A review of the Birimian Supergroup- and Tarkwaian Group-hosted gold deposits of Ghana

Smith, Albertus J.B.; Henry, George W.; Frost-Killian, Susan

doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2016/v39i2/95775

Cited by 36 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…The Pra River, together with its tributaries, forms the largest river basin of the three principal southwestern basin systems of Ghana, that is, Ankobra, Tano, and Pra (Water Resources Commission, 2012). The study area consists of six rock series (Birimian Volcanic, Dahomeyan, Birimian Sediment, Tarkwaian, Upper Voltaian, and Sekondian), with the Tarkwaian and Birimian series rich in gold deposit (Augustin & Gaboury, 2017;Smith, Henry, & Frost-Killian, 2016;Tetteh & Effisah-Otoo, 2017).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring land use and land cover changes due to extensive gold mining, urban expansion, and agriculture in the Pra River Basin of Ghana, 1986–2025

et al. 2018

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This study used the double cumulative curve and visual image interpretation methods for the selection of spatiotemporal Landsat data to evaluate the land degradation by anthropogenic activities in the Pra River Basin (PRB) of Ghana. Unsupervised and supervised classification procedures were used to map the land use and land cover (LULC) distribution from 1986 to 2016. Assessment of LULC showed that the PRB has been subjected to six different rates of land degradation in the years 1986, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2013, and 2016. This is due to increase in settlement, cropland, and mining activities to about 130%, 198%, and 304%, respectively. The Markov chain and cellular automation integrated model was successful in predicting LULC distribution in 2016 and the outcomes were comparable to the actual LULC for 2016. The projected LULC for 2025 showed that land degradation is significant in the western and the eastern parts where cropland and forest are, respectively, converted to mining activity. The northern, southern, and middle parts of PRB are expected to experience high settlement expansion, sedimentation in the rivers, and cropland expansion, respectively. The results will aid natural resources management, planning, and sustainable development at PRB. In addition, the research method serves as guideline for other related studies in an attempt to investigate, quantify, and project LULC change in forest ecological areas.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring land use and land cover changes due to extensive gold mining, urban expansion, and agriculture in the Pra River Basin of Ghana, 1986–2025

et al. 2018

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“…The As levels in the sediment core subsequently decreased from the 1930s to the 1950s (Figure ). In the periods following the 1950s, the progressive increase in the As concentrations coincided with the advent of large‐scale mining in the Ashanti Region and its environs (Smith, Henry, & Frost‐Killian, ), with attendant release of As from arsenopyrites rocks into environmental media. The average concentrations of Hg across the sediment core ranged between 0.01 ± 0.001 and 0.04 ± 0.013 mg/kg, without exhibiting any clear trend (Figure ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentation and sediment core profile of heavy metals in the Owabi reservoir in Ghana

et al. 2019

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Tropical reservoirs are important for numerous socioeconomic and ecological reasons, including water supply, fishing and flood control. These functions are easily compromised, however, when reservoirs undergo accelerated sedimentation with increased inputs of chemical contaminants. The present study applied the concept of sediment core analysis to evaluate the sedimentation rate in Owabi Reservoir, which has served as a source of drinking water supply in Kumasi, Ghana, for nearly a century. The temporal variation of contamination from heavy metals was also assessed over this period. The sedimentation rate for Owabi Reservoir was estimated to be 6.82 mm/year, suggesting a relatively low rate of sedimentation, which is ecologically healthy in preventing a rapid loss of reservoir water volume. Heavy metal concentrations in the sediment cores taken from the reservoir reflected varying degree of contamination from the 1930s to 2010s. The concentration of iron (Fe) (1,560–1,770 mg/kg) was found to be the highest among the metals in the sediment core, while mercury (Hg) concentration (0.01–0.04 mg/kg) was the lowest. Lead (Pb) contamination peaked in the 1980s. Arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) contamination exhibited more recent peaks in the 2000s, coinciding with recent widespread issues of artisanal and small‐scale gold mining (ASGM) in Ghana. Thus, even though ASGM activities are known to occur in remote districts, releases from such activities might eventually contaminate reservoirs designated as urban drinking water supplies.

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“…Ghana is rich in mineral resources, including gold, diamonds, bauxite, manganese, and—more recently—oil and gas. Dating back to the 4 th century (Gbireh et al 2009 ), gold mining has a long and important history in the county, especially in the Birimian and Takwain gold belts in the Ashanti, Western and Central Regions (Hilson 2002 ; Smith et al 2016 ). In 2019, the mining sector contributed 4.5% to the country’s real gross domestic product (GSS 2018 ).…”

Section: Ghana’s Mining Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Participatory Spatial Tools to Unravel Community Perceptions of Land-Use Dynamics in a Mine-Expanding Landscape in Ghana

Aggrey

Ros-Tonen

Asubonteng

2021

Environmental Management

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Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in sub-Saharan Africa creates considerable dynamics in rural landscapes. Many studies addressed the adverse effects of mining, but few studies use participatory spatial tools to assess the effects on land use. Hence, this paper takes an actor perspective to analyze how communities in a mixed farming-mining area in Ghana’s Eastern Region perceive the spatial dynamics of ASM and its effects on land for farming and food production from past (1986) to present (2018) and toward the future (2035). Participatory maps show how participants visualize the transformation of food-crop areas into small- and large-scale mining, tree crops, and settlement in all the communities between 1986 and 2018 and foresee these trends to continue in the future (2035). Participants also observe how a mosaic landscape shifts toward a segregated landscape, with simultaneous fragmentation of their farming land due to ASM. Further segregation is expected in the future, with attribution to the expansion of settlements being an unexpected outcome. Although participants expect adverse effects on the future availability of food-crop land, no firm conclusions can be drawn about the anticipated effect on food availability. The paper argues that, if responsibly applied and used to reveal community perspectives and concerns about landscape dynamics, participatory mapping can help raise awareness of the need for collective action and contribute to more inclusive landscape governance. These findings contribute to debates on the operationalization of integrated and inclusive landscape approaches and governance, particularly in areas with pervasive impacts of ASM.

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A review of the Birimian Supergroup- and Tarkwaian Group-hosted gold deposits of Ghana

Abstract: 178disseminations concordant with regional faults and shears. A gold-bearing fluid similar to that for the Birimian Supergroup-hosted quartz vein gold mineralisation, but with a larger H 2 O component, is proposed to have formed the granitoid-hosted gold mineralisation.

Cited by 36 publications

References 63 publications

Monitoring land use and land cover changes due to extensive gold mining, urban expansion, and agriculture in the Pra River Basin of Ghana, 1986–2025

Monitoring land use and land cover changes due to extensive gold mining, urban expansion, and agriculture in the Pra River Basin of Ghana, 1986–2025

Sedimentation and sediment core profile of heavy metals in the Owabi reservoir in Ghana

Using Participatory Spatial Tools to Unravel Community Perceptions of Land-Use Dynamics in a Mine-Expanding Landscape in Ghana

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