Abstract
A study on two adjacent small ephemeral river systems in the upper Tano River Basin in Brong Ahafo, Ghana; one impacted by ASGM and the other by a modern large gold mining (LSM), showed that impacts of mining on river sediment and water quality and quantity were reflected in the macroinvertebrate and microbial communities. This study investigated the impacts of ASGM on the ecology of the Surow River and that of a large-scale mining (LSM, the Ahafo mine) on the Subri River between February 2013 and April 2014 Macroinvertebrate communities responded to the shift in river water and sediment qualities, whilst microbial communities tended to respond to water quality only. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of mercury were evident in fishes in the river system impacted by ASGM, although mercury was barely detected in river water and sediment. The study confirmed that impact assessment of ASGM or the modern LSM on rivers should not be limited to the physical and chemical properties of water and sediment, but also include its riverine biota.
Highlights
Regardless of scales of operations and technology used, environmental impacts of gold mining on freshwater ecosystems may come from the mining works, mineral processing and disposal of mine wastes, mine dewatering, post-mining flooding and uncontrolled discharge of polluted waters [1] [2]
This study investigated the impacts of ASGM on the ecology of the Surow River and that of a large-scale mining (LSM, the Ahafo mine) on the Subri River between February 2013 and April 2014 Macroinvertebrate communities responded to the shift in river water and sediment qualities, whilst microbial communities tended to respond to water quality only
Using results from our study on two river systems impacted by ASGM and a large gold mining in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana, this paper shows that biological parameters can be used in the assessment of large and small-scale gold mining impacts on riverine ecosystems as well as in differentiating impacts between the two different scales and methods of mining and processing
Summary
Regardless of scales of operations and technology used, environmental impacts of gold mining on freshwater ecosystems may come from the mining works, mineral processing and disposal of mine wastes, mine dewatering, post-mining flooding and uncontrolled discharge of polluted waters [1] [2]. Such impacts may manifest at local, regional and global scales throughout the mine life cycle, and even for millennia after the mine ceases [1] [3].
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