When the spectators became citizens

Read Comments Comments (4)

• Joe Sam 1 year ago

  Who says the gala and small scale miners use CYANIDE to concentrate the gold. Cyanide rather dissolves gold either in leach tanks with agitators or sprinkled on leach pads in an open environment. The leached solution which co ...
  read full comment

  Who says the gala and small scale miners use CYANIDE to concentrate the gold. Cyanide rather dissolves gold either in leach tanks with agitators or sprinkled on leach pads in an open environment. The leached solution which contains DISSOLVED gold is collected with ACTIVATED CARBON in a process called "ADSORPTION'. This is a highly complex process. What follows next is 'DESORPTION', a process of freeing the desorped gold, another complex process after which the gold is CALCINED. These processes require a technology which the gala and small scale miners can't afford or employ. The galamseyers, when they get their gold through amalgamation (gold amalgam) may chose to refine the gold by adding lead oxide and borax. That's all. None of them uses Cyanide otherwise they will end up getting nothing. The writer has worked with a number of large scale multinational gold companies in Ghana and Burkina Faso and so I know what I am saying.

  reply
• Koonimo 1 year ago

  Read the research below

  Read the research below

  reply
• Koonimo 1 year ago

  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020311567

  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020311567

  reply
• Koonimo 1 year ago

  Environmental media contamination with mercury, because of illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining (popularly called galamsey), is a major concern in Ghana; yet specific details as to how such contaminations are influenced ...
  read full comment

  Environmental media contamination with mercury, because of illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining (popularly called galamsey), is a major concern in Ghana; yet specific details as to how such contaminations are influenced or distributed across different galamsey operations have been lacking. We monitored mercury levels across nine different galamsey operations (Washing Board, Washing Plant, Anwona, Dig and Wash, Dredging, Underground Abandoned Shaft, Underground Sample Pit, Chamfi and Mill House) in three hotspot assemblies (Tarkwa Nsuaem, Amenfi East and Prestea Huni Valley) of the Western Region of Ghana. Triplicate samples each of background soil, surface water/drainage, slurry/sludge and galamsey waste materials (totaling 160) were obtained and analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) to determine total Hg concentrations. From the comparison of mean ranked concentration of mercury, using the Kruskal-Wallis Test, it was realized that the observed differences in ranking was significant for all four environmental media considered. Thus, the poor handling, usage and disposal of mercury from the different galamsey activities did result in elevation of harmful quantities of mercury into the environment. Overall, the highest median value obtained for mercury was recorded at the Mill House galamsey sites and within slurry/sludge medium. This was followed by Chamfi, Washing Board, Washing Plant, Anwona, Dig and Wash and Dredging in descending order, with the Underground Abandoned Shaft and Underground Sample Pit galamsey types recording values below detection limit. In terms of their contribution to mercury contamination to the environment, Mill House, Chamfi, Anwona, Washing Board and Washing Plant galamsey types recorded the highest mean rankings. Overall, key priority information required for influencing reclamation and cleanup policy decisions for mercury, for the many affected wastelands across the country, can be derived from this paper.

  reply