Abstract
Hand-pump wells in the Tarkwa gold mining district and the geologically similar Bui area were chemically analysed and compared in an effort to determine whether groundwaters in the Tarkwa area have been affected by mining. Significant chemical differences attributed to mine water discharges have been observed in streams in the Tarkwa area. Groundwater chemistry from hand-pump wells in Tarkwa and Bui areas reveal similar hydrochemical facies, predominantly Ca–Na–Mg–HCO3–Cl. However, except for SO4 2−, ionic concentrations of groundwaters from Bui are greater than those from Tarkwa probably due to differences in (1) water availability during sedimentation (2) water-rock interactions and/or residence times for water. No demonstrable impact of mining on groundwaters from hand-pumped wells in the Tarkwa area has been noted. Hydrogeological inference suggests that the main streams which receive mine water discharges are both gaining and are groundwater divides. The overwhelming majority of population centres and mining operations are located on opposite sides of these groundwater divides, therefore, it is unlikely aquifers tapped for drinking by these communities would be affected by mining.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ball JW, Nordstrom DK (1991) Users manual for WATEQ4F, with revised thermodynamic database and test cases for calculating speciation of major, trace, and redox elements in natural waters. USGS Open File Report 91–183, USGS, Reston, Virginia
Bourov VG, Sharkovsky J (1964) Geology and minerals of the southwestern part of the kintampo field sheet. Report No 56, Geological Survey Dept, Accra, 128 pp
Deutsch WJ (1997) Groundwater geochemistry: fundamentals and applications to contamination. Lewis, London
Dickson KB, Bemmeh G (1988) A new geography of Ghana. Longman, Harlow
Drever JI (1988) Geochemistry of natural waters, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Dzigbodi-Adzimah K (1996) Environmental concerns of Ghana's gold booms: past present and future. Ghana Min J 2(1):21–26
Edmunds WM (1981) Hydrogeochemical investigations. In: Lloyd JW (ed) Case studies in ground water resources evaluation. Butler, London pp 87–111
Edmunds WM, Smedley PL (1996) Groundwater geochemistry and health: an overview. In: Appleton JD, Fuge R, McCall GJH (eds) Environmental geochemistry and health. Geol Soc London, Spec Publ 113, pp 91–105
Eisenlohr BN (1989) The structural geology of the Birimian and Tarkwaian rocks of southwest Ghana. BGR, Hanover
Eisenlohr BN, Hirdes W (1992) The structural development of the Early Proterozoic Birimian and Tarkwaian rocks in southwest Ghana, West Africa. J Afr Earth Sci 14:313–325
Gay LO (1956) The Geology of the Bui hydro electric project. Gold Coast Geol Surv Bull 22, p 34
Hirdes W, Nunoo B (1994) The Proterozoic paleoplacers at Tarkwa gold mine, SW Ghana: sedimentology, mineralogy and precise age dating of the main reef and west reef, and bearing of the investigations on source area aspects. Geol Jahrb D 100:247–311
Hirst T (1938) The geology of the Tarkwa goldfield and adjacent country. Gold Coast Geol Surv Bull 10:1–49
Hounslow AW (1995) Water quality data: analysis and interpretation. Lewis, New York
Issar AS, Passchier R (1990) Regional hydrogeological concepts (part II). In: Lerner DN, Issar AS, Simmers I (eds) Groundwater recharge: a guide to understanding and estimating natural recharge. International Association of Hydrogeologists 8. Heise, Hannover, pp 21–38
Junner NR (1935) Gold in the Gold Coast. Gold Coast Geol Surv Mem 4
Junner NR, Hirst T, Service H (1942) The Tarkwa goldfield. Gold Coast Geol Surv Mem 6
Kesse GO (1985) The mineral and rock resources of Ghana. Balkema, Rotterdam
Kiessling R (1997) Sedimentation and structure in the Tarkwaian group of the Bui Basin in West-Ghana. Geol Jahrb B, 88:113–182
Kuma JS, Younger PL (2000) Conceptual ground water model and related environmental concerns in the Tarkwa area, Ghana. Ghana Min J 6:42–52
Lehr JH (1985) Calming the restless native: how ground water quality will ultimately answer the questions of ground water pollution. In: Ward CH, Giger W, McCarty PL (eds) Ground water quality. Wiley, New York, pp 11–24
Ostwald JP (1997) Geophysical investigation in the Bui Belt in West-Ghana. Geol Jahrb B 88:183–206
Piper AM (1944) A graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water analysis. Am Geophys Union Trans 25:914–923
Sestini G (1973) Sedimentology of a paleoplacer: the gold-bearing Tarkwaian of Ghana. In: Amstutz GC, Bernard AJ (eds) Ores in sediments. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 275–305
Smedley PL, Edmunds WM, Pelig-Ba KB (1996) Mobility of arsenic in groundwater in the Obuasi gold mining area of Ghana: implications for human health. In: Appleton JD, Fuge R, McCall GJH (eds) Environmental geochemistry and health. Geol Soc London, Spec Bull 113, pp163–181
Teale EO, Whitelaw OAL (1923) Report on the geological survey: April–May 1923. In Junner NR (ed) Report on the geological survey for 1923–1924. Gold Coast Geological Survey, Accra, Ghana, pp 40–41
Toth J (1963) A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins. J Geophys Res 68:4795–4812
Whitelaw OAL (1929) Geological and mining features of the Tarkwa-Aboso goldfield. Gold Coast Geological Survey Memoir 1
Younger PL (1994) Low-cost groundwater quality investigation methods: an example from the Bolivian Altiplano. In: Nash H, McCall GJH (eds) Groundwater quality. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 55–64
Zitzmann, Kiessling R, Loh G (1997) Geology of the Bui Belt area in Ghana. Geol Jahrb B, 88:7–111
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kuma, J.S. Is groundwater in the Tarkwa gold mining district of Ghana potable?. Env Geol 45, 391–400 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0888-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0888-9