The Impacts of Mining Industry Activities: The Case of The Dangote Cement Senegal Cement Plant

DANGOTE CEMENT Senegal is a cement factory located 65 km from Dakar, in the region of Thiès and more precisely in the town of Keur Moussa. The construction phase began in 2007 and official operation began in January 2015. DANGOTE CEMENT is one of the largest cement producers. Industrial activities have both positive and negative impacts on humans, fauna and flora and therefore on the physical environment. Thus, Senegalese legislation favors the protection and safeguarding of these living beings and their interaction with the environment. In this zone going from the East of Cape Verde, to the plateau of Thiès we have two cement works; SOCOCIMS (West African Cement Company) and CIMENT DU SAHEL (Dias). With the establishment of the DANGOTE CEMENT company in this rural area, there will therefore be a transformation of the landscape, but also a hold on the activities of the primary sector. Because, the manufacture of cement, in an environment as sensitive as the region of Thiès, causes enormous nuisances such as noise, the use of water in large quantities, the degradation of natural resources. Quarries destroy, during their exploitation, part of the flora and landscapes and scare away the fauna. To reduce these impacts, the cement plant can minimize the area used, reduce landscape impacts and shorten quarry operating times. It can also rehabilitate quarries after exploitation. Indeed, the transformation of the extracted raw material into a final product is a process that consumes a lot of energy and water, and the chemical manufacturing process is also a greenhouse gas emitter. According to Arnaud BERGER et al. (2014) [1], the cement industry is the source of 5% of global CO₂ emissions. This process can also release dust, NO ₂ and SO ₂ into the atmosphere. This process also involves the use of alternative fuels, such as coal, which allows industry to find energy recovery for waste that is difficult to recycle.

The problem of our research is assessed in the dimension of creation of an economy by the company DANGOTE CEMENT but takes into account its environmental, socio-economic impacts which are strongly linked to the realization of this company [2] .

The analysis of our research results has made it possible to identify, on the one hand, general recommendations for the improvement of the living environment of the populations and, on the other hand, specific recommendations for the state and the DANGOTE company. CEMENT.