Assessing the impact of Ghana's geology on gold mining using geospatial techniques

Abstract

As the largest gold producer in Africa, Ghana's spatial distribution of gold-bearing formations is still largely unexamined on a national scale. Previous studies have largely focused on specific mining regions, neglecting a holistic geospatial assessment of gold-bearing rocks across the country. This study employs geospatial techniques to evaluate the relationship between Ghana's geological formations and gold mineralization. The results reveal that gold mineralization is primarily associated with Birimian Volcanics, Birimian Sediments, and Tarkwaian rocks, which are distributed across 12 regions, with the highest concentrations in the Bono (18.74 %), Ashanti (17.93 %), Western (17.53 %), and Western North (11.45 %) regions. The total area occupied by gold-bearing formations is 55,723 km² (23.34 %) of Ghana's landmass. Notably, large-scale mining operations such as Newmont Gold Ghana Limited and AngloGold Ashanti predominantly operate within these geological formations, confirming the strong relationship between rock type and gold deposits. This study emphasizes the importance of considering the spatial distribution of gold-bearing formations in land-use planning and future mining investments to optimize resource management and mitigate conflicts between urbanization and mineral exploration.