Evaluation of heavy metals in platinum tailing dam site

Mining industry has been identified as the main sustenance of the South African economy, however the negative impacts of the industry on the ecological systems cannot be over emphasized due to the released waste which is mostly heavy metals into the environment. The study evaluated six heavy metal (Al, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Cr) contents in a tailings dam from a specific mine site. A set of samples for the investigation were measured, that is, in the year 2012. The sample set was only taken at a distance profile of 500 meters from the foot of the dam. A kilogram of each sample was taken as per grid format. The samples at varied depths were taken at 0-cm depth for the top layer, 20 cm depth for the second layer, and 30cm depth for the third layer. The samples for the surface distance were taken at 1 m, 2m, 3m, and 4m away from the 500 m sampling point. 1. The results of this research study showed that when the concentrations of the six heavy metals at the Impala tailings dam site were compared, their prevalence followed the order Al>Fe>Cr>Ni>Cu>Pb and the Anova tests confirmed that the difference between the group concentration means for each metal with respect to distance and depth was insignificant, and this finding agreed with the raw data analysis, which examined the concentration profile of each separate metal and showed that the average means were very similar.