TITLE:
Heavy Metals Contaminations and Ecological Risk Assessment in Soils, Mining Wastes and Sediments of the Ngoura Gold Mining Area, Eastern Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Yvests Briault Tchoukeu, Léopold Ekengele Nga, Natanael Tehna, Moise Welba, Jean Pierre Nguetnkam
KEYWORDS:
Ngoura, Mining Sites, Contaminations, Heavy Metals, Ecological Risks
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.13 No.3,
March
21,
2025
ABSTRACT: To assess contamination levels, 14 samples were taken from mining sites in the Ngoura gold mining area, to determine the possible ecological hazards of heavy metals (Al, Mn, As, Ba, V, Cr, Ag, Pb, Hg, Y, Th and U). Physico-chemical parameters (pH, OM, CEC, Available P, and EC) were analysed. Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), heavy metals were identified. The contaminations were estimated using the following methods: enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF), mean contamination index (Im), pollution load index (PLI), geo-accumulation index (I-Geo), and ecological risk index (Ri). Findings indicated that mining materials exhibit acidic to highly alkaline pH (5.2 to 9.8), are non-saline (EC