MINING lands for small miners were granted Wednesday after the Closed Areas Committee, working under the guidance of the Ministry of Natural Resources, reviewed some of the applications. In February last, Minister Raphael Trotman inducted members of the Committee and urged them to ensure that lands awarded to small and medium-scale miners by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) are high-yield lands.
The Committee is chaired by Attorney-at-Law Dela Britton, who also serves on the Public Utilities Commission, and includes Abiola Henry; Euliene Watson, Technical Officer,Mining, Ministry of Natural Resources; Clayton Hall, Ministerial Advisor, Ministry of Natural Resources; and Mr Aseef Balmacoon, representative of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission.
The claims were handed over to some of the recipients Tuesday at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Upper Brickdam, Georgetown.
In attendance were Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, the representatives of the Closed Area Committee, and GGMC officials, including Acting Commissioner Newell Dennison.
Mrs Britton said the applications were reviewed according to guidance from the subject minister and permanent secretary.
She said the committee has received 120 applications to review, and 51 of those that were favourably reviewed were sent to the minister.
Minister Trotman thanked the committee for a job well done, and he also thanked the miners who were patient and expressed great faith in the process.
“We wanted to make sure the process was fair and transparent and we chose not to go by way of lottery, because sometimes that’s literally pulling a pig from a bag,” he explained.
One miner, Colin Nelson, said he had been waiting for eight months for the application to be processed.
“Finally I’m elated that this letter has been given to us and we can move on from this stage,” he said. “The GGMC will guide me on the next steps; I honestly wish I can [start] working tomorrow.”