…says Prime Minister Hinds
There are some inexplicable things happening with respect to  gold
jewellery made in Guyana; and regulators must take their operations to
a higher level of sophistication to ensure that the laws on where gold
can be legally bought are adhered to, Prime Minister Sam Hinds has
said.

The Prime Minsiter, who has ministerial  responsibility for the gold
and diamond mining industry, said this while addressing gold and diamond
miners and other stakeholders in the industry at a Guyana Gold and
Diamond Miners Association meeting recently.
He said that some jewellers had  told him that they had heard of
premiums of 15 to 20% on green gold which was available on some
international markets, and  had asked for support for  Guyana to be
identified  as a source of “green gold” so they could access these
markets and the premium prices.
He then went on to deride this recommendation.
“What are we talking about ,” he said.
“Gold jewellers in Guyana should buy gold from the Guyana Gold Board
and what do the records say?
“When you go to the records,  you see that ten years ago they bought 500
ounces  per year, and that two years  ago purchases were down to about
100 ounces. So again, what are we talking about?”
He added that based on the records of the Guyana Gold Board, it would
seem that there is no gold jewellery  made in Guyana with Guyana gold.
He declared  that it had been argued by some that nearly all the gold
jewellery in Guyana is reworked gold;  but if   jewellery is being
exported, as all and sundry know, this could not be a true claim.
“If this were so, then no matter how large a quantity of such jewellery
you started off with, it must run out at some time. Yet we find that
the level of purchases by jewellers   annually from the Guyana Gold
Board has been on a steady decline.
He  also rebuffed a claim by others that some of the equipment
used in the jewellery industry had to be imported to ensure superior
quality of exports.
“I agree that this may be economical for the jeweller; but when these
items are brought into Guyana, they should be reflected in the records,
and when you go to the documents  you don’t find  any record of these
imports.
“So the question  remains: is it Guyana’s gold that is being used
locally to make gold jewellery?”
He said  that records at the Guyana Gold Board suggests that local jewellers
must  be getting their gold  from somewhere else.
He stopped short of saying that many jewellers are buying gold illegally.
He stressed , “The jewellery industry must be better regulated.We, the
regulators, need to grow up. We need to finetune  our operations to
ensure that every jeweller   purchases gold  from the Guyana Gold
Board  only and not get away with underhand dealings and  illegalities.