- published: 06 Feb 2009
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Tarkwa is a town in the southwest of Ghana, located about 120 miles west of Accra. The town is the forty-ninth most populous in Ghana in terms of population, with a population of 34,743 people. It is a noted centre of gold and manganese mining. Tarkwa Mine, which is a large open-cast gold mine, is situated to the northwest of the town, and Nsuta manganese mine is situated to the east of the town. Tarkwa Mine mines several low-grade conglomeratic "reefs" of Tarkwaian type. These reefs are of mid-Proterozoic age. Tarkwa Mine currently (2007) has the distinction of being the largest gold mine in Ghana. Approximately 24 tons of gold is produced annually, and 100 million tons of earth is moved to achieve this production rate. The Tarkwa Goldfield was discovered a few years before the Witwatersrand Goldfield in South Africa.
The Iduapriem Gold Mine is also located near Tarkwa, 10 km south of the town.
Tarkwa is a junction station on the Ghanaian Railways.