Granitic aggregates are mostly used for civil construction and other engineering works in Ghana. In this project, the characteristics of the Cape Coast (G1) and Dixcove (G2) granitoids for sustainable road construction were assessed. Physical and mechanical properties of the rocks were evaluated. Hand specimen description revealed that, amphibole is the major mafic mineral in the G2 and biotite as the dominant mafic mineral in the G1 granitoids. Petrographic study of the grains showed that, the large grains interlocked with fine grains (well-graded) with irregular grain boundaries in the matrix of the G2 gives the rocks a higher strength to withstand compressive loads than the G1 granitoids which have micro fractures in them that acts as weak planes in the rock. Geotechnical tests performed on the rocks gave an average Aggregate Crushing Value (ACV) of 11.6 % for Dixcove and 20.1 % for the Cape Coast, Aggregates Impact Value (AIV) of 6.1 % for Dixcove and 11.02 % for Cape Coast, Aggregate Abrasion Value (AAV) of 16.60 % for Dixcove and 26.0 % for Cape Coast, Specific Gravity of 2.74 for Dixcove and 2.66 for Cape Coast and Water Absorption of 0.18% for Dixcove and 0.51 % for Cape Coast granites. These values indicate that, both rock aggregates have relatively high strengths. However, G2 granitoids have relatively high resistance to compressive stresses under crushing, impacts and abrasion of traffic loads hence more suitable for sustainable road construction according to the global standards.

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To assess the impact of blasting activities on building structures in open pit mining districts in Ghana a study was carried out in Prestea, a township very close to the perimeter of the Plant North pit of the Bogoso Gold Ltd (now Golden Star Resources Bogoso/Prestea Mines), in the Western Region of Ghana. It was observed during the study that the quality of most 'residential building structures within the Prestea township and its environs were generally substandard. Most of the houses were in a deplorable state of disrepair with their conditions already triggering failure. Again, it was noted that no records were available to ascertain the structural state of the buildings prior to the commencement of blasting activities at the pit, necessitating the need to carry out a baseline study of buildings in nearby Himan townships for comparative analysis. It was also observed that even though management had selected 12 mm/s as its threshold for its operations in the pits only 6% of the over 542 blasts monitored over a two and half year period had ground vibration values in excess of 1.5 mm/s, with a maximum recorded value of 8 mm/s. It is recommended that management should not adopt ground vibration levels in excess of 2 mm/s for their pit operations because of the poor infrastructure within the surrounding communities. Even though this level can increase drilling and blasting costs considerably, it is considered a better option than expensive lawsuits in the likely event of any further damages that may be caused to building structures in the township.

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Perfecting land title refers to the process of securing tenure on land. It refers to the assurance that the land one holds for an agreed period of time and purpose is certain. It requires a level of legitimacy. It is on record that agriculture, forestry and mining sectors constitute about 70% of Ghana’s gross domestic product. However, the lack of several large-scale plantations in Ghana can be partly attributed to the land tenure system. Land rights in rural communities are not secured in that the lands are not themselves well defined and rights are not documented. The study used modern survey methods to clearly map out farms in a systematic manner for farmers under a cooperative for rubber plantation development. The rights of tenant farmers and landholders are clearly and legally documented and registered into the formal land administration system. The spatial and attribute data are incorporated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) that serves as tool for data management on the farmers. The pilot study was successful in improving not only tenure security and data access, but also access to funding by participating farmers. Keywords: Land Tenure Security, Registration, Spatial Data, Attribute Data