Spatial Distribution and Physico-Chemical Characterization of Soils in the Katapula Sedimentation Basin (Kipushi) for a Phytoremediation Project

Mining has direct and indirect impacts on natural resources. The tailings are generally stored in storage areas near the mine, extraction plants and can cover areas of several tens of hectares. These mine discharges have adverse environmental impacts on both the surrounding population and ecosystems. The objective of the present work was to establish a spatial distribution and to carry out the physico-chemical characterization of the mining discharges from the Katapula sedimentation basin (Kipushi). 40 soil samples were taken from the entire basin at a depth of 0 to 20 cm using a soil probe. The samples thus collected were crushed and sieved and analyzed by XRF (apparatus using X-ray fluorescence) and Potentiometric. Statistical processing of the data was carried out using the Surfer and ArcGIS 10.8 software to highlight the spatial distribution of the various chemical elements. To compare the averages of the total trace element concentrations in the sedimentation basin soil, a one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using Minitab. The results obtained revealed that the sedimentation basin soils contain high concentrations of metallic trace elements such as: Zn, Cu, Pb, As, Cr, Cd, Co, Ag and Ti with 2.24%; 4771 mg.kg-1; 1185 mg.kg-1; 866 mg.kg-1; 14.15 mg.kg-1; 199 mg.kg-1; 10 mg.kg-1; 8.3mg.kg-1 and 2823 mg.kg-1 respectively, spread throughout the basin. Of all these trace elements, Zinc is the element that had a very high concentration and Silver is the element that had a low concentration. The concentration of major elements such as Ca, Fe, Mn, Cl, was abundant, with Calcium having 14.4 ± 3.8 %. In general, the soil in this basin had a basic pH (7.3 ± 1). These results demonstrate the importance of implementing phytoremediation strategies to reduce the risk of dispersion of this pollution in the surrounding soil.