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The mining sector paid GH�893.77 million in corporate tax to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in 2012. Dr Toni Aubynn, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, said the amount represented 36.98 per cent of the total GRA tax collected within the period. Dr Aubynn said this during a media briefing on the activities of the chamber and mining companies in Sunyani. He said sector contributed about GH�1.46 billion to the GRA, representing 27.04 per cent of the Authority�s total direct tax in 2012. He said the mining sector continued to be the number one tax payer and highest contributor to GRA�s domestic collections. Dr Aubynn said companies returned about 3.2 billion dollars, representing 73 per cent of their mineral revenue through the Bank of Ghana and the commercial banks in 2012, against the statutory requirement of a minimum of 25 per cent. He said the sector voluntarily contributed an amount of about GH�26 million to its host communities and the general public adding that the companies engaged 21,239 people directly, of which 334, representing two per cent, were expatriate workers. Dr Aubynn said Ghana�s cash cost for gold production in 2012 was 809 dollars per ounce compared to the global average cash cost of 744 dollars per ounce. �Global all-in cost of gold production was up to 11.4 per cent from 1,079 dollars per ounce in 2011 to 1,202 dollars per ounce,� he said. This, Dr Aubynn explained, had reflected a higher rate of increase in total cost of gold production relative to the appreciation in average gold price of 6.2 per cent over the same period.