Obuasi
Obuasi is a gold mining community and town which is the capital of the Obuasi Municipal District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.[3] It lies in the southern part of the Obuasi Municipal, 39 miles (63 kilometres) south-west of Ashanti capital city Kumasi.[3] Obuasi has a population of 175,043 people.[2] Obuasi mining community has a mixture of the Ashanti people culture and the semi-island exclave Ashantiland.[3]
Obuasi | |
|---|---|
Mining Town & Municipality Capital | |
Obuasi is the location of one of the largest know gold deposits on Earth: the Obuasi Gold Mine at the Obuasi Gold bar Mining community in the Ashanti.[1] | |
| Nickname(s): Sikakrom, Gold Town | |
| Motto: Unity in Development | |
Obuasi Location of Obuasi within City-state Ashanti | |
| Coordinates: 06°12′00″N 01°41′00″W / 6.20000°N 1.68333°W | |
| City-state | Ashanti |
| Municipality | Obuasi Municipal |
| Government | |
| • Type | Absolute monarchy |
| • Body | Manhyia Palace Obuasi Municipal |
| • Emperor Asantehene | Osei Tutu II |
| Elevation | 331 ft (101 m) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Total | 175,043[2] |
| • Ethnicity | Ashanti people |
| • Nationality | Ashanti |
| Demonym(s) | Ashanti Obuasian |
| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time |
| • Summer (DST) | GMT |
Obuasi is home to the Obuasi Gold Mine, one of the largest gold deposits on Earth.[1][3] The Gold Coast region was named after the large amount of gold mined historically at Obuasi and the broader Ashanti Region.[3]
Economy
Obuasi is known for the Obuasi Gold Mine, one of the largest underground gold mines in the world. Gold has been mined on the site since at least the seventeenth century.[1]
The Obuasi Gold Mine is currently being recapitalised after having been put into Care and Maintenance in 2014. The mine is expected to reach full production in 2022 after which it is expected to have a life of mine of excess of 20 years.[needs update]
Transportation
Train and air
Obuasi train station is on the Ashanti railway line to and from Kumasi (39 miles or 59.4 kilometres or 1 hour 2 minutes south-west of Kumasi) and Obuasi also has an airstrip and airport.[4]
Tourist attractions
Tourists can visit the town's mine by arranging with the Public Relations Directorate of Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC).[3] Operated by the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC), formerly the State-owned Ashanti company Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC), it was the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC) company's largest mine until the AGC company merged in 2004 to create the world's second-largest gold producer, Anglo Gold Ashanti (AGA) with the merging of the South African company AngloGold.[3]
Education
Obuasi is the site of the Obuasi Senior High Technical School, a coeducational second cycle public high school.[5] Christ the King Catholic Senior High School, St. Margaret Senior High School, and the College of Integrated Health Care. Obuasi is the site for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)-Obuasi Campus.
Climate
Obuasi has a semi-equatorial tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with two rainy seasons. The main rainy season is from March to July, with May and June being typically the year's wettest months, whilst a lighter rainy season occurs from September to November. The average annual rainfall in Obuasi is around 1,270 millimetres or 50 inches and the average temperature 26.5 °C or 79.7 °F with highs of 30 °C or 86 °F and lows of 23 °C or 73.4 °F. Relative humidity is around 75% - 80% in the wet seasons.
| Climate data for Obuasi | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 32 (89) | 31 (87) | 31 (87) | 31 (87) | 32 (89) | 29 (84) | 27 (80) | 27 (80) | 26 (79) | 30 (86) | 32 (89) | 32 (89) | 30 (86) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 24 (75) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 22 (71) | 21 (70) | 24 (75) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) | 24 (75) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 25 (1.0) | 25 (1.0) | 76 (3.0) | 130 (5.0) | 200 (8.0) | 230 (9.0) | 100 (4.0) | 25 (1.0) | 76 (3.0) | 150 (6.0) | 130 (5.0) | 100 (4.0) | 1,267 (50) |
| Source: Myweather2.com[6] | |||||||||||||
Healthcare
Obuasi is also noted for its healthcare facilities, such as the AGA Hospital owned by the Anglo Gold corporation, and also for a private health facility, St. Jude Hospital, owned by Dr George Owusu-Asiedu.[7] The facility is noted for many successful surgeries and numerous successful births at the maternity division of the hospital.[7]
Golfing and stadium
Obuasi has a golf course,[8] and the Obuasi Ashanti Gold Sporting Club, a professional football club, is based at Obuasi's Len Clay Stadium.[9]
Notable people
Notable people from Obuasi mining town include:
- Sam E. Jonah (KBE), the former CEO of Ashanti Goldfields Company,[10]
- Jonathan Mensah, Ghanaian footballer
- Yaw Boakye Yiadom,[11]
- John Mensah, Ghanaian footballer.[12]
Sister cities
As of 13 September 2008, Obuasi has been a sister city of Riverside, California, United States.[13]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "World's top 10 gold deposits". 7 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ a b . World-gazetteer.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g "An Economic History of the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation" (PDF) (PDF). Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Business: AngloGold Ashanti Opens Obuasi Airport". 4 September 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Obuasi Sec-Tech old students support alma mater". Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Obuasi Weather Averages". Myweather2. 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
- ^ a b (PDF) (PDF). May 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Obuasi Golf Course Photos". Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Ashanti Gold Sporting Club". Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Directors: Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, KBE, OSG, Executive Chairman". Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Yaw Boakye Yiadom". 15 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ "Interview with John Mensah". 24 September 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ a b . City of Riverside, California. 2009. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2009.