Konongo

Konongo, also called Konongo-Odumase, is a gold mining community in the Ashanti Region of Ghana and the capital of the Asante Akim Central Municipal District. It lies about 53 kilometres from Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital. Local folklore traces the name to the drinking of palm oil. The town was a lively commercial centre well before the 1950s, the commercial capital of the Kumasi East Council that later became the Asante-Akyem District, and mines owned by British companies drew workers of many nationalities from across West Africa. The Konongo Gold Mine, a suspended open pit mine, produced gold bars, and manganese ore deposits estimated at over 1.7 million tonnes lie at Odumase nearby. Konongo-Odumase Senior High School, opened on 23 February 1953, stands in the town, and a fire in December 2017 displaced over 100 students from its boys' dormitory.