THE GUYANA Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), in collaboration with Crown Mining Supplies and Knelson Gravity Solution, recently held a seminar on eco-friendly mineral processing solutions. The seminar, which was held at the Tower Hotel, on Main Street, targeted mine owners, operators, general managers of dredge operations, and mining and geology students, and featured a PowerPoint presentation on gravity testing, gravity concentrators and gravity fundamentals, Knelson concentrators and how they work, appropriate process technologies and processing plants.
Prime Minister Mr. Samuel Hinds, who has portfolio responsibility for mining, said the objective of the seminar was to help miners in a number of ways, including improving the efficiency of their operations.
He noted that if the industry is to continue to perform in a sustainable manner, small to medium-scale miners in particular will have to change their mining habits, whether the price of gold stays afloat or not.
He made the point that whereas in the past they could get by, using the old sluice box system, they have now come to realize that that mode of operation is no longer feasible, and they are beginning to complain bitterly about how difficult it is to recover the gold.
Noting that the production of gold is a costly operation, Mr. Hinds said, were the price of gold to drop, many an operation would go under, as they won’t be able to pay their way, thus, security measures need to be put in place so that they won’t run at a loss. 
And this is where seminars like the one at hand come in useful, since it would help give miners an opportunity to learn how to improve their recovery and earnings, and lower the cost of production.
Anticipating problems with obtaining mercury in the near future, as it will by then have been banned in many jurisdictions from which it is being obtained legally, Mr. Hinds said the GGMC has already put together a course book, which he encouraged miners to get a hold of and read and understand so as to be adequately prepared to deal with such issues when the time comes.(GINA)