PRESIDENT of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Mr. Patrick Harding, has congratulated the Government and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) on the extent of work being done on rehabilitating hinterland roads this year, in the interest of developing the gold mining industry.
Harding said that the work programme, costing close to three billion dollars,

was highly significant at a time when the gold mining industry is faced with a serious crisis of decreasing prices.
He said: “There is a lot of proposed roads maintenance and construction for this year to be paid for by the GGMC; a lot of work done to get you better roadways, which would reduce the costs and get you to and from your worksites with the least inconvenience.”
He added: “We are working with the GGMC for the development of this industry, and we have to congratulate the GGMC for this very important programme.”
Addressing the current crisis situation in the industry, Harding stressed that the GGMC input was an example of the kind of assistance that the GGDMA would require from Government, as well as its private sector partners in the industry, to help its members ride out the present gold-price crisis and keep the industry viable.
He made those comments during the 30th Annual General Members Meeting of the GGDMA, held at its North Road, Bourda Headquarters last Thursday, during which he was re-elected president for a second two-year term.
Harding stressed that gold and diamond mining was responsible for 53% of the foreign exchange earned by Guyana in 2012. It provided jobs for approximately 15,000 people directly, and for over 100,000 people indirectly; and additionally, it supported other industries, such as domestic aviation, heavy-duty equipment sales, and the spare parts and fabrication industries.
“This industry,” he said, “is key to not only the development of the interior infrastructure, but is the backbone of the economy of Guyana.” He added that, given the sharp decline in prices for gold over the past six months, it could not now be said how many miners can carry the current burden of high prices and low costs, or for how long.
As a result, he said, the GGDMA, at a recent executive committee meeting, had decided that this burden must now be shared.
“In other words, we are calling on the industries who have benefited when the prices increased — industries, fabricators and
spare part providers, whose prices went up when gold prices went up; all those who benefited. Now that the prices have dropped, we now expect some degree of leniency from them.”
He said the Association was looking at Government in particular for help in the form of concessions — duty-free or otherwise — on fuel, which is one of the largest overhead costs in the industry.
With respect to private sector partners, he singled out a particular local company which sells earth moving equipment used in the industry, stating that when the price of gold was high, this company benefited greatly. “Now that the prices are low, we are calling on this company to be lenient with members. We are prepared to negotiate terms and conditions on behalf of the industry for our miners, but the situation really demands that they flex in terms of payments for machines and spare parts bought.”
The price of gold has fallen by over US$500, or by over $100,000 Guyana dollars per ounce, over the past six months.
Speaking on the way forward, he noted that in this situation, where prices have dropped but costs are still high, members need to improve systems for exploration for gold and recovery of gold from sluice boxes, in order to control costs.
He said the GGDMA would ask Government for assistance, since it felt that it had contributed enough to ask for such assistance; but in the end, it would have to be the members who would ultimately have to find the right way forward.
Meanwhile, a member of the Board of the GGDMA disclosed that an investigation into suspected price gouging by some companies and suppliers to the industry during the era of high prices was ongoing.
Members complained that, during that period, prices of equipment and machinery purchased locally went up by over 300%, while the prices for the same equipment remained unchanged on external markets.
The board member disclosed that a report on this suspected price gouging by local suppliers of equipment during the time when gold prices were high will shortly be made public.