Answer to Question #175833 in Management for Michael

Question

discuss three activities of gold mining in Ghana and its impact on the environment and suggest ways to reduce those impacts

Answer 1

Environment is basically anything that surrounds the mining sectors in Ghana.gold mining in Ghana plays an important role on the environment

Land degradation

Mining in itself requires land ,which is a basic necessity for mining of deep gold ores.

when this process starts huge machinery are used in the removal of the top soils ,vegetation and trees with heavy machines divests the land of its nutrients and renders the land infertile and unproductive for agricultural purpose.once the land is stripped off it's materials it leaves about ugly holes which interfere which the initial land's beautiful scenery.

the debris removed and transported all the way to another land renders that land unproductive and unfit for agricultural produce.

Water resources threat

Mining threatens the natural water sources. the the processing requires huge amounts of water,it involves the sieving of the particles ,the cooling of machines ,cleaning of machinery ,disturbance of the normal water cycle. Mining by its nature consumes, diverts and can seriously pollute water resources.  Acid mine drainage, heavy metal contamination and leaching, processing chemicals pollution and erosion and sedimentation are the main factors to the pollution of water which can also be an effect on human's health life.

Air pollution

This is also one of the effects arising from the mining of gold in Ghana. This results from the dusty roads that are continually used by heavy-duty vehicles for transporting machines and other equipment to the mine sites. During blasting of the ores , dust fills the atmosphere. Chemical gases, fumes and smoke are quite visible during the blasting period. Chemicals used in the blasting process are also released into the atmosphere and this has great impact on vegetation growing around the gold mining areas .Air pollution also affects the lives of the people in and out the mining areas for instance resulting in asthma and other breathing difficulties.

Noise pollution

Heavy machinery working criteria ,heavy -duty trucks movements ,blasting of mine ores ,sinking of tunnels contribute to the noisy pollution in the mining area.Workers who are mostly indigenous people together with people around them who sum up the environment of the mining area are the immediate casualties of this noise pollution. This renders people deaf or cause ringing ears for some profound period of time.

WAYS TO REDUCE THE MINING IMPACTS

1. Areas such as the land that has been dug up leaving an ugly scenery are one of the ares that need to be reclaimed by planting and maintaining this trees till they grow many more years to come bringing up the beautiful scenery again.
2. The deep holes resulting from the excavation of mine ores can be reclaimed and filled with water from a a nearby tributary or by pumping .This would create a perfect dam in which they can generate electricity or use it in domestic and agricultural use
3. Water sources can be protected if the ministry of water and natural resources in Ghana can implement ways in which water can be conserved .The used water in the mining areas should be cleaned,treated and recycled back into the system to avoid release of harmful chemicals such as mercury and lead .
4. The use of face masks should be a requirement for the people working and also living close to the mining area to reduce inhaling harmful gases and dust.
5. Roads in the area should be tarmacked by the companies working in those areas or water should be sprinkled on these roads more frequently to avoid arising of dust on the people ,vegetation and their nearby agricultural produce
6. Machinery used in the mining activities should be standardized to limit the production of a lot of noise when working .Ear muffs is also a requirement