The crystalline aquifer in Ghana’s Pra Basin provides water for over 4 million people as many rivers are polluted by artisanal mining. The aim of the data collection was to understand the origin, quality and chemical evolution of surface water and ground water in order to improve the sustainable management of the resource. Here, we present data on major ions, trace metals, stable oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δ2H) isotope ratios of surface water and ground water and mineralogical composition of rock outcrops from the Pra Basin in Ghana.

The field campaign took place in March 2020 (water sampling) and August 2021 (outcrop sampling). A total of 34 surface water and 56 ground water samples were collected from rivers, public boreholes (depth >30 m) and hand-dug wells (depth < 10 m), respectively. The water samples were analysed for cations and trace metals using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The anions were analysed using the Ion Chromatography (IC). For the stable oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δ2H) isotope ratios, a Picarro L-2140i Ringdown Spectrometer was used. The bulk elemental composition of the rock samples was analysed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The mineralogic composition was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) while the Zeiss Axiophot petrographic microscope was used for the petrographic thin section analysis.

The data generated from all measurements are provided in a .zip folder consisting of four subfolders. Each folder contains Excel files discussed in the file inventory section.