Its growth was stimulated by the discovery of a large gold deposit in 1897 and the building of the railway from Sekondi in 1902. The Asante gold mine at Obuasi remained the country’s major producer while others became depleted. It is one of the world’s richest gold mines in terms of yield per ton of ore. By the end of the 20th century, it was the 10th largest gold mine in the world.
Although mining is dominant, the town’s economy has diversified through commerce and cocoa production. Migrant labor from northern Ghana and neighboring countries swelled the town’s population. In the surrounding area, agriculture is dominated by cash crops, and thus food and other basic commodities must be imported for the primarily industrial workers of the town. A mosque serves the Muslim population. Pop. (2000) 115,564; (2010) 143,644.
Obuasi is a Mining Community and town in the southern part of Obuasi Municipal of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Obuasi is the capital of the Obuasi Municipal which lies south of Ashanti capital city Kumasi 39 miles (59.4 kilometres) away south-west of Kumasi or 1 hour 2 minutes road-drive from Obuasi to Kumasi. Obuasi has a settlement population of 175,043 people. Obuasi gold bar mining community has delicate mosaic from the Ashanti people culture of Ashanti and the semi-island exclave Ashantiland. Obuasi wears a ring of hills as its adornment and Obuasi sits quietly albeit industriously on the soil that births the top-9 single richest bullion gold bar gold mining mine on Earth “the Obuasi Gold Mine”.
Gold Coast region was named after the large amount of gold mined historically at Obuasi and the broader Ashanti Region.
Obuasi is known for the Obuasi Gold Mine, one of the largest underground gold mines in the world. With gold having been mined on the site since at least the seventeenth century.
The Obuasi Gold Mine is currently being recapitalised after having been put into Care and Maintenance in 2014. The mine is expected to reach full production in 2022 after which it is expected to have a life of mine of excess of 20 years.
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.
Tourists can visit the town’s mine by arranging with the Public Relations Directorate of Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC). Operated by the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC), formerly the State-owned Ashanti company Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC), it was the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC) company’s largest mine until the AGC company merged in 2004 to create the Earth’s second-largest gold producer, Anglo Gold Ashanti (AGA) with the merging of the South African company AngloGold.
Obuasi is the site of the Obuasi Senior High Technical School a mixed-sex educational second cycle public high school. 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 (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.
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, owned by Dr George Owusu-Asiedu. The facility is noted for many successful surgeries and numerous successful births at the maternity division of the hospital.
Obuasi has a golf course, and the Obuasi Ashanti Gold Sporting Club, a professional football club, is based at Obuasi’s Len Clay Stadium.
Notable people from Obuasi mining town include Sam E. Jonah (KBE) the former CEO of Ashanti Goldfields Company, Jonathan Mensah, Yaw Boakye Yiadom, and John Mensah. As of 13 September 2008, Obuasi has been a sister city of Riverside, California, United States