Heavy Metal Pollution Index of Surface Water and Groundwater Around Tongon Mine (Côte d’Ivoire)

Abstract

Water is a valued resource, which is increasingly being threatened by mining activity. Monitoring of surface water and groundwater quality around gold mine is essential in terms of heavy metals and toxic substances. The northern zone of Côte d'Ivoire where located Tongon is a highly mineralised zone, with extensive mining of gold. The quality of water resources in this region may be affected by the activity of the Tongon mine, which is the main gold mine in the region. The objectives of this study were to determine the concentration of heavy metals and the Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI) in surface water and groundwater around Tongon mine. The concentrations of As, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Mn have been evaluated at 21 surface water and 16 groundwater sampling stations. The concentration of these metals were analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for heavy metal pollution indexing. The concentrations of As, Pb, Cr, Cu and Mn in surface water were found to be above the highest desirable limit of WHO drinking water standard with mean concentrations of 5.761, 0.016, 0.178, 2.939, and 0.684 mg/L, respectively. Excepted As (2.95 mg/L) and Mn (0.67 mg/L), the metal concentrations in groundwater were well below the permissible limits of WHO drinking water standard. The Heavy Metal Pollution Index was used to evaluate surface water and groundwater quality. The results showed that, in the groundwater samples, HPI values (48.56-72.49) were less than 100, indicating a low-level heavy metal. Concerning surface water, HPI values of Poungbe River are well below the index limit of 100, which suggest that it is generally no contaminated with respect to these metals. The mining activity of Tongon is carried out while protecting water quality against heavy metals. The quality of water resources in the area must be regularly monitored to avoid any dramatic situation.

Assessment of Soil Contamination and Human Health Risk around an Industrial Gold Mine in Côte d’Ivoire: The Case of Arsenic

“…The Tongon mine is Côte d'Ivoire's largest gold mine, producing seven tons of https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.137014 Open Journal of Soil Science gold a year [1]. However, the population of this gold mining region can be confronted with numerous health problems linked to the emergence of toxic elements, including heavy metals [2].…”

Heavy Metal Contamination of Suspended Particulate Matter and Human Health Risk Assessment around the Tongon Gold Mine

“…As in many developing countries, mining contributes to economic growth and poverty reduction through job creation and foreign exchange earnings [14,15] . Several licenses have been granted to gold exploration companies in recent years [15,16] . This has led to the commissioning of several large gold mining companies across the country.…”

“…The Tongon mine, the largest gold mine in the country, has been in operation since April 2010 16,15 . Thus, in the mining operation: crushing (crushing and grinding), mining processes (flotation and separation), and extraction (leaching and adsorption) produced between 2012 and 2015 about 1.356 × 107 tons of ore [15] .…”

Evaluation of Metal Contamination of Sediments around an Industrial Gold Mine in Côte d’Ivoire: The Example of Arsenic

“…The gold mining industry has been a major contributor to the country's economy for a long time (Kone et al, 2019). However, people living in gold mining areas are frequently confronted with a number of health problems associated with toxic elements including heavy metals (Sako et al, 2018).…”

“…In addition, it can bioaccumulate in the body and cause adverse health effects such as cancer (N'goran et al, 2022). Most people in rural areas use surface water for daily needs and for drinking (Kone et al, 2019). It is thus necessary to assess the heavy metal content in water and particularly in sediments in mining areas, as these have been shown to be the main reservoirs of these contaminants in the aquatic environment (Kouakou et al, 2021).…”