Obuasi | |
---|---|
Mining Town & Municipality Capital | |
Nickname(s): Sikakrom, Gold Town | |
Motto: Unity in Development | |
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 a gold mining community [3] and town which is the capital of the Obuasi Municipal District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. [4] It lies in the southern part of the Obuasi Municipal, 39 miles (63 kilometres) south-west of Ashanti capital city Kumasi. [4] 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. [4]
Obuasi is home to the Obuasi Gold Mine, one of the largest known gold deposits on Earth. [1] [4] The Gold Coast region was named after the large amount of gold mined historically at Obuasi and the broader Ashanti Region. [4]
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 now being refurbished after being placed under care and maintenance in 2014. The mine was anticipated to reach full production in 2022, with a mine life of more than 20 years. [5][ needs update]
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. [6]
Tourists can visit the town's mine by arranging with the Public Relations Directorate of Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC). [4] Operated by the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC), formerly the State-owned Ashanti company Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC), Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC) was the largest mine until the AGC company merged [7] in 2004 to create the world's second-largest gold producer, Anglo Gold Ashanti (AGA) with the merging of the South African company AngloGold. [4]
Obuasi is the site of the Obuasi Senior High Technical School, a coeducational second cycle public high school. [8] 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 [9] (KNUST)-Obuasi Campus.
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 |
Mean daily maximum °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) |
Mean daily minimum °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 [10] |
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, [11] owned by Dr George Owusu-Asiedu. [12] The facility is noted for many successful surgeries and numerous successful births at the maternity division of the hospital. [12]
Obuasi has a golf course, [13] and the Obuasi Ashanti Gold Sporting Club, a professional football club, is based at Obuasi's Len Clay Stadium. [14]
Notable people from Obuasi mining town include:
As of 13 September 2008, Obuasi has been a sister city of Riverside, California, United States. [18]
Sovereign state | City | State | Date | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Riverside | California | 2008 | [18] |