Impacts of mining activities on soil properties: case studies from Morocco mine sites

Abstract

In Morocco, as in many countries around the world, mining industry contributes significantly to the national economic development. The importance of this sector is reflected in its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), its important share in national exports and its beneficial effects on regional and rural development through the creation of new jobs. Both globally and in Africa, the country was able to occupy a prominent place for a number of mineral substances. Morocco is thus the world’s leading exporter of phosphate, ranked as the world’s second-largest producer of barite and one of the main producers of silver in Africa (De Boer et al., 2018; Oshokoya and Tetteh, 2018). This is explained by the existence of a favorable and diversified geological context which has made it possible to develop mining activity in many regions of the national territory. If the socio-economic benefits of mining have been favorable to the country’s development, the same does not apply for its impact on the environment. Indeed, it is well known that mining and metallurgical processes in all their phases, i.e. extraction, processing, transport, and smelting, alters the natural landscape and cause serious environmental impacts (Ainoo et al., 2009; Matschullat and Gutzmer, 2012). In addition, the large * Impacts of mining activities on soil properties: case studies from Morocco mine sites