Geochemical Characteristics of Soils and Plants around Mining Sites in Parts of Ilorin Sheet 223
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Date
2024-03-31
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Scientific Research
Abstract
Mining is an important process that fosters
economic growth by extracting valuable minerals from the
earth's surface. However, this industry also poses significant
environmental challenges, such as soil and water pollution
and habitat destruction. This study aims to assess the impact
of mining activities on heavy metal concentrations in soil and
Neem plant leaves in two mining sites. The research utilized
atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) to analyze the heavy
metal content in soil and plant samples. The obtained data
were used to calculate various contamination indices,
including the contamination factor index (CF), degree of
contamination (Cd), modified degree of contamination
(mCd), pollution load index (PLI), and accumulation index
(Igeo) for soil samples. Additionally, the bioaccumulation
coefficient (BAC) was calculated for Neem plant leaves. The
X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was conducted to identify
the mineral composition of the rock samples collected from
the study area. The average values for Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni,
and Co in test soil sites are higher than those in control sites,
with significant differences (p-value <0.05) for Cu, Zn, Fe, and
Co, indicating contamination due to mining. Similarly, for
Neem plant leaves, the average concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn,
and Co are higher in test sites than in control sites, indicating
bioaccumulation from the mining activities. However, the
calculated contamination indices suggest that the level of
contamination in the study area is relatively low. The XRD
analysis revealed distinct peaks corresponding to various
minerals, including Orthoclase, Albite, Muscovite, Quartz,
Dolomite, Anorthite, and Illite. The mineral proportions were
assessed, with quartz being dominant in the igneous rocks and
dolomite in the marble samples.