Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 6;9(1):e12661.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12661. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Multivariate studies and heavy metal pollution in soil from gold mining area

Osei Akoto  1 , Salome Yakubu  2 , Linda A Ofori  2 , Nesta Bortey-Sam  3 , Nathaniel O Boadi  1 , Jonathan Horgah  4 , Lyndon N A Sackey  4
Affiliations

Multivariate studies and heavy metal pollution in soil from gold mining area

Osei Akoto et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Mining generates large volumes of waste, which if not regulated can release toxic metals, causing widespread environmental contamination. This study focused on heavy metal contamination in topsoil within a mining area at Nangodi in the Northern Region of Ghana. A total of 24 soil samples were collected from the study area and control samples were analyzed for Hg, Pb, Cd, As, Cr, and Fe using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results of Pollution Index estimations and Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) classified the soil samples as moderately contaminated to heavily contaminated. Soil samples were severely enriched with As and moderately enriched with b, and Hg. Multivariate analyses such as factor analysis and cluster analysis were employed to examine the relationship between the metals and also differentiate the influence of the natural background content of metals from that due to human activities. Factor analysis identified three polluted soil factor associations. Cadmium, Fe, As, and Pb associated with factor 1, were due to anthropogenic activities. The high intercorrelation revealed by As and Pb shows similarity in their sources. Factor two dominated by Hg is considered an anthropogenic component. Factor 3 correlated with Cr and can be considered a natural component. Correlation analysis and cluster analysis supported each other. Results from the bi-plots showed that sites S1, S8, S11, and S18, have similar metal composition as the control site. Heavy metal contents in soils sampled from Zones A and B have been influenced by the mining activities as seen from the associations of these sites in the bi-plots. The results are useful for metal source identification, and can contribute to monitoring and regulatory programs.

Keywords: Environment; Heavy metals; Pollution; Topsoil.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of the study area.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Biplot of metal concentration (1a) sampling sites (1b) and a combination of the plots A (loading plot) and B (score plot) (1c).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Dendrogram of sampling sites.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Appiah - Sefah G., Huang J., Boateng K., Nkrumah P.N. All that glitters is not gold-environmental effects of Small-Scale mining in Ghana, West Africa. Int. J. Sci. Eng. Res. 2013;4(7):1602–1606.
    1. McQuilken J. International Institute for Environment and Development; 2016. Hilson, Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana Evidence to Inform an ‘action Dialogue’; p. 3. G.
    1. Ifelola O.E. Evaluation of background geochemical speciation of heavy metals in overburden topsoil of bituminous sand deposit area, Ondo state, Nigeria. J. Mining Environ. 2019;10(4):869–882.
    1. Bell F.G., Bullock S.E., Halbich T.F., Lindsey P. Environmental impact associated with an abandoned mine in the Witbank Coalfield,South Africa. Int. J. Coal Geol. 2001;45:195–216.
    1. Barbieri M. The importance of enrichment factor (EF) and geoaccumulation index (Igeo) to evaluate the soil contamination. Geol. Geophys. 2016;5:1–4. doi: 10.4172/2381-8719.1000237. - DOI