Working Paper 147 - Gold Mining in Africa-Maximizing Economic Returns for Countries

Abstract

This paper investigates the maximization of economic returns from mining for African countries. We focus on gold mining, a significant sector in at least 34 African countries. Our point of departure in the paper is the well-documented reality that a large number of resource-rich African countries have benefited little from their resource endowments. This group includes many gold-producing countries. Part of the reason for this state of affairs is the fact that countries have received smaller shares of the rents generated from the sector. Furthermore, those shares have not always been efficiently utilized. We carry out some analysis to provide evidence showing that royalty rates (a major source of revenues from the gold mining sector) in the region can be increased to enable countries to better profit from the sector while allowing firms to realize reasonable returns on their investments. The paper also provides some policy recommendations to not only increase regional countries' share of the resource rent from mining but also to ensure that the revenues received are better allocated.

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