ABSTRACT
Africa is a continent located in the southern hemisphere and known for its rich diversity of wildlife including birds, amphibians, reptiles and large mammals. However, in recent years, there have been concerns about significant environmental problems caused by the mining of rare and major metals and metallurgical activities in African countries by domestic and foreign corporations (Oelofse, 2008). Environmental pollution due to the rapid progress of economic development in Africa can cause various problems and heavy metals are some of the major contaminants in these countries (Akiwumi and Butler, 2008; Norman et al., 2007; Rashad and Barsoum, 2006). Humans and wildlife can be exposed to heavy metals by drinking water and inhaling air or soil contaminated by mining activities and the metal industry (Nakayama et al., 2010).
