An initial survey conducted by the Geological Survey Department (GSD) has revealed considerable deposits of gold at the Elmina Beach in the Central Region.
According to the results of the survey, all the14 pits dug at the beach by the department tested positive for gold.
Officials of the GSD say the findings will lead to extensive surveys along the country�s beaches in the near future to ascertain if the gold deposits are worth mining commercially, adding that they suspected that there were considerable amounts of gold deposits along the country�s beaches.
The survey is being conducted by the GSD between the Elmina Beach Resort and the Elmina Castle to ascertain the source, extent and quality of gold deposit which was recently discovered at that beach.
The Eastern Regional Director of the GSD, Mr Solomon Anum, told journalists in Elmina yesterday that some poor communities along the beaches might have great gold prospects that could change their lives for the better.
�Gold is expensive and if we find communities along the beaches that have some deposits of gold, they may have greater deposits in their inlands,� he said.
Mr Anum said the 10-day survey along the Elmina Beach required that the GSD dug pits at different points on the beach, wash the sand and test for gold.
He indicated that the samples were washed at Eture, a community along the Cape Coast-Elmina highway, saying that the calm tides there were effective for the washing activities.
So far, he said, the department had taken 28 different samples from the 14 pits and stated that all the samples had some gold in them.
�There is gold here. That is certain,� he said.
But he stated that the places along the beaches where the deposits were found could make their mining very dicey because of the possible effects on tourism, aquatic life and the environment.
He indicated that the GSD would have to conduct further laboratory tests to establish the grammes of gold per metre cube at the beaches.
The Western Regional Director of the GSD, Mr Prosper Ampey, noted that there might be some future prospects for mining.
Meanwhile, some residents of Elmina had defied warnings from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to stop mining along the beaches until further notice.
When the Daily Graphic went to the Ayesa Beach in Elmina, illegal mining was gradually devastating the beaches.
Some of the illegal miners admitted that what they were doing was illegal and said they were on the look out constantly to outwit the police patrol.
The Public Relations Officer of the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem Municipal Assembly, Mr Edmund Amandzeba Houphouet, said the assembly had reports that some residents did the mining occasionally and indicated that it was constantly monitoring the situation, together with the police, and would clamp down on those mining activities.
Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana
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