Some Aspects of the Geology and Environmental Impact Assessment of a Proposed Gold Mining Site X in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Gold, mining, degradation, reclamation, social impactsAbstract
Proposed Gold mining Site X is located on Nigerian basement rocks in the Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State. The geology and geochemistry of the rock formations in a mining site contribute significantly to understanding the economics of the mineral deposits and the impacts on the environment, particularly the surface and groundwater viz-a-viz the health of the community inhabitants, soil, vegetation and other salient parameters, including weather conditions and socio-economy of the people. The geology and geochemistry of rock units, soils, stream sediments and water of Site X indicate rich deposits of Gold attractive for exploitation, concentrated in three delineated portions of the site as “Concentrates” A, B, C. With these results and impending mining of the gold deposits, some aspects of the environmental impact of mining the gold resources have been studied and reported herein. This is to ensure successful mining operations with minimum negative impacts on the surrounding environment when the applicant mining company obtains a mining lease from the Mining Cadastre Office. The lessons to learn are that a successful economic development depends on rational use of natural resources and on reducing as far as possible the adverse environmental and social impacts of developmental projects.
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