Water quality assessment in the Bétaré-Oya gold mining area (East-Cameroon): Multivariate Statistical Analysis approach

The influence of gold mining activities on the water quality in the Mari catchment in Bétaré-Oya (East Cameroon) was assessed in this study. Sampling was performed within the period of one hydrological year (2015 to 2016), with 22 sampling sites consisting of groundwater (06) and surface water (16). In addition to measuring the physicochemical parameters, such as pH, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, turbidity, suspended solids and CN−, eleven major elements (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, NH4+, Cl−, NO3−, HCO3−, SO42−, PO43− and F−) and eight heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Fe, Cu, As, Mn and Cr) were also analyzed using conventional hydrochemical methods, Multivariate Statistical Analysis and the Heavy metal Pollution Index (HPI). The results showed that the water from Mari catchment and Lom River was acidic to basic (5.40