Observation

This question was attempted by a good proportion of the candidates that wrote the examination. While many of the candidates who took the examination were able to state the benefits of mineral resources, some of the candidates could not highlight the problems resulting from the exploitation of mineral resources. The candidates were expected to supply the following answers as problems resulting from the exploitation of mineral resources:

- soil erosion
- environmental pollution
- loss of plants
- loss of animals
- accidents
- land degradation
- industrial disputes
- reduction in agricultural production
- conflicts between mining companies and indigenous communities
- soil infertility
- deforestation
- depletion of mineral reserves
- old mining pits are death traps
- encouragement of smuggling and bunkering
- neglect of development of other sectors of the economy
- leads to displacement of people