Metallic contaminations around Lubumbashi

The environmental degradation that has resulted in the disappearance of vegetation in the Penga Penga neighborhood (Gécamines) is a real problem in the daily management of the environment. The effects of trace metals in excessive quantities in this soil are believed to be of anthropogenic origin and the proximity of the neighborhood to the source of contamination was a determining factor following the prevailing winds for the accumulation at the site of the deposit. The termite mounds in the Penga-Penga neighborhood and those in the vicinity of Kassapa allowed for the quantification of trace metal elements, particularly through physical and chemical analysis of variables such as pH, granulometry, Cu, Co, Pb, Zn and Cd. The listing of the flora present on the red and yellow termite mounds served to detect contamination by the presence of indicator species of polluted soils; the anthropic origin of these trace metals would be the metallurgical plants for the extraction of Cu by Gécamines.