TITLE:
Sustainable Development around Small Scale Mining Areas by the Development of Micro Hydro Power: Application Cases in Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Fanyep Nana Antoine, Gubong Takam Charles Bertrand, Kengne Signe Elie Bertrand, Claudio J. C. Blanco
KEYWORDS:
Micro Hydro Power, Mining Areas, Sustainable Development
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Power and Energy Engineering,
Vol.8 No.3,
March
30,
2020
ABSTRACT: Of all the precious metals buried in the Cameroonian subsoil, gold is
certainly the longest exploited. It has longtime been the subject of artisanal
exploitation. In 2014, the monthly national production was estimated at around
170 kg. In these mining areas, people still live in a screaming precariousness
of which one of the main causes is often the lack of electricity, because of
the distance of these localities to the national electricity network. Cameroon
has a great hydroelectric potential, but the access rate to electricity is
still very low in isolate or rural areas of this country. The objective of this
work is to show that it is possible to efficiently exploit gold in isolated
areas and contribute to the sustainable development of these localities through
the development of micro hydro power (MHP). The mining community of Tikondi in
the East Region of Cameroon is the practical case study for an illustration.
The results of this study show that the development of the MHP project can be
developed with installed power of 87 kW, where the Banki-Michell turbine is
recommended according to the Sulzer-Escher Wyss diagram. The investment cost
evaluated at 79,832,775 FCFA (1 Euro = 656 FCFA). It is a profitable project
with a maximum payback period of 8 years. This project can be easily funded by
gold mining activity. That Tikondi’s MHP can make this village becoming
attractive for others activities, improving the quality of education of
children (there is not any school and lots of them do not go to school), the
building of health centers and the quality of life in that locality and
therefore contribute to their sustainable development too.