REPORT OF THE ASSESSMENT OF BORROWED PITS IN

BARKIN LADI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA COUNCIL

1.0. INTRODUCTION
An assessment visit was undertaken to the on-going BarkinLadi
Dam Project, Mining Sites around BarkinLadi Area Counciland the
Proposed Mangu Dam Project by Engr.AntheaOchedikwu .U from
the Department of Irrigation and Drainage and other Team of
Engineers from the Dams Department Federal Ministry of Water
Resources Abuja and Infiouest international Ltd from Tuesday 15 th
April Friday 18th April, 2014. During the visit, the Engineers took
time to visit the Dam projects and some of the abandoned Mining
Pits around BarkinLadiLocal Government Council and its environs
as shown in pictures below.
2.0. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE VISIT
The main objective of the visit was to investigate the mining pits
and their recharging points with a bid to widening the mining pits
to accommodate up-coming irrigation development in the project
area.
3.0. OBSERVATIONS
Details of the observations on site visits are outlined as subheading below:
3.1. SOURCES OF WATERAND MINING PITS
TheEngineer took time to investigate again the flow into the
mining pits by trekking along the course of the stream, same 34km upstream of the ponded mining pit. In the course of the
investigation: it was discovered that the two brooks (Vide Pix
3.1a, 3.1b and 3.1c) from spring sources around Kuru Gagok (Kuru
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Junta) meet about 1Km from kavitex Ceramic factory and then
flow into the 1st main mining pit pix 3.1e, the 2 nd mining pit is
adjacent to the main mining pit which is at the down stream of
the on-going Dam Construction Spillwayas shown in pix 3.1fat the
moment the only flow into mining pit 2 is the rain water. The four
Mining Pits and Rivers investigated is as shown in pix 3.1a 3.1n
below.

PIX 3.1a :First feeder Brook

PIX 3.1b : Second feeder Brook

PIX 3.1c :Confluence of Rot Nishe Brooks

to

Pix 3.1d: Flow from Rot Nishe

Mining pit 1 afterrainfall

PIX 3.1e: Ponded Mining pit 1 Ponded

water and flow from Rot NisheBrooks

Pix 3.1f: Mining pit 2: Downstream

of the proposed spillway of the ongoing Dam Construction

Pix 3.1g: Downstream of the on-going

Dam Construction

Pix 3.1h:Mining pit 3 at Barkin Ladi along

Pix 3.1i: Mangu Road

Mining pit 3 continues at Barkin

Ladi
along Mangu Road

Pix 3.1j: Mining pit 4 at Dorawa used for

Dorowa Continues
cropping of vegetables

Pix 3.1k: Mining pit 4 at

Pix 3.1l: River langil main source of water for Pix 3.1m: Upstream of river
Dangil
the proposed dam

Pix 3.1n: Cropping at upstream of River Dangil

4.0. CONCLUSION
There are so many scattered mining pits around BarkinLadi Local
Government Area Council as show above, apart from the 1 st
Mining Pit which has a source from Rot NisheBrooks, most of the
Mining Pits are ponded water, some are large body of water with
small land area. It is possible to have an irrigation system in the
area, but there is need for further studies to determine the
quantity of flow anddesign of the irrigation system for a
sustainable irrigation development in the project area.
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