Burkina Faso is an important test case for determining if a poor country can convert its resource wealth into benefits...The capacity of government ministries and members of the national assembly to manage the mining industry effectively is weak...Mining companies themselves have a critical role to play in respecting human rights and promoting transparency...Unfortunately, current indications are not particularly encouraging. The industry is resisting efforts by Burkina’s government to implement a 1% tax on gross mining receipts to support a community development fund. This seems both absurd in a time of...high gold prices and morally offensive in a country as poor as Burkina Faso. That 1% could go a long way in a place like Tapre [where Amara Mining operates a mine]... [V]illagers told...[us] about a litany of problems...from the mine’s presence: lack of adequate compensation for displacement from their land, water contamination, and few employment opportunities at the mine. [Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Amara Mining to respond - see response below.]