Over 1.7 billion tonnes of iron ore discovered in parts of Northern Ghana

He added that the volume of the mineral deposit was estimated to hit three billion by the end of the exercise.

“Growing up, we all knew about the Oppong Manso iron mine in the Western Region, which is about 360 million tonnes, and also some 60-million tonne deposits in the Upper West Region, but the iron ore that has been discovered at Sheini is the biggest in the country.”

“The volumes of deposit that have been discovered are based on the area that has already been assessed, but the rock formation in the area of the discovery extends to Togo, so I believe that when we are done with the reassessment, we will be having huge volumes of the mineral,” he added.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that this discovery will serve as a major boost to the iron and steel industry in Ghana and beyond.

He said the Ghana Iron and Steel Development Corporation Bill that was passed by Parliament recently was awaiting Presidential Assent for work on the corporation to start.

However, some Ghanaians are not enthused by the discovery. Ghanaian social media users have asked how this will benefit the country since the existing minerals in Ghana have not led to financial liberation.

The head of the University of Ghana Centre for Asian Studies, Dr Lloyd Amoah asked why government officials are often happy when minerals are discovered even though it does not seem to be benefiting the country.