President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM), Mr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, has indicated that the total direct employment created by the producing companies stood at 11,628, representing about 16 per cent increase over the 2015 recorded figure of 9,939.

Out of the present figure, he said, over 98 per cent were Ghanaian nationals, which further buttressed the commitment of member companies to make mining more relevant.

Mr. Addo-Kufuor revealed this during the chamber’s 89th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Accra recently.

He made reference to data from Thomson Reuter’s Guaranty Fund Management Services (GFMS) survey, which indicated that Ghana’s gold output was largely unchanged at 95.0 tonnes in 2016 relative to 95.1 tonnes in 2015.

“Further statistics from the country’s fiscal authority, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), shows that the mining and the quarrying sector recaptured its position as the leading source of direct domestic revenue after being displaced by the Financial and Insurance sector in 2015.

Total fiscal receipts attributable to the mining and the quarrying sector increased from GH¢1.35 billion in 2015 to GH¢1.65 billion in 2016, representing a growth of 22 per cent.”

The foregoing, Mr. Addo-Kufuor said, comprised payments of GH¢399.9 million, GH¢696.9 million, GH¢550.7 million and GH¢0.54 million in PAYE, Corporate Income Tax, royalties and other taxes respectively.

Producing member companies of the chamber returned $2.30 billion out of realised mineral revenue of $3.25 billion into the country, representing 70.9 per cent.

The producing mines spent $1.01 billion on purchases of goods and services in the country, representing 31 percent of realized mineral revenue.

This, Mr. Addo-Kufuor noted, exceeded the 2015 figure of $865 million and these consecutive increases in spending on goods and services showed the chamber’s commitment in promoting local content in the mining industry.