Birim River

[1] The Birim River basin lies in the Man Shield area of the West African craton, which has been overlaid by Early Proterozoic metasedimentary Birimian rocks.

[2] The Birimian rocks include Akwatian formations, named after the town of Akwatia in the Birim valley, which have yielded more than 100,000,000 carats (20,000 kg) of diamonds.

[3] The great majority of the diamonds are found in Harzburgitic rocks and seem to have crystallized at unusually high temperatures and pressures deep in the lithosphere.

[7] The river water contains levels of faecal coliforms and streptococci, mostly of human origin but in some cases due to pollution from livestock operations, that make it unsafe to drink without treatment.

[17] In 1989 the government of Ghana set up the Precious Minerals Marketing Corporation (PMMC) to promote small-scale gold and diamond mining and to purchase and resell the output.

However, because of complaints over raw gem sales, the government in March 1992 ordered an investigation into the operations of the state agency and suspended its managing director.

[20] The Atewa Range at the headwaters of the river contains extensive bauxite deposits with minor kaolin occurrences, which are being evaluated by groups such as BHP.

[5] The fertile soil and warm, humid climate of the Birim basin support staple food crops such as cassava, yam, cocoyam, maize, rice and vegetables, and commercially more valuable crops such as citrus, pineapple, pawpaw and cola nut.

The region also produces exotic crops such as black and sweet pepper, ginger, cashew nuts, rubber and mangoes, which are gaining importance as export commodities.

The Atewa Range forest reserve is managed by the Okyeman Environment Foundation, which has restricted people from farming in the area and instead is trying to encourage eco-tourism.

[22] The Birim South District has attractive scenery, waterfalls, historic places and nine forest reserves.

Working with the University of Georgia, plans are being made to improve the access roads, eating and relaxation places, souvenirs and shops.

[23] In the town of Akyem (Akim) Oda, the capital of the Birim South District, attractions include dug-out boat tours to view the mining operations, traditional ceremonies usually including impressive drumming performances and a bustling outdoor market.