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Article

Safe Mining Assessment of Artisanal Barite Mining Activities in Nigeria

by
David Oluwasegun Afolayan
1,2,*,
Azikiwe Peter Onwualu
1,
Carrick McAfee Eggleston
2,
Adelana Rasak Adetunji
1,3,
Mingjiang Tao
2 and
Richard Kwasi Amankwah
1,4
1
Department of Material Science and Engineering, African University of Science and Technology, P.M.B. 681, Abuja 900109, Nigeria
2
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609, USA
3
Department of Material Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220282, Nigeria
4
Department of Mineral Engineering, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa P.O. Box 237, Ghana
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Mining 2021, 1(2), 224-240; https://doi.org/10.3390/mining1020015
Submission received: 24 August 2021 / Revised: 8 September 2021 / Accepted: 14 September 2021 / Published: 18 September 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Envisioning the Future of Mining)
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Abstract

Barite, used in mud formulation, is mined in several places to support the industry. However, there is insufficient literature on the downside of mining and associated hazards, especially in the artisanal barite mining sector. This paper contains three parts. The initial section reviews major causes of mining accidents and health hazards in Nigeria. The second section examines existing but weak institutional frameworks and policies for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Nigeria. In the third part, data from questionnaires and heavy metal contamination assessment are compared with health and environmental standards to identify and characterize hazards. It was observed that 54% had health challenges traceable to illicit drugs, and 54% were ignorant about the use of safety kits. The UV-Vis, AAS, and ICP-MS analyses confirmed lead, barium, zinc, copper, and iron in the water samples. Index of geoaccumulation (Igeo) and contamination factor (CF) show that water samples are moderate to highly polluted by Pb2+, Ba2+, and highly contaminated. The chronic daily intake assessment and health quotient analysis revealed that the accumulation of lead and barium is possible and can initiate chronic diseases in humans over a long time. Certain safe mining protocols and controls are recommended.
Keywords: mining hazard; safe mining; miners; artisanal barite mining; mining sites mining hazard; safe mining; miners; artisanal barite mining; mining sites
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MDPI and ACS Style

Afolayan, D.O.; Onwualu, A.P.; Eggleston, C.M.; Adetunji, A.R.; Tao, M.; Amankwah, R.K. Safe Mining Assessment of Artisanal Barite Mining Activities in Nigeria. Mining 2021, 1, 224-240. https://doi.org/10.3390/mining1020015

AMA Style

Afolayan DO, Onwualu AP, Eggleston CM, Adetunji AR, Tao M, Amankwah RK. Safe Mining Assessment of Artisanal Barite Mining Activities in Nigeria. Mining. 2021; 1(2):224-240. https://doi.org/10.3390/mining1020015

Chicago/Turabian Style

Afolayan, David Oluwasegun, Azikiwe Peter Onwualu, Carrick McAfee Eggleston, Adelana Rasak Adetunji, Mingjiang Tao, and Richard Kwasi Amankwah. 2021. "Safe Mining Assessment of Artisanal Barite Mining Activities in Nigeria" Mining 1, no. 2: 224-240. https://doi.org/10.3390/mining1020015

APA Style

Afolayan, D. O., Onwualu, A. P., Eggleston, C. M., Adetunji, A. R., Tao, M., & Amankwah, R. K. (2021). Safe Mining Assessment of Artisanal Barite Mining Activities in Nigeria. Mining, 1(2), 224-240. https://doi.org/10.3390/mining1020015

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