More land made available as…

White sand emerging significant contributor to local revenue
WHITE sand, so bountiful in Guyana, is beginning to emerge as a significant contributor to revenues from the local mining industry.
The market, which is traditionally local, is becoming increasingly foreign as miners attract customers in the Caribbean, mainly people in construction and those in the tourism industry, who use the commodity to replenish beaches in many of the islands.
Figures recently released by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) revealed that 569,151 tonnes was produced by white sand miners locally, in 2010, reflecting an increase of 18.9  per cent over the 478,572 tonnes production in 2009.
Exports of white sand in 2010 amounted to 71,690 tonnes valued at US$454,400.
The heightened demand for white sand locally and, more recently, internationally has prompted the GGMC to make available 190 acres of land at Lukabuna, on the right bank of the Hauraruni River in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) to facilitate the trade by eligible Guyanese nationals to whose entities it is to be distributed by lottery.
The GGMC met with applicants last week to determine their eligibility and capability for white sand mining, ahead of the lottery.
A source close to the commission echoed the optimism of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who, recently, said that Guyana is on the verge of a steady export of white sand to the Caribbean and Central America, among other places, for purposes of construction and production of glass.
Apart from the strong local demand due to a boom in the construction industry, there had been a surge in requests from several Caribbean countries, where beaches either needed to be repaired or replenished.
Growing steadily
“These Islands do not have white sand, so the export has been growing steadily. There is, in effect, a very strong demand for our white sand among these Caribbean islands,” he said.
Another reliable source disclosed that Guyana’s white sand can now be found in more than 15 Caribbean islands such as Tortola, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada and Trinidad.
“This white sand comes from Guyana, not from the beaches, but from local quarries developed and approved by environmentalists to supply the new demand for sand in the Caribbean.
“With the new environmental restrictions regarding the sand mining in the islands, Guyana created a special sand export business as the chief solution for the recent sand crisis the islands are facing,” the source said.
He pointed out:“You will find white sand only in Guyana and Suriname. However, the cost for it in Suriname is extremely high, even for companies there, due to the location of mines deep in the interior of the country.”
The opening of the Lukabuna area for white sand mining resulted from a meeting between President Bharrat Jagdeo and white sand miners, earlier this year, when they pleaded for more lands to mine, to supply local and international markets.
Guyana charges royalties for sand and stone at 3 per cent of value.

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