The value of the country’s mining sector is anticipated to reach US$774million in 2017, up from US$669 million in 2012, as bauxite and gold production see substantial increases, B&FT has gathered.

“This is a significant break from the past decade, when the mining sector value barely rose as gold output declined -- offsetting much of the increases in price. “We expect gold to be the main driver of growth, but see bauxite playing a growing role,” Ghana Mining Report quarter-four survey conducted by the Fast Market Research, an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information has revealed.

Figures from the Minerals Commission indicate that the mining industry attracted US$1.0billion of total investment inflow into the country in 2012. These investments came from producing, exploration and support Service companies.

The multiplying effect of this investment in the country’s economy cannot be overestimated.

The Bank of Ghana also reported that the mining industry’s contribution to total merchandise export earnings was about 43 percent in 2012.

Data from the Ghana Statistical Service show that the mining sub-sector grew by 23.5 percent in 2012. This compared favorably with the 18.8 percent it achieved in 2011.

Furthermore, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has stated that the mining sub-sector maintained its position as leading contributor to the authority’s domestic tax contribution in 2012.

The total payment from the mining industry to the authority’s’ chest was approximately GH¢1.5billion in 2012. This amount represents about 27.04 percent of GRA’s total domestic collection in the year.

The 2012 collection was an increase of 45 percent on the GH¢1.03billion it collected from the mining industry in 2011. The hike was as a result of increased minerals revenue due to higher gold price and marginal increases in output, which translated into higher mineral royalty and corporate tax payments.

On corporate tax, withholding tax and levies, the mining and quarrying sub-sector contributed about GH¢894million to the GRA’s contributions -- representing about 37 percent of the total corporate tax collected by GRA in 2012.

The mining sector maintained its position as the highest payer of company tax during 2012.

Mineral revenue from producing members of the Ghana Chamber of Mines was up 14 percent to US$5,447,306,422 from the US$4,761,748,688 recorded in 2011. The increase was largely attributable to gold revenue, which went up on the back of appreciation in realised gold price and output.

Revenue from bauxite was also up in 2012, although the key driver of increase in mineral revenue was gold.

Revenue from gold improved by 15 percent from US$4,630,255,619 in 2011 to US$5,309,042,207 in 2012, due to an eight percent increase in gold output from 2,924,385 ounces in 2011 to 3166,483 ounces in 2012 -- coupled with a six percent appreciation in the average realised price of gold from US$1,583 in 2011 to US$1,677 in 2012.