GEOCHEMICAL ASSESSMENT OF TRACE ELEMENTS AND MINING-RELATED POLLUTION IN STREAM SEDIMENTS OF THE A-TYPE GRANITE COMPLEX, OF SHIRA AREA, NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/jees.2025.0202/017Keywords:
A-type granites, anthropogenic sediments, mining, geogenic, trace elementsAbstract
This study investigates the occurrence and distribution of elements in rocks and stream sediments from the Shira area, Bauchi State, Nigeria, to assess metal inputs into the surrounding environment. Primary data were obtained through systematic sampling and laboratory analysis using Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) following HF–HNO₃ digestion. Twenty-three sampling sites covering approximately 120 km² were investigated. Results show that Li, Cs, Co, Cu, Ga, Ge, Ni, Pb, Th, U, and Zn are the most prominent trace elements in the study area. Thorium and uranium concentrations are significantly higher in rock samples than in stream sediments, with mean values of 3.89 ppm (Th) and 21.92 ppm (U) in rocks compared to 0.38 ppm and 2.7 ppm, respectively, in stream sediments. Lead exhibits a high mean concentration of 186.68 ppm in rocks but only 4.05 ppm in stream sediments. Copper, nickel, and zinc show notably elevated concentrations in rocks (296.23 ppm, 35.29 ppm, and 97.67 ppm, respectively) relative to stream sediments. The analysed elements include As, Zn, Pb, Cu, Co, Cs, Ga, Nb, Ni, Mo, Sn, Th, and U. Comparison with global average crustal and rock-type geochemical background values indicates enrichment in As, V, Ni, Cr, and Pb. Enrichment factor analysis, based on regional geological background values, demonstrates that elevated elemental concentrations in stream sediments are primarily controlled by geological sources rather than industrial contamination.
References
Adekoya JA (1995). Negative Environmental Impact of Mineral Exploitation in Nigeria. pp. 613–619.
Alloway, B. J. (1995). Soil processes and the behaviour of metals. In ‘‘Heavy Metals in Soils’’ (B. J. Alloway, ed.). 2nd edn., pp.11–37. Blackie Academic and Professional, London.
Bennett, J.N. (1981). The Petrology and Mineral Chemistry of the Shira Ring Complex,
Northern Nigeria. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of St Andrews.
Bowden, P., bennett, J.N., and kinnaird, J.A. (1981). Uranium in Niger-Nigerian Younger
Granite Province. Min Magazine. 44, pp. 379–89.
Bowden P (1985). The geochemistry and mineralisation of alkaline ring complexes in Africa. J African Earth Sci 3:17–39
Dissanayake, C. B., & Chandrajith, R. (2009). “Phosphate mineral fertilisers, trace metals and human health,” Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 153–165.
Forstner, U. (1995). Land contamination by metals—Global scope and magnitude of the problem. In ‘‘Metal Speciation and Contamination of Soil’’ (H. E. Allen, C. P. Huang, G. W.
Garrett, R.G. (2000). Natural Sources of Metals in the Environment. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, Vol. 6, No. 6, pp 954–963. In Essentials of Medical Geology: Impact of the Natural environment on public Health. Elsevier Academic Press, pp. 826.
Kinnaird JA, Bowden P, Ixer RA, Odling NWA (1985). Mineralogy, geochemistry and mineralisation of the Ririwai complex, northern Nigeria. J Afr Earth Sci 3, 185–222
Lee, T. & Yao, C.-L. (1970). Abundance of Chemical Elements in the Earth’s Crust and Its Major Tectonic Units. Intl. Geol. Rev., 12(7), 778–786.
Martin, R.F. & Bowden, P. (1981). Peraluminous Granites produced by rock-fluid interaction
in the Ririwai nonorogenic ring-complex, Nigeria: Mineralogical evidence. Canadian
Mineralogist. 19, pp. 65–82.
Mortvedt, J. J. (1996). Heavy Metal Contaminants in Inorganic and Organic Fertilisers, Fertiliser Research, vol. 43, no. 1-3, pp. 55–61.
Muhammad, M. A. (2006). Geochemical Investigation for Uranium Mineralisation in Shira Ring Complex. Bauchi State, northeastern Nigeria. An Unpub. M.Sc. thesis, MAUTECH Yola.
Thompson, J.H. (1985). Development of groundwater resources for farming communities in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Hydrogeology in the service of man. Memoires of the 18th Congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, Cambridge. Pp 102–112.
Zahra, A., Hashmi, M. Z., Malik, R. N. & Ahmed, Z. (2014). “Enrichment and geo- accumulation of heavy metals and risk assessment of sediments of the Kurang Nallah- Feeding tributary of the Rawal Lake Reservoir, Pakistan,” Science of the Total Environment, 470-471 pp.
