TITLE:
Impacts of Gold Mining on Rice Production in the Anum Valley of Ghana
AUTHORS:
Eureka E. A. Adomako, Claire S. Deacon, Andrew A. Meharg
KEYWORDS:
Mining, Rice, Arsenic, Anum Valley, Ghana
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.5 No.9,
July
31,
2014
ABSTRACT:
This study assessed
the concentrations of arsenic and iron in paddy soil and rice grain samples
collected from the Nobewam and Odumase paddy field sites in the Anum Valley of
Ghana, as a means of determining the impacts of gold mining activities in the area
on rice production. The arsenic content of rice grains from the Anum Valley
paddy fields was compared to that in rice grains of the same variety harvested
from three non-impacted paddy fields (control sites) in other parts of Ghana.
The study findings indicated that soils in the Odumase paddy fields, which are
located closer to the gold mining site, were significantly more impacted by
mining pollution than soils in the Nobewam paddy fields. Arsenic concentration
in the Nobewam paddy soils ranged from 0.6 to 76.1 mg/kg with a mean of 8.3
mg/kg, while that in the Odumase paddy soils ranged from 5.3 to 106.2 mg/kg
with a mean of 41.1 mg/kg. Despite the significant difference in mean soil
arsenic content, there was no significant difference in the arsenic content of
rice grains harvested from the two Anum Valley paddy sites (i.e. Nobewam and Odumase). There was
also no significant difference between the two Anum Valley paddy sites with
respect to soil iron concentration. The regression equation for a graph of
soil arsenic against soil iron (As = 70.0 Fe – 37.7) was, however, highly
significant (P