Survey Reveals Rich Mineral Deposits In Volta Basin

The acting Director of the Geological Survey Department (GSD), Mr John Agyei Duodu, has expressed optimism that Ghana is on the threshold of discovering minerals in commercial quantities in the Volta Lake Basin. Mr Duodu explained to the Daily Graphic that preliminary results from a hydrogeology of the Voltaian Basin, which stretches into Burkina Faso and Togo, were hinting at the fact that minerals such as gold, diamonds, bauxite and iron ore, as well as hydrocarbon, existed in the area. He said the (GSD) had since 2005 received support from a number of national and international contractors interested in the implementation of the 40-million Euro European Union (EU)-funded Mining Sector Support Programme. According to him, the funds were being utilised for geological mapping and mineral prospecting projects (geophysics) of the Voltaian Basin to pave the way for commercial exploration. Mr Duodu said one of the major hydrogeological investigations of the basin was carried out in 1966 by experts from the then Soviet Union. Those investigations, he said, pointed to oil discovery in the Voltaian Basin. He, however, pointed out that a greater part of the basin was not covered by geological mapping of any appreciable scale and the inadequate geophysical data prevented early explorers from gaining a clear idea of the potential of the area. Mr Duodu said that formed the basis of the government implementing the Mining Sector Support Programme (MSSP) to completely unearth the mineral potential of the area. He added that under the MSSP, the government was aiming at providing an up-to-date geological and geophysical information for the discovery of new mineral resources. He said a substantial part of those efforts had been focused on the Voltaian sedimentary basin, which covers about 98,OOO,km2 of the territory of Ghana and has been identified as a priority area by the GSD. Mr Duodu said the mapping and prospecting activities had been ongoing for the past three years in the basin and some aspects of them were expected to be concluded in June 2009.