Kenneth Bansah

• PhD
• Missouri University of Science and Technology

This paper investigates the complexities of health-related consequences associated with child labor in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Based on qualitative data from northeast Guinea, our findings reveal pervasive adverse effects on the physical, psychological, and target organ health of affected children, significantly compromising their...

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is increasingly damaging forest, land, and water resources, and this occurrence is rapidly gaining the attention of interest groups across the globe. Our paper contributes to the global discussion of this mining induced devastation with data from Ghana. Based on Landsat data, ASM degraded sites in seven adm...

Round Mountain Gold Corporation (RMGC) mine is located in central Nevada, USA at an elevation varying between 1,770 m and 2,070 m above mean sea level. The climate is characteristic of a cold desert climate, with cold winters and hot summers. Average annual precipitation is 11.8 cm, approximately 13 times less than the calculated average annual pot...

Clean energy transition is crucial for reducing carbon footprint and ensuring environmental and mining sustainability. Contributing to the discourse on clean energy evolution, we focus on the continent of Africa and provide a quick reflection on the continent’s clean energy transition in the mining sector. We explore the factors that affect Africa’...

This paper identifies and examines nine factors that affect formalization of informal artisanal and small-scale mining in Ghana. Despite a series of efforts to ensure cleaner and safer production, informal artisanal and small-scale mining continues to expand with the resulting increase in environmental pollution and damage. The nine factors form wh...

This paper contributes to the discussion on climate change impacts, livelihood diversification, and deagrarianization in arid and semi-arid regions. Using the semi-arid region of Guinea as a case study, this paper is the first to discuss the primary factors driving smallholder farmers into artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in arid and semi-ari...

We provide an overview of arsenic (As) from gold mining spoils, tailings disposal sites, and mining degraded soils and propose sustainable soil remediation options to mitigate mobilization and human health impacts. In situating the As problem in a broader science, concepts related to As chemistry, As pollution, As mobilization, and As toxicity are...

Governments across the globe are increasingly adopting a more aggressive approach to combat informal artisanal mining, including the deployment of the military to prevent environmental pollution, restore degraded sites, improve environmental quality, and ensure a sustainable ecosystem. The military approach has often lacked effective stakeholder pa...

Gender-sensitive climate change adaptation strategies can improve gender equality and women's development in agrarian communities. This study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods (focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and household surveys) to explore the perspectives of men and women on climate change, including cli...

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)–mostly informal, low-tech, and hazardous form of mining–serves as a significant source of livelihood for many populations in many countries. Characterized by widespread environmental vandalism, the government of Ghana banned ASM in March 2017 for a period of six months but later extended the ban indefinitely....

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) – small sized, largely unrecognized, rudimentary, and an informal form of mining – occurs in more than 70 countries around the world and is mainly hailed for its socioeconomic benefits and reviled for its environmental devastation. As a result, many people are confused about the future of ASM. In Ghana, the go...

The socioeconomic and environmental impacts of informal artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Ghana are assessed in this paper. The paper includes a case study of an informal ASM-affected community located in the Western Region of Ghana. A two-phase mixed-method approach consisting of literature reviews, questionnaires, interviews, and water qu...

Karst terrain is a unique and complex environment and has been a subject of increasing investigation for engineering, geotechnical, environmental, and archeological purposes. In this study, the electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique was used to image a test site in southwestern Missouri with the goal to map variable depth-to-bedrock and...

Due to poor technology and lack of proper skills in mineral processing techniques, a greater percentage (about 70%) of gold is lost to the tailings stream in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). These tailings, in the last decade, have become a major source of revenue for some large-scale mining (LSM) companies in Ghana because they have a...

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has been practiced in Ghana for many years. However, occupational health and safety (OHS) in the ASGM sector is largely undeveloped. This study assessed the OHS practices in the ASGM sector in Ghana. A multi-stage sampling technique was used for the study. It was observed that the ASGM sector in Ghana is...

Groundwater is a major source of drinking water in communities located within three sub-catchment areas of Upper Athi River Basin in Kenya. Water samples were collected from 36 different shallow wells and boreholes located in these communities and subjected to physicochemical analysis. Water quality parameters analysed included pH, electrical condu...

Pit slope failure can have devastating effects on safety of personnel and equipment, and affect profitability of mining operations. Discontinuities, groundwater, rockmass strength and pit geometry can cause slope failure. Also, mining activities (such as drilling and blasting) can alter integrity of slopes and cause failure. Thus, periodic geotechn...

Conventional techniques such as boreholes and test pits have been used for geotechnical site investigation purposes for many years. These conventional techniques are invasive, time-consuming and expensive. To minimize costs and to complement intrusive investigation techniques, geophysical methods are now commonly employed for geotechnical investiga...

Stochastic simulation was conducted to analyse the fuel consumption of a shovel-truck system. An example shovel-truck system, comprising a single shovel and four trucks was considered. At 95% confidence interval, the monthly simulated fuel consumption by the shovel-truck system was found to be about 198 127 litres against the actual fuel consumptio...

It is generally known that karst topographies are formed due to dissolution of carbonate or evaporite bedrocks. In Missouri, USA, the subsurface is typically underlain by carbonate bedrock (limestone) that makes it amenable to karst processes, leading to features such as sinkholes. This study explored other factors or conditions that could necessit...

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) occurs in many countries around the world, and provides a source of livelihood to many impoverished local people in areas where it occurs. This paper reports the role of female participants and reasons why they engage in ASM. Field visits were made to 12 ASM sites located in the Tarkwa Mining District of Ghana...

We made site visits to determine potential environmental issues caused by artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the Tarkwa Mining Area (TMA) of Ghana. Activities of the diggers were observed to degrade vegetation, land and water. Improper handling of mercury was also identified as a major threat to people and ecosystem. Large abandoned pits and...

Sewage generated in Ghana is commonly discharged into the environment without any form of treatment to reduce the degree of contamination and mitigate potential public health and environmental issues. Although some attempts have been made in some parts of Ghana to utilize the waste stabilization pond (WSP) system to treat domestic sewage, the ponds...

This paper considers the reclamation of non-acid generating and potential acid generating waste dumps into lands of economic value and also to ensure ecological succession. While the non-acid generating waste dump was restored for cultivating food crops such as maize and oil palm, the potential acid generating waste dump was reclaimed for the plant...

Air pollution from airborne particulates is a global issue that has received some attention due to potential health issues and environmental impacts. Construction activities, agricultural operations, combustion of fossil fuels, and industrial and mining processes are significant sources of particulate pollution. The potential to cause health proble...

Blasting is mainly used to fragment in situ rocks in mining operations. The process can result in undesirable effects such as ground vibration and airblast. To mitigate potential effect of blasting and protect nearby structures against blast damage, blast impact prediction modelling was conducted for the proposed Tuapim pit located in Bogoso/Preste...

Small scale mining continues to contribute significantly to the socioeconomic needs of Ghana. The operations have transformed from artisanal to the use of sophisticated mining techniques in recent times. Although the introduction of the Small Scale Gold Mining Law of 1989 has helped in improving small scale mining activities and minimized associate...

Mine degraded lands must be reclaimed to demonstrate their potential for social use, economic and environmental sustainability. Thus, reclamation efforts must aim at ensuring post-mining land use that contributes most effectively to productive capacity and stability of the ecosystem. A successful post-mining reclamation exercise that utilized innov...

Presplit blasting is commonly practiced in open pit mines to create shear planes on in situ rock slope to ensure pit wall stability, and also protect nearby structures against blast damage. However, conventional presplit blasting often results in high blast-induced ground vibrations and airblast in nearby communities of the Adamus Pit at Nzema in t...

Explosive energy is adopted in hard rock mining to disintegrate rocks and consolidated formations to desirable sizes for appropriate end use. The fragmentation process may result in undesirable vibrations that can impact on structures within the vicinity of the blast. Ground vibrations and airblast resulting from blasting have been found to induce...

Shovel-truck system is the most popular method of handling broken materials in surface mining operations. However, the productivity of this system decreases due to operational delays that can cause production short falls. This paper reviews relevant scholarly literature on factors that contribute to operational delays in shovel-truck system of load...

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has been practiced in Ghana for many years, and contributes significantly toward socioeconomic development of communities where it occurs. In this paper, the contributions made by five different ASM operators drawn from three small-scale mining districts in Ghana are highlighted. Field visits were made to ASM...

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is often condemned for its environmental and safety impacts. Indeed, it is uncommon to find reclaimed ASM sites in Ghana. This paper reports a successful reclamation effort by an ASM operator in Ghana. Innovative partnership that involves participation of people from host community was utilized to restore degr...

Post-mining reclamation is aimed at restoring the productive capacity of the disturbed land and ensuring socioeconomic and environmental sustainability. Methods that have been employed for the reclamation activity are reported in the literature. This paper studied the utility of certain plant species in Ghana for remediating mine degraded soils. Th...

Adansi Gold Company Limited identified an economically viable gold deposit at Nkran in the Amansie West District of Ghana. Mining of this deposit requires the disposal of waste rock materials at a proposed waste rock dump near Nkran and Koninase communities. Since particulates and noise emissions from the operational activities at the dump are inev...

Small scale mining continues to contribute significantly to the growth of Ghana's economy. However, the sector poses serious dangers to human health and the environment. Ground failures resulting from poorly supported stopes have led to injuries and fatalities in recent times. Dust and fumes from drilling and blasting of ore present health threats...

The ultimate objective of post-mine land-use and reclamation planning is to identify appropriate alternate land uses to which mined land could be put. This will ensure that land-use and morphology of the location will be capable of supporting either the prior land-use or pre-mining environment. The main challenge is usually, the choice of variables...

Small scale mining of precious minerals has contributed immensely to the socioeconomic growth of Ghana. The sector provides employment for thousands of people, mostly indigenes of the communities in which they operate, and thereby stemming rural-urban migration. The small scale mining sector in Ghana also provides raw materials for locally based mi...

Small-scale gold mining continues to make significant socioeconomic impact on many individuals and communities, and it is seen as an alternative and sustainable livelihood for poverty alleviation in rural communities in Ghana. Small-scale gold mining has been carried out for over hundreds of years in Ghana. It is currently and widely operated in th...

Mineral processing plants often experience changes in throughput; blending patterns, and rock properties. These changes can have great impact on milling operations. As mining progresses, new deposits are discovered, which may have different characteristics from the designed plant parameters, a situation requiring re-assessment of the plant operatin...

Mining activities impact on surrounding environments. Notable among these impacts is noise emission from sources such as machinery, drilling, blasting, dumping and crushing. It is important therefore, to determine the levels of noise to be generated by mining, and its impacts on surrounding communities so that potential impact(s) could be averted....

Blasting is an important process after drilling is completed in hard rock mining. It involves placing explosives in drill holes and detonating them to cause explosion. The energy released during this process fragments the rocks into sizes for desired end use. The detonation of these explosives may produce undesirable effects such as ground vibratio...

Wastewater produced from many industrial operations has to be treated before being allowed to join the natural water body. Wastewater stabilization pond technology (WSPT) is an important natural and cost-effective wastewater treatment method for the removal of pathogenic micro-organisms in tropical countries like Ghana, because of the intensity of...

Air pollution from airborne particulates remains a major concern of the communities within the mining areas. In Ghana, little research has been done to ascertain the health implications of living around the mine sites. This study studied ambient particulate matter less than 10 :m (PM10) pollution at Gold Fields Ghana Limited (GFGL) mine residence i...

Flooding of mine pits affects production operations, causes irreparable damage to mine equipment, and decreases productivity and pit wall stability. It also poses health hazards to workers. Pit dewatering therefore, is an essential activity in mining. This paper looks at managing the quantity of water entering a hypothetical open pit mine. An effec...