Headaches among residents within the Selebi Phikwe Nickel-Copper mining environment, Botswana

Headache occurrences among different classes of residents within a nickel-copper (Ni-Cu) mining and smelting environment in Botswana are investigated using questionnaires and statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Interpreted results from respondents indicated that all of the health service providers, 80% of educational institutions, and 70 % of businesses enterprises had patients, learners and workers respectively, and 77 % of individuals, complained of one form of headache or the other. Similar high values were obtained when responses were considered according to study sites, especially for frontal and temple headaches. Females suffered slightly more often from headaches than males. Values for sites close to smelter/concentrator plant and mine were in general higher. Mining activities especially the release of sulphur gases and fumes into the atmosphere, and other climatic factors could possibly be contributory to the rampant occurrence of headaches at Selebi Phikwe. African Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 13 (3-4) 2006: pp. 43-5

Appraisal of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Option in South Africa’s Energy Scenario: A Multicriteria Analysis

South Africa is being confronted with an irregular power supply, leading to persistent load shedding due to aged and unreliable coal-fired power plants. Connected with coal as a generating source for electricity from fossil fuels are environmental concerns such as emissions of greenhouse gases and climate change impacts. Nuclear energy can allay the country’s dependence on coal as a source of energy. This article, therefore, reviews the feasibility of nuclear energy using a multicriteria analysis technique. A combination of Strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to evaluate the external and internal factors that could either positively or negatively affect the country’s nuclear energy expansion drive. From the analysis, the country’s enabling laws and regulatory framework recorded the highest score of 39.2% under the strengths for the sector. In the case of the weaknesses, the high cost of construction and long construction framework recorded the highest weight, of 50.47%. Energy export and demand under the opportunities recorded a weight of 52.09%, ranking it as the highest opportunity for the sector. Seismic events were identified as the biggest threat for nuclear power expansion in the country, and the experts assigned a weight of 42.5% to this factor. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Acknowledgments: The authors acknowledge with thanks the Centre for Postgraduate Studies and the Postdoctoral Fellowship/Research Committee of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and the Directorate of Research and Innovations of the University of Venda

Influenza/common cold within the Slebi Phikwe Nickel-Copper exploitation environment, Botswana

No Abstract.AJPHERD Vol. 13 (4) 2007: pp. 473-49

Multiple data clustering algorithms applied in search of patterns of clay minerals in soils close to an abandoned manganese oxide mine

This paper proposes a multi-level approach to data clustering and provides a novel approach to characterisation of clay soils by, effectively, looking at the same clay sample from different angles. It is shown that using this approach can help avoid detection of spurious clusters or skipping vital natural grouping in data. Muscovite, illite and kaolinite were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) in <4 mu m fraction of soil samples obtained from the periphery of an abandoned manganese oxide mine and semi quantified as major, minor and trace. Based on information inherent in the data attributes, useful rules for grouping the samples were generated and with the aid of multiple data clustering, applied to characterize the clay minerals occurrences in the soils. The paper found that the presence of large quantities of illite and kaolinite heavily influence the formation of clusters. When the most influential variables-LJ and KJ were taken out, the resulting model showed that muscovite traces play a vital role in initial cluster building and the importance matrix of inputs suggested inter-dependence between muscovite, kaolinite and illite traces as well as between them and minor quantities of illite. Dwelling on aspects of clay mineralogy and modelling sciences, the paper marks a significant departure from the conventional approaches to clay characterisation by showing how effectively data mining methods can be adopted in the area. For a successful approach to characterisation of clay minerals in African soils, the paper recommends to set-up data repositories that will provide scientific data sources and forums in a multi-disciplinary environment. This is particularly important as capturing interesting patterns requires expert knowledge describing the emerging natural groupings. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Principal component analysis to evaluate the spatial variation of major elements in kaolin deposit

This paper explores the variations in major elements concentrations in kaolins from four different deposits in Botswana. The data were obtained from four different kaolin deposits with an additional four-class label based on particle sizes of the rock – providing a natural comparative basis between detected structural features with those of the original data attributes. Using principal component analysis (PCA), the paper reduces the data dimensionality and establishes inherent distinctive attributes of major elements accounting for the highest variation in chemical compositions of the kaolins. The principal components extracted are validated using graphical data visualization tools applied on a 28x11- dimensional data matrix of the oxides of Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, K, Ti, Mn and Fe, and loss on ignition (LOI). The validated results show that structures based on three retained components exhibit clearly discernible variations within the samples. Discretisation of the particle sizes is highlighted as both a challenge and an opportunity and it is recommended that it be used as a tuning parameter in gauging kaolin variations across samples and in validating new predictive modeling applications. Successful applications will depend on how clay and data scientists keep track, synchronise and share information relating to potentially dynamic data such as the impact of discretisation of kaolin particle sizes. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v29i1.

Self-organising feature map (SOFM) algorithms applied to manganese mineralisation in soils close to an abandoned manganese oxide mine

This paper proposes a multi-level self-organising map (SOFM) approach in studying manganese minerals interdependence in soils close to an abandoned Mn oxides mine. Multiple SOFM algorithms for data clustering were applied on Mn minerals identified by X-Ray diffractometry contained in four hundred soil samples from the periphery of the abandoned mine. Emerging structures from the Mn minerals (bixbyite, cryptomelane, ramsdellite, pyrolusite and braunite) were analysed using SOFM and two of the minerals (cryptomelane and braunite) were found to be influential in cluster formation. The findings of the study demonstrate the suitability of data mining in characterising Mn minerals interdependence in soils close to the abandoned Mn oxides mine and highlight the underlying, issues of which applicants of the method need to be aware of

Indigenous Knowledge Applied to the Use of Clays for Cosmetic Purposes in Africa: An Overview

The use of clay for cosmetic purposes in Africa is an age-old long-standing practice, which has been practiced through all regions of the continent. Red, white, yellow and their related shades of clays, in combination with other natural substances such as plant and animal extracts have over time been used by different indigenous African communities to meet their cosmetic needs. The purposes advanced for the cosmetic usage of these clays include cleansing the skin, protecting the skin against ultraviolet radiation, skin lightening, hiding of skin imperfections and accentuating the beauty of specific parts of the body. This paper provides an overview of the traditional usage of clays for cosmetic purposes in indigenous African communities. It identifies the types of cosmetic clays used traditionally in different African communities and the current reasons advanced for their application. It also sheds light on the historical use of cosmetic clays; thus emphasizing that knowledge about their applications is not new to the African community. Over time clays have been used to meet aesthetic demands including dermatological beautification.Keywords: Clay, cosmetics, indigenous knowledge, beauty, Africa

Graphical visualisation and domain partitioning of minerals in clay fraction of soils from Capricorn District, South Africa

Modeling techniques were used to study minerals in clay fraction of soils from Capricorn District Limpopo Province, South Africa. Minerals in the clay fraction of soils were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and semi-quantified. The minerals were then subjected to a combination of exploratory data analysis (EDA), graphical visualisation and domain-partitioning techniques in order to determine their cross-influence to one another in terms of abundances. Quartz and kaolinite were major dominant minerals in the soils; smectite, feldspar and mica were in minor to trace quantities. Consensual associations among other traces and high quantities of minerals were detected. Evidence of relationship using EDA portrayed general skewness in favour of quartz and kaolinite. Quartz remained dominant in the soils but with a consistent high probability of co-existence with kaolinite. Where there is low quartz content, kaolinite increased with the drop in quartz made up for by a combination of smectite, mica and feldspar. The nested nature of interaction also revealed indirect relationship between quartz and mica. The tree model, which yielded 100% accuracy, showed smectite as the first important mineral in identifying whether there is high, medium or low quartz content in the sols. Down the line the model relies heavily on both mica and kaolinite. Collating the minerals contents and data modeling procedures, inter alia, it could be inferred that the weathering of feldspar and mica may have an impact on the mineralisation of kaolinite and smectite; which are both important minerals in several agricultural applications

Total organic carbon in soils and its relation with manganese concentrations in soils and vegetation close to an abandoned manganese mine

This study aimed at quantifying the total organic carbon (TOC) present in soils within the proximity of the Kgwakgwe Mn oxide ore abandoned mine, Botswana, and establish its relationship with Mn concentrations in soils and vegetation based on multivariate and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) analytical techniques. Four hundred soil samples and 200 vegetation set samples were obtained from a 4 km2 area close to the abandoned mine. The TOC in soil samples were determined using a carbon/hydrogen/moisture determinator, and Mn concentrations in soils and vegetation by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results were processed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS), GIS, and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques with the Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS), Geosoft Oasis Montaj and ArcGIS software packages. The values for TOC in the soil samples from the study area ranged from 0 wt % to 7.91 wt %, with a mean of 1.90 wt %, and at the control area, from 4.07 wt % to 4.86 wt %. The range of concentrations of Mn in soils was from 36 mg/g to 24908 mg/g and for Mn concentrations in the vegetation samples from 26 mg/g to 3611 mg/g with a mean of 598 mg/g. Results of correlation coefficients depicted very weak negative association except Mn in soils/Mn in leaves which was weak but positive. The statistical data yielded four clusters as follows: cluster one consisted mainly of Mn in leaves, cluster two was constituted of Mn in soils, and cluster four had TOC. Cluster three was dominated by the three parameters but with negative t statistic. The spatial presentation of data presented revealed little or no vegetation in the south eastern area and those close to the mine workings, and some significant vegetation in the north western part of the study area. The low TOC in the soils is associated to low vegetation cover which is considered to have been influenced by the soil clay fraction mineralogy and high concentrations of Mn

Traditional mining and mineralogy of geophagic clays from Limpopo and Free State provinces, South Africa

This paper is based on responses to questionnaires administered to 226 representative geophagic adults in Limpopo (Polokwane and Sekhukhune) and Free State (Qwaqwa and Mangaung) Provinces in South Africa, and semi-quantitative mineral identification of 40 geophagic clay samples from the same areas. Geophagic clays consumed were whitish, yellowish, khaki and black; mined from hills and mountains, river beds, valleys, excavation sites and termitaria. Geophagic individuals from Free State preferred whitish geophagic clays; and sometimes khaki. Yellowish clays were preferred mostly by geophagic individuals from Limpopo. The clays are mined using selective digging, hand grabbing and picking techniques. The clays are processed through sieving, slurrying, grinding and pounding. Baking, burning and boiling are some beneficiation techniques used to render the clays more palatable and to reduce their microbial load. Mineral phases identified in the clay samples were quartz, kaolinite, mica, feldspar, smectite, goethite, calcite, and dolomite. The properties of kaolinite and smectite were found to have a dominant influence on the nature of geophagic clays and hence on the health of those who consumed the clays. Further details regarding the potential of geophagic clays to provide medicinal benefits to the consumer were examined in this study. Geophagic practice is very deep rooted, globally distributed, and has spanned over several centuries. Renewed interest and study by the scientific research community has continued to generate new knowledge on this somewhat enigmatic practice. Further efforts to address and regulate geophagic clay consumption should be strongly advocated.Key words: Colour, heat treatment, kaolinite, pounding, sieving