Academic literature on the topic 'Bauxite – Boké (Guinée)'

Abstract This work aims to analyze the quality of groundwater in the riparian areas of the bauxitic plateaus of N'Dangara and Boundou Wandé in operation by the CBG (Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée). The geology of the study area consists mainly of sedimentary formations of the Devonian faro, Neogene and Quaternary. Three water measurement and sampling campaigns on the two plateaus were carried out with determination of piezometric measurements and physic-chemical parameters. This study showed that the general flow direction of groundwater is dispersed. The flows at Boundou Wandé are from the center of the plateau to the north and that at N'Dangara is from the center to the south and southwest. It can be seen that the direction of groundwater flow reflects overall the relief of the deposit conditioned by its geomorphological framework. It emerges from the analysis of physical and chemical parameters that well water is consumable. However, the water from wells MW15, MW16, MW17, MW18 and MW21 with a low pH (4.84 to 5.13) may present a certain nuisance for its consumption and because it can be corrosive. Analysis of the Piper diagram showed two hydrogeochemical facies (calcium and magnesium bicarbonate facies and sodium and potassium carbonate facies). However, this study strongly suggests continuous monitoring of groundwater in and around the study area in order to meet the demand for water supply to communities without compromising the ability of future generations to meet water quality requirements.

Conducted studies were aimed at assessing the degree of air pollution during the extraction of bauxite in Boke region (Guinea). The impact of mining industry on air pollution during the extraction of bauxite and the impact of pollution on population health was studied. It has been shown that air pollution from mining and processing of minerals can affect the quality of local and regional air. It has been found that most of the air pollution problems during the operation of bauxite are associated with the emission of dust particles. Regularities of solid pollutants distribution in Boke region were analyzed. The most polluted areas in the places of production and grinding, in ports and on roads leading to the places of production were identified. The difference in the intensity of contamination with fine and coarse-personal solid particles was revealed. It is determined that the concentration of fine particulate matters generally does not exceed or slightly exceeds permissible limits (not more than twice). At the same time, the concentration of coarse particulate matters in all areas significantly exceeds permissible norms: as a rule, in 5–10 times, and in some cases in 30 and 50 times. There are recommendations and proposed measures to reduce air pollution during the extraction of bauxite. These recommendations can be the basis for the development of guidelines to reduce air pollution and negative impact of mining industry on the environment.

Depuis plusieurs années, la question des rejets liquides et solides issus de l’extraction de l’alumine de la bauxite par l’usine d’Alteo Gardanne (France) est devenu un problème public grâce à la mobilisation d’associations environnementales, de collectifs d’usagers des Calanques et de riverains de l’usine et du site de stockage des déchets solides, qui dénoncent les impacts sur l’environnement et la santé des habitants. La manière dont le problème est défini par ces mobilisations lui confère une dimension locale (Deldrève et Metin, 20191), alors que, depuis l’épuisement des mines de bauxite de Provence, l’usine d’alumine Alteo (appartenant antérieurement à Pechiney puis Rio Tinto), continue sa production en s’approvisionnant en bauxite auprès de la Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG), qui exploite les gisements de la région de Boké où les communautés riveraines des mines dénoncent aussi les conséquences socio-environnementales et sanitaires de la politique nationale d’extraction de la bauxite2. Ainsi, la trajectoire de la bauxite confère au problème, une dimension internationale et générique. En outre, alors que de la Guinée à Gardanne, les enjeux environnementaux et sanitaires pour les communautés riveraines des sites d’exploitation et de transformation ou encore des voies de transport de la bauxite sont largement publicisés, ceux liés à la santé et aux conditions de travail des ouvriers qui extraient, transportent et transforment la bauxite restent invisibilisés. Les études en épidémiologie qui se sont intéressées à la situation des travailleurs de la bauxite portent généralement sur les mesures de leur exposition aux rayons gamma et aux niveaux de concentration des composantes des poussières inhalées dans les mines et dans les raffineries (Brian et al., 20123 ; Dennekamp et al., 20154). Les conclusions de ces études sur l’exposition au risque des ouvriers ont donné lieu à des controverses et leurs approches consistant à mesurer des moyennes et non des expositions réelles sont largement critiquées (G. Hecht, 20125), du fait qu’elles ne permettent pas de prendre en compte les différences d’exposition liées aux différentes situations de travail. Aussi, cette thèse en sociologie qui, s’inscrit dans un projet de recherche pluridisciplinaire en sciences sociales (Justbaux)6, a pour objectif de comprendre le rapport des ouvriers à la bauxite et leur expérience du travail et des risques. Qui sont les travailleurs sur la trajectoire de la bauxite ? Quels sont les enjeux de justice et inégalités environnementales qui se donnent à lire dans leur rapport à la bauxite ? Quelles sont leurs positions face aux mobilisations des riverains (dont ils font parfois partie) et des écologistes ? Comment qualifient-ils la matière et définissent-ils les problèmes liés à son exploitation ? Je fais l’hypothèse que le rapport à la bauxite et l’expérience des risques liés à son extraction, sa transformation et son transport, sont non seulement fonction des situations de travail, des techniques employées et réglementations appliquées, mais aussi du statut des ouvriers, de leur précarité et dépendance à la compagnie qui les emploie. Pour vérifier cette hypothèse, je mobilise un cadre d’analyse qui emprunte ses concepts à la sociologie du travail et à la justice environnementale. Ma démarche est qualitative. Elle comprend des entretiens semi-directifs avec des ouvriers situés à différentes étapes de la trajectoire de la bauxite ainsi que des observations de leurs situations de travail et activités. Cette ethnographie du travail dans les mines en Guinée, aux côtés des transporteurs, au sein de l’usine de pré-transformation de la bauxite à Kamsar ou encore de l’usine de production d’alumine à Gardanne, sera conjuguée à un travail d’archives et de documentation
For several years now, the issue of liquid and solid discharges from the extraction of alumina from bauxite by the Alteo Gardanne plant (France) has been a public issue, thanks to the mobilization of environmental associations, user groups in the Calanques and local residents of the plant and the solid waste storage site, who denounce the impacts on the environment and the health of local residents. The way in which the problem is defined by these mobilizations gives it a local dimension (Deldrève and Metin, 2019, while, since the depletion of Provence’s bauxite mines, the Alteo alumina plant (previously owned by Pechiney and then Rio Tinto), continues its production by sourcing bauxite from Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG), which mines deposits in the Boké region, where communities living near the mines are also denouncing the socio-environmental and health consequences of the national bauxite mining policy. Thus, the trajectory of bauxite gives the problem an international and generic dimension. What’s more, while environmental and health issues for communities living close to bauxite mining and processing sites or transport routes are widely publicized from Guinea to Gardanne, those relating to the health and working conditions of the workers who extract, transport and process bauxite remain invisible. Epidemiological studies that have addressed the situation of bauxite workers generally focus on measurements of their exposure to gamma radiation and concentration levels of inhaled dust components in mines and refineries (Brian et al., 2012; Dennekamp et al., 2015). The conclusions of these studies on workers’ exposure to risk have given rise to controversy, and their approaches of measuring averages rather than actual exposures have been widely criticized (G. Hecht, 2012), on the grounds that they fail to take into account differences in exposure linked to different work situations. The aim of this sociology thesis, which is part of a multidisciplinary social science research project (Justbaux), is to understand workers’ relationship with bauxite and their experience of work and risks. Who are the workers on the bauxite trajectory? What issues of environmental justice and inequality are at stake in their relationship with bauxite? What are their positions with regard to the mobilization of local residents (of which they are sometimes a part) and environmentalists? How do they describe the material and define the problems associated with its use? I hypothesize that people’s relationship with bauxite and their experience of the risks associated with its extraction, processing and transport are a function not only of their work situation, the techniques employed and the regulations applied, but also of the status of the workers, their precariousness and their dependence on the company that employs them. To test this hypothesis, I use an analytical framework that borrows concepts from the sociology of work and environmental justice. My approach is qualitative. It includes semi-structured interviews with workers at different stages of the bauxite trajectory, as well as observations of their work situations and activities. This ethnography of work in the mines in Guinea, alongside the transporters, at the bauxite pre-processing plant in Kamsar and at the alumina production plant in Gardanne, will be combined with archive and documentation work