THE STATE OF GOLD MINING IN GHANA

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Author list: MIREKUGYIMAH D, SUGLO RS

Place: LONDON

Publication year: 1993

Journal: TRANSACTIONS OF THE INSTITUTION OF MINING AND METALLURGY SECTION A-MINING INDUSTRY (0371-7844)

Journal acronym: T I MIN METALL A

Volume number: 102

Start page: A59

End page: A67

ISSN: 0371-7844

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Abstract

With auriferous belts that cover about 51 800 km2 of its small area of 239 400 km2, it is no surprise that Ghana was called the Gold Coast before gaining independence from Great Britain in 1957.Gold has been mined since the fifteenth century. From 1493 to 1600 the Gold Coast was responsible for 35.5% of the entire world's production of gold. This percentage dropped to 8.9% during the period 1701-1800. For the past 15 years annual production has averaged not more than 2% of the world total. The fall in output persisted to the extent that by 1985 there were only four operating gold mines in the country, compared to 45 in 1934 and 11 in 1945. Since 1987 Ghana has been experiencing a boom in gold mining activities.Today as many as 83 new companies, of which 18 are foreign-owned, have acquired prospecting licences. At least five new companies have started production, bringing the number of large-scale mining companies to nine. In addition, about 650 licensed small-scale mining groups are in operation.The economic and technological factors that have contributed to the decline of gold production in Ghana are discussed and a summary is given of the methods that are used to mine and recover gold, from small-scale workings through dredging and opencast operations to underground mining. The advantages and disadvantages of these technologies and the future of gold mining in Ghana are considered.

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