On Sensor-Based Ore Sorting

The high cost of mineral processing in mining industries keeps rising. Sensor-based ore sorting is key in helping the mining industries to sort out ore to help reduce the processing and production costs. With the implementation of sensor-based ore sorting at the primary stage, it assures of separating larger volumes of the barren gangue from the conveyor-transported ore before excessive handling and mixing occurs. Hence, this paper investigated and evaluated the deployment of the colour camera and the dual energy X-Ray sensors. The successful operation at 2.8 m/s and 3.2 m/s of conveyor speed, and relatively extreme positions of the air jet-based separation mechanism for the sorting proved robustness in separation of barren gangue from the ore feed

Defying the gloom: In search of the ‘golden’ practices of small-scale mining operations

Data Availability: Data will be made available on request.Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Dominant narratives on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) often portray mining regions as ‘informal’ zones that suffer massively from environmental degradation problems. Such insistence on the poor environmental performance of ASM zones has dovetailed with a lack of scholarly attention to some of the ‘golden’ environmental management practices taking place in some of these mining areas. In this paper, we explore how the operations of a formalised (registered) small-scale mining operator in Ghana, as objectified in its obligatory and ethical functions, contribute to reducing pollution and mine-degraded landscapes, which have long been viewed as the inevitable consequence of ASM. Emphasizing how the dynamic interplay between resources and environmental demands may come to support public policy, our study shows how mutually constituting demands on mining in highly differentiated contexts could translate into productive outcomes. Contrary to the popular perception that ASM operators are not good stewards of the environment, findings from our study suggest that these operators can be caretakers of the environment and local communities through land reclamation mechanisms. Localisation of labour could, however, contribute to more sustainable livelihoods in mining communities and help curb rising community tensions

Effect of phospho-compost on growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)

The effect of phospho-compost on the growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) was studied at Juaboso in the Western Region of Ghana. It was a factorial experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Phospho-compost, prepared from phosphate rock, cocoa pod husk, sawdust and poultry manure, was applied at the rate of 560 g plot-1 (875 kg ha-1) and worked into soil before planting. Phosphate rock was applied at the rate of 195 g plot-1 (300 kg ha-1) 1 week before planting. The triple superphosphate was applied as band placement of 90 g plot-1 (130 kg ha-1), 7 days after sowing. These application rates were equal to 60 kg P205 ha-1. Phospho-compost significantly (P < 0.05) increased number of leaves, number of nodules, plant biomass, number of pods per plant, and grain yield more than the control. Grain yield on the phospho-compost-treated plot was 25.8 per cent higher than the control. Phospho-compost treatment had a profit margin of ¢3,295,000.00 ($387.65). This figure compared favourably with the treatment using conventional triple superphosphate fertilizer, which recorded ¢3,422,000.00 ($402.59) profit. The controls had a profit margin of ¢2,515,000.00 ($295.88). The results of the study indicate that the use of phosphocompost (which is locally prepared) can significantly increase the yield of cowpea. Resource-poor farmers can use phospho-compost to improve the fertility of soil for higher productivity of cowpea.Une étude était entreprise à Juaboso dans la région de l'Ouest du Ghana pour faire des recherches de l'effet de phosphocompost sur la croissance et le rendement de dolique. C'était une expérience factorielle arrangée dans un dessin de bloc complet choisi au hasard avec quatre réplications. Phospho-compost, préparé de roche du phosphate, de l'écale de cosse de cacao, de sciure de bois et de fumier de volaille, étaient appliqués à raison de 560 g/lot (875 kg/ ha) et mélangés avec le sol avant la plantation. La roche du phosphate était appliquée à raison de 195 g/lot (300 kg/ha) une semaine avant la plantation. La triple superphosphate était appliquée comme un placement en bande de 90 g/lot (130 kg/ha), sept jours après les semailles. Ces taux d'application étaient équivalent à 60 kg P2 O5/ ha. Phospho-compost augmentait considérablement (P < 0.05) le nombre de feuilles, nombre de nodules, biomasse de plante, nombre de cosse par plante et le rendement de graine plus que le contrôle. Le rendement de graine sur le lot traité de phospho-compost était 25.8$387.65) et ce chiffre se comparait favorablement avec le traitement appliquant l'engrais conventionnel la triple superphosphate, qui donnait un bénéfice de ¢3,422,000.00 ($402.59). Les lots de contrôle avaient une marge bénéficiaire de ¢2,515,000.00 ($295.88). Les résultats de l'étude indiquent que l'application de phospho-compost (qui est préparé localement) peut augmenter considérablement le rendement de dolique. Les pauvres agriculteurs ingénieux peuvent appliquer phospho-compost pour améliorer la fertilité du sol pour une productivité plus élevée de dolique. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 40 (2) 2008: pp. 169-17

Cocoa production, farmlands, and the galamsey: Examining current and emerging trends in the ASM-agriculture nexus

Data availability: The data that has been used is confidential.Copyright © 2023 The Authors. In this paper, we build on the diverse discussions on the nexus between artisanal and small-scale mining and agriculture to examine emerging relationships between mining operators, smallholder cocoa farmers, and landowners in rural cocoa-growing communities. Empirically, we draw on fresh insights from in-depth interviews with loosely coupled chain actors in Ghana's cocoa and mining sectors, we found what we call ‘coerced to sell’ strategies deployed by miners in the acquisition of farmlands for their operations. We go further to shed light on the employment trajectories of the new breed of landless farmers, and the emerging diversification strategies of landowners. Implications of our findings for the policy and practice of ASM and farmlands are outlined

Performance of rice under different water regimes and plant nutrient sources

Field experiment was carried out at the Soil and Irrigation Research Centre, University of Ghana, Kpong in 2015 and 2016 cropping seasons to evaluate the effect of different soil water condition and plant nutrient sources on the growth and yield of rice. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with three replications. Water regime and nutrient source were the main and sub-plot factors, respectively. Water regimes included; continuous flooding (CS), alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and moist soil condition between field capacity and permanent wilting point (MC) while the nutrient fertilizer treatments included no fertilizer (N0), 90 kg N/ha mainly from urea fertilizer (N1), 90 kg N/ha from 12.8 tons of compost (N2) and 45 kg N/ha from urea fertilizer + 45 kg N/ha from 6.4 tons of compost (N3). Results from the study revealed that keeping the soil periodically in aerobic and anaerobic condition through AWD method of water management recorded similar growth and grain yield of rice as with complete submergence of paddy field. Combination of inorganic fertilizer and compost for each to supply 45 kg N/ha under AWD produced the highest rice growth and grain yield. There was a positive and significant correlation between grain yield and growth parameters (plant height, chlorophyll content and above ground biomass accumulation).

The three pointers of research and development (R&D) for growth-boosting sustainable innovation system

Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Research and development (R&D) is frequently touted and labelled as the fundamental engine for creating sustainable innovations and achieving climate transitions. Yet, recent R&D efforts have struggled to live up to the widespread life-altering results they delivered in the 1960s when the term R&D was coined. In our attempt to address this concern, we propose a sustainability pathway model to achieving an economically viable innovation system that is anchored in three important pointers of R&D which have long been viewed as mutually distinct components in R&D budgets—investment, talent, and learning institutions. Directing attention to the pervasive need to align R&D investments with talents and learning institutions, we delineate how these pointers of R&D coming together to constitute a trivalent force may drive a growth-boosting sustainable innovation system. While there is no simple recipe which suggests an optimal combination of new scientific understanding, technologies, and process that could help produce the much-needed innovations and technological change, we present a set of propositions that highlights opportunities for reflection on existing R&D investment strategies and serves as a bridge to connect the emergent scholarship on sustainability with the intellectual traditions of R&D in innovation management

A phoenix rising? The regeneration of the Ghana garment and textile industry

Some African countries’ premier industries, such as textiles, garments and agro-processing, which floundered in the face of market liberalization and stiff competition from cheap imports, are now going through regenerative changes, with some beginning to tell a cautionary tale of a leap upwards. Focusing on the Ghana garment and textile industry, we draw on a framework that integrates social practices and everyday general-purpose technologies to explore the rise, decline and regeneration of the industry. Explicating a fine analysis of how the performative reconfiguration of social practices and functional sources of innovation and technologies may combine to support innovation-driven growth, our study sheds light on how loosely connected actors within a hitherto floundering industry can learn to transform their situated practices to drive their ‘industrial regeneration’. Implications for the theory and practice of industrial regeneration are outlined.Basic Research Program of the HSE Universit

How TalkTalk did the walk-walk: strategic reputational repair in a cyber-attack

Purpose: Cyber-attacks that generate technical disruptions in organisational operations and damage the reputation of organisations have become all too common in the contemporary organisation. This paper explores the reputation repair strategies undertaken by organisations in the event of becoming victims of cyber-attacks. Design/methodology/approach: For developing the authors’ contribution in the context of the Internet service providers' industry, the authors draw on a qualitative case study of TalkTalk, a British telecommunications company providing business to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C) Internet services, which was a victim of a “significant and sustained” cyber-attack in October 2015. Data for the enquiry is sourced from publicly available archival documents such as newspaper articles, press releases, podcasts and parliamentary hearings on the TalkTalk cyber-attack. Findings: The findings suggest a dynamic interplay of technical and rhetorical responses in dealing with cyber-attacks. This plays out in the form of marshalling communication and mortification techniques, bolstering image and riding on leader reputation, which serially combine to strategically orchestrate reputational repair and stigma erasure in the event of a cyber-attack. Originality/value: Analysing a prototypical case of an organisation in dire straits following a cyber-attack, the paper provides a systematic characterisation of the setting-in-motion of strategic responses to manage, revamp and ameliorate damaged reputation during cyber-attacks, which tend to negatively shape the evaluative perceptions of the organisation's salient audience

Gender and artisanal and small-scale mining: Exploring women’s livelihood and occupational roles in formalised settings

Data availability: Data will be made available on request.Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has often been touted as an employment-creation avenue for millions of operators worldwide, including women. This employment-generation narrative has, however, been occasioned by the immense scholarly focus on the informal and labour-intensive segments of ASM operations. Exploring the livelihood and occupational roles of women in formalised ASM settings, data for our inquiry comes mainly from employees of two formalised ASM firms in Ghana. Our study suggests that contrary to the dominant narrative, women's employment avenues remain minimal in formalised settings through capital-labour substitution mechanisms. Our findings further indicate that women play differentiated, high positional roles in formalised settings, contrary to their lower-to-middle-rung roles in ASM labour structures in informal settings. In addition, occupational health and safety mechanisms differ from those at informal ASM sites. Disaggregation of employment figures in relation to female workers in ASM would help to tailor specific policies that encapsulate the duality of operations and attract more women into formalised settings where employment conditions are better