A recent report from the Bank of Ghana offered some shocking statistics. It said that of the $5.2 billion worth of gold exported by foreign-owned mining firms from Ghana, the government received only $68.6 million royalty payments and $18.7 million in corporate income taxes. In other words, the government received a total of less than 1.7% share of the global returns from its own gold. Since these figures grossly under-estimate the value of gold exports, the returns to Ghana would be much less. What’s even more shocking is that – based on the analysis of the Bank of Ghana – the share of the wealth that goes to the communities directly impacted by the mining is 0.11%.