"Applicability and Usefulness of the HFACS-GMI","authors":"T. Joe-asare, E. Stemn, N. Amegbey","doi":"10.4314/gm.v21i2.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v21i2.5","url":null,"abstract":"To present information such as causes of accidents and their consequences on the Ghanaian mining industry in the safety literature, classification schemes for incident analysis within the safety literature were studied. Human Factor Analysis and Classification Scheme (HFACS) emerged suitable for incident analysis. Base on its suitability for incident analysis within the Ghanaian Mining Industry (GMI), a derivative of the HFACS, namely HFACS-GMI, was proposed. This research seeks to study the usefulness and the applicability of the HFACS-GMI. Collectively, 56 incident investigation reports were obtained from an open cast gold mine in Ghana and analysed using the HFACS-GMI. Two cases, an equipment damage incident and an injury incident, were used to demonstrate the coding processing in identifying the causal factors. The analysis shows that most mishaps are associated with adverse workplace/operator conditions (151 references), with the physical environment (72.2%) being cited as the major causal code under the tier. Management decision showed a major contribution (74.1%) to mishap under the causal codes. Most cases were attributed to mistake error (57.4%) followed by the contravention (51.1%) of set rules and procedures with the operator's act tiers. Inadequate work standards (27.8%) and failure to ensure competency (24.1%) under the operational process and leadership flaw causal codes, respectively, were identified as the most cited nanocode. Management decision is critical in a mishap and should be given much attention in developing accident prevention strategies. The study has demonstrated that HFACS-GMI is very useful and applicable for incident analysis within the mining industry and is recommended to study causal factors across the mines.","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91408037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The objective of this research is to establish the importance of Sample Repeatability Index (SRI) as a measure to ensure error minimisation in exploration drilling protocols, during sample preparation of the prospect areas. Almost all the stages entailed in the exploration stages involve sampling. Samples collected and prepared within the field are well checked for a good Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) methods. However, samples sent out for testing in the laboratory outside the field are not under the control of the exploration team, hence a measure must be taken to assess the efficiency of the laboratory and accuracy of the laboratory results. Sample Repeatability Index is one of the tools that can be used to ensure the degree of confidence in the laboratory results. To achieve this, QA/QC procedures were employed to monitor precision, accuracy and potential sample contamination in order to ensure confidence in the sampling system. A total of twelve thousand and eighty-one samples taken from eight different deposits, considered within a 4-year period were used in this study. Field duplicate pairs were used to check sample repeatability, Relative Difference and Half Absolute Relative Difference (HARD) plot were used to calculate Sample Repeatability Indexes for the deposits. Results of the study showed that Sample Repeatability Index for all the deposits with exception of deposit 2 fell below the Customer Specification Threshold (CST). Deposit 2 produced somewhat better of 77% at 20% precision as compared to the other deposits. Deposit 3 recorded poorly of 60% at 20% precision. It is advisable to have sampling protocol designed to suit different geological domain on each individual deposit.
{"title":"Significance of Sample Repeatability Index in the Mining Industry","authors":"E. B. Fiadonu, E. Ackah, P. Ofori-Amanfo","doi":"10.4314/gm.v21i2.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v21i2.3","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of this research is to establish the importance of Sample Repeatability Index (SRI) as a measure to ensure error minimisation in exploration drilling protocols, during sample preparation of the prospect areas. Almost all the stages entailed in the exploration stages involve sampling. Samples collected and prepared within the field are well checked for a good Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) methods. However, samples sent out for testing in the laboratory outside the field are not under the control of the exploration team, hence a measure must be taken to assess the efficiency of the laboratory and accuracy of the laboratory results. Sample Repeatability Index is one of the tools that can be used to ensure the degree of confidence in the laboratory results. To achieve this, QA/QC procedures were employed to monitor precision, accuracy and potential sample contamination in order to ensure confidence in the sampling system. A total of twelve thousand and eighty-one samples taken from eight different deposits, considered within a 4-year period were used in this study. Field duplicate pairs were used to check sample repeatability, Relative Difference and Half Absolute Relative Difference (HARD) plot were used to calculate Sample Repeatability Indexes for the deposits. Results of the study showed that Sample Repeatability Index for all the deposits with exception of deposit 2 fell below the Customer Specification Threshold (CST). Deposit 2 produced somewhat better of 77% at 20% precision as compared to the other deposits. Deposit 3 recorded poorly of 60% at 20% precision. It is advisable to have sampling protocol designed to suit different geological domain on each individual deposit.","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91136269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Kawere conglomerate at the base of the Tarkwaian Group in the Iduapriem Mine appears to show good prospect for hydrothermal gold mineralisation evidenced by major structures mapped from magnetic and Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) geophysical data. Detailed geological mapping and sampling at Badukrom target which lies within the Kawere rocks confirm the presence of multiple structures as well as quartz veins indicative of potential hydrothermal gold mineralisation. Follow up soil sampling conducted within the area revealed a strong anomalous trend from the southern portion. Two diamond drilled (DD) holes pushed to delineate the extent of the anomalous zones returned narrow veins of significant gold intersections. Twenty-five (25) samples of the Badukrom hydrothermal Au mineralisation intersects were sent for analysis to ascertain the optimum pathfinder element suite for the hydrothermal targets within the Iduapriem concession. A total of fifty-nine elements were analysed via ICP-MS and ICP-OES. Multivariate statistical evaluation was carried out on the results to understand the geochemical associations of Au and the other elements to aid future exploration programmes planned for the hydrothermal targets. Multivariate analysis of the geochemical data using Pearson product-moment of correlation suggests a stronger positive correlation of gold with Iron, Antimony, Sulphur, Chromium, Vanadium respectively. However, the Spearman Rank correlation data indicates that, the optimum pathfinder elements for hydrothermal Au are: As, Sb and Te. Keywords: Tarkwaian Base, Statistical Evaluation, Hydrothermal Mineralisation, Geochemical Data
{"title":"Multivariate Statistical Evaluation of Geochemical Data from Quartz Vein-Associated Gold Mineralisation at the Badukrom Prospect within the Tarkwaian Base","authors":"K. Osei, M. Affam, C. Kusi-Manu, D. T. Kwapong","doi":"10.4314/gm.v21i1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/gm.v21i1.3","url":null,"abstract":"The Kawere conglomerate at the base of the Tarkwaian Group in the Iduapriem Mine appears to show good prospect for hydrothermal gold mineralisation evidenced by major structures mapped from magnetic and Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) geophysical data. Detailed geological mapping and sampling at Badukrom target which lies within the Kawere rocks confirm the presence of multiple structures as well as quartz veins indicative of potential hydrothermal gold mineralisation. Follow up soil sampling conducted within the area revealed a strong anomalous trend from the southern portion. Two diamond drilled (DD) holes pushed to delineate the extent of the anomalous zones returned narrow veins of significant gold intersections. Twenty-five (25) samples of the Badukrom hydrothermal Au mineralisation intersects were sent for analysis to ascertain the optimum pathfinder element suite for the hydrothermal targets within the Iduapriem concession. A total of fifty-nine elements were analysed via ICP-MS and ICP-OES. Multivariate statistical evaluation was carried out on the results to understand the geochemical associations of Au and the other elements to aid future exploration programmes planned for the hydrothermal targets. Multivariate analysis of the geochemical data using Pearson product-moment of correlation suggests a stronger positive correlation of gold with Iron, Antimony, Sulphur, Chromium, Vanadium respectively. However, the Spearman Rank correlation data indicates that, the optimum pathfinder elements for hydrothermal Au are: As, Sb and Te. \u0000 \u0000Keywords: Tarkwaian Base, Statistical Evaluation, Hydrothermal Mineralisation, Geochemical Data","PeriodicalId":12530,"journal":{"name":"Ghana Mining Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85334724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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