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He said, “We know that the issue of gold declarations has always been of interest and concern to all those who operate in the sector. The initial target we had set ourselves in our budget was in the range of 373,000 ounces. The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) had set themselves a target of 400,000 ounces. These have now both been surpassed. It is a moment all Guyanese should be proud of.”
The gold export value of this declaration to date is close to US$658M.
The venue of the disclosure was the boardroom of the ministry in the Presidential Complex at Chanderpaul Drive.
Minister Persaud was flanked by Commissioner (ag) of the Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Rickford Vieira, Manager of the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) Anantram Balram, President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Patrick Harding and Executive Member of the of the GGDMA Azeem Baksh.
In his disclosure, Minister Persaud pointed out that gold declarations had reached 455, 818 ounces in 2001 but that was with the major input of the large scale Omai Gold Mines.
The declaration for 2012 to date is close to that figure of 2001, but this time, quite significantly, is based wholly and solely on the output of local medium and small scale miners.
He said that given the momentum, it would not be overly optimistic to expect several more thousands of ounces to be added to the final tally at the end of the year.
Persaud noted that the GGDMA has been in the forefront of encouraging miners to ensure that all gold produced is declared and sold to the board and to licensed dealers.
He said, “I want to extend a special word of commendation to the GGDMA, as well as to our licensed dealers, for the work that they have been doing in reaching out to the miners and providing a service so that they can purchase gold, and persons don’t have to resort to other means of disposing of the gold.”
Persaud also took time to reiterate that much more will be done to take gold production and declarations to an even higher level.
“This achievement is a proud one, but there are things that we can do and do better, and that is where we will continue to embrace and work with all stakeholders.”
Some of the issues to be addressed even more fully include illegal and or irresponsible mining practices which damage the environment, and the smuggling of gold out of the country.
He said that he did want to rely on the GGMC as the“regulatory big bad monster” which will scare miners into complying with regulations, but would rather like to see miners consciously working within the rules and working even towards the ideal of self-regulation for the benefit of the industry.
Commissioner of the GGMC(ag), Rickford Vieira, pledged that the GGMC will work closely with the MNR&E and the GGDMA to help move production to higher levels.
He said, “There are some basic things that an ordinary miner can do to improve the recovery rate of gold. For example, instead of waiting four days to process the concentrate, he can do it every day.
He stressed that these basic things would definitely improve recovery and productivity and result in larger declarations for the benefit of both the miner and the economy.
“The GGMC the GGDMA and the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment will work together to get these simple messages out to the gold mining sector to make the industry even more successful.“
