Mining Association Rules Applied to Goethite and Haematite Abundances in Manganese-Contaminated Soils
Georges-Ivo Ekosse, Ntonghanwah Forcheh · Polish Journal of Environmental Studies · 2007
Mining association rules (MAR) are applied in elucidating on the abundances and association of Fe minerals in soils within the proximity of an abandoned manganese oxide (Mno x ) mine. Four hundred soil samples were obtained from a 4 km 2 area close to the abandoned mine in kgwakgwe, Botswana. The Fe minerals in the soil samples were identified by x-ray diffractometry. Results depicted haematite and goe - thite present in different abundances: none, trace, minor and major in soils from the study area but only haematite in soils from the control site. From 16 possible combinations of the two Fe minerals in the soil samples, MAR results for confidence, certainty factor, lift and support, depicted haematite in major quan - tity to be the most influential. This fact is substantiated by its occurrence in the country shales.