[ Évaluation de la qualité des sols sur un site minier du Copperbelt Congolais: Mise en évidence de la pollution d’origine minière ]
Volume 53, Issue 1, February 2021, Pages 29–39
Arthur Kaniki Tshamala1, Jean-Noël Mputu Kanyinda2, and Jean-Marie Kanda Ntumba3
1 Département de Chimie Industrielle, Faculté Polytechnique, Université de Lubumbashi, RD Congo
2 Département de Chimie et Industrie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kinshasa, RD Congo
3 Département de Chimie Industrielle, Faculté Polytechnique, Université de Lubumbashi, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2021 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This study concerns the assessment of the soil quality of a mining site in the Congolese Copperbelt (Democratic Republic of Congo) with the aim of identifying possible pollution from mining. The site concerned is in Kipushi in the southwest of the city of Lubumbashi and has been the subject of mining since 1924 before being shut down in 1993. The methodology adopted consisted of a sampling campaign and in-situ measurements followed by chemical analyzes in the laboratory. The samples were taken using hand augers to a depth between 0 and 30 cm, the permeability was determined by means of percolation test by the constant level method or the Porchet method and the analyzes Elemental chemicals were performed by atomic absorption spectrometry. Regarding the pH, the results obtained indicate that the soil is acidic in several places and therefore has a great capacity to mobilize ETM. From the point of view of agronomic value, the results show that on the whole site, the soil is poor in organic matter (OM); the average value is 1.64% which reflects an extremely low bacterial activity. As for the elemental chemical composition, the results obtained indicate significant concentrations of trace metal elements (TME) attributable to the mining activity developed on the site for nearly 70 years. These are: Fe (23,400 - 88,300 ppm), Cd (100 - 1,400 ppm), Co (100 - 6,600 ppm), Cu (9,700 - 60,800 ppm), Pb (100 - 19,400 ppm) and Zn (22,400 - 108,100 ppm).
Author Keywords: assessment, quality, soils, mining site, Congolese Copperbelt, mining pollution.
Volume 53, Issue 1, February 2021, Pages 29–39
Arthur Kaniki Tshamala1, Jean-Noël Mputu Kanyinda2, and Jean-Marie Kanda Ntumba3
1 Département de Chimie Industrielle, Faculté Polytechnique, Université de Lubumbashi, RD Congo
2 Département de Chimie et Industrie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kinshasa, RD Congo
3 Département de Chimie Industrielle, Faculté Polytechnique, Université de Lubumbashi, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2021 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
This study concerns the assessment of the soil quality of a mining site in the Congolese Copperbelt (Democratic Republic of Congo) with the aim of identifying possible pollution from mining. The site concerned is in Kipushi in the southwest of the city of Lubumbashi and has been the subject of mining since 1924 before being shut down in 1993. The methodology adopted consisted of a sampling campaign and in-situ measurements followed by chemical analyzes in the laboratory. The samples were taken using hand augers to a depth between 0 and 30 cm, the permeability was determined by means of percolation test by the constant level method or the Porchet method and the analyzes Elemental chemicals were performed by atomic absorption spectrometry. Regarding the pH, the results obtained indicate that the soil is acidic in several places and therefore has a great capacity to mobilize ETM. From the point of view of agronomic value, the results show that on the whole site, the soil is poor in organic matter (OM); the average value is 1.64% which reflects an extremely low bacterial activity. As for the elemental chemical composition, the results obtained indicate significant concentrations of trace metal elements (TME) attributable to the mining activity developed on the site for nearly 70 years. These are: Fe (23,400 - 88,300 ppm), Cd (100 - 1,400 ppm), Co (100 - 6,600 ppm), Cu (9,700 - 60,800 ppm), Pb (100 - 19,400 ppm) and Zn (22,400 - 108,100 ppm).
Author Keywords: assessment, quality, soils, mining site, Congolese Copperbelt, mining pollution.
Abstract: (french)
Cette étude porte sur l’évaluation de la qualité des sols d’un site minier du Copperbelt congolais (République Démocratique du Congo) dans le but d’identifier une éventuelle pollution d’origine minière. Le site concerné est situé à Kipushi au Sud-Ouest de la ville de Lubumbashi et a fait l’objet d’une exploitation minière depuis 1924 avant de connaître l’arrêt en 1993. La méthodologie adoptée a consisté en une campagne d’échantillonnage et des mesures in-situ suivies des analyses chimiques au laboratoire. Le prélèvement d’échantillons a été réalisé à l’aide des tarières à main sur une profondeur comprise entre 0 et 30 cm, la perméabilité a été déterminée au moyen de test de percolation par la méthode à niveau constant ou méthode de Porchet et les analyses chimiques élémentaires ont été réalisées par spectrométrie d’absorption atomique. En ce qui concerne le pH, les résultats obtenus indiquent que le sol est acide à plusieurs endroits et présente par conséquent une grande capacité de mobiliser les ETM. Du point de vue de la valeur agronomique, les résultats montrent que sur l’ensemble du site, le sol est pauvre en matière organique (MO); la valeur moyenne est de 1,64% ce qui traduit une très faible activité bactérienne. Quant à la composition chimique élémentaire, les résultats obtenus indiquent des concentrations importantes en éléments trace métallique (ETM) attribuables à l’activité minière développée sur le site depuis près de 70 ans. Il s’agit de: Fe (23.400 – 88.300 ppm), Cd (100 – 1.400 ppm), Co (100 – 6.600 ppm), Cu (9.700 – 60.800 ppm), Pb (100 – 19.400 ppm) et Zn (22.400 – 108.100 ppm).
Author Keywords: évaluation, qualité, sols, site minier, Copperbelt Congolais, pollution minière.
How to Cite this Article
Arthur Kaniki Tshamala, Jean-Noël Mputu Kanyinda, and Jean-Marie Kanda Ntumba, “Assessment of soil quality on a mining site in the Congolese Copperbelt: Demonstration of pollution from mining,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 29–39, February 2021.
