Background

Tarkwa Nsuaem is one of the districts in the Western Region of Ghana. It is located between Latitude 4o5'and Longitude 5o5'. The Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality was created from the former Wassa West District under Legislative Instrument (LI) 1886 in 2007. It shares boundary with Prestea Huni-Valley to the north, the south by Ahanta West, the West by Nzema East and the East by Mpohor Wassa East. The Municipality has a total land area of 905.2 square km, and has Tarkwa as its capital. Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly exists to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants through the provision of effective and efficient social and economic services.

The municipality could be said to be the first place mining activities started in the country. At the time the Geological Survey Department was established in 1913, underground gold mines had been operating in Tarkwa and Bogoso sites. In fact, before Europeans from Portugal and Britain arrived between 1453 and 1622, the Wassa indigenes of Apinto were mining gold. Men were extracting the minerals from deep pits and women and children were panning for gold dust in rivers and streams. Some of the underground mines have long been abandoned. The first mechanical dredge mining used in Ghana is at Awudua near Booho presently called Gambia.