AFTER visiting the Guyana Gold Fields Incorporated, Aurora Gold Project and the Troy Resources, Karouni Project, both in Region 7, Governance Minister, Mr. Raphael Trotman, whose portfolio includes Natural Resources, is optimistic about the prospect for industrial gold mining in Guyana.Minister Trotman recently led a team that included Permanent Secretary (Natural Resources) Mr. Joslyn McKenzie; Technical Officer – Mining (Guyana Geology and Mines) Ms. Euilene Watson; Advisor to the Minister of Governance, Mr. Clayton Hall; and other senior officials from the Guyana Geology and Mines Department on a familiarisation tour of the two entities.

On completion of the tour, Minister Trotman complimented the management of both companies, and expressed optimism that the future of industrial gold mining in Guyana is full of great potential.

The Minister said, “These operations are coming on stream at the right time, and will have a significant impact on the economy…” Both Troy and Guyana Gold Fields have invested heavily in the training and employment of Guyanese workers, and are contributing to development in the Cuyuni- Mazaruni Region.

Aurora Gold Project
Minister Trotman and team visited Guyana Gold Fields Aurora Project on August 9. They were met by several high ranking officials of the company, including Country Manager Ms. Violet Smith, who, along with General Manager Mr. Victor Rozon, presented the minister and team with an operational brief, and conducted a tour of the mine and plant. The plant, already operational, has a capacity to produce 5000 tons of ore per day.

Rozon told the team that the mine plan for the Aurora Gold Project was designed to produce 3.29 million ounces of gold, averaging 194,000 ounces per year. The mine is projected to have a 17-year mine life.

The Aurora project has a probable reserve of 3.48 million ounces of gold. Already Guyana Gold Fields has invested, as initial capital expenditure, over US$200 million. The company, which currently employs more than 800 Guyanese, has set a September 15 official start date for the Aurora operations.
 
Troy Resources Karouni Project
In the week prior to the minister and team visiting the Aurora operations, the same team visited Troy Resources, Karouni Project on August 6.
At that site, Minister Trotman and his team were greeted by Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Ken Nilsson. The team was given a comprehensive operational brief and a tour of the facility.

Troy Resources announced the results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for development of the Karouni project on January 21, 2014. The PEA considered a combination of two open cut and one underground mine feeding a conventional carbon-in-leach gold plant with a nominal capacity of 750,000 tons per annum.

Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ken Nilsson said the plant is scheduled to be fully operational by September, and will have an operational capacity of 137 tons per hour.

Nilsson said the total cost of the project would be US$100 million.

Troy currently has over 500 employees; approximately 96% of the workforce is Guyanese.
Troy Resources is projecting that a total of 5.2 million tonnes of material will be processed, with a recovered gold production of 633,000 ounces over a seven-to ten-year mine life.

The CEO informed that, with a seven-year mine life, the company projects an annual average gold production of 90,000 ounces, with production in the first 12 months being 102,000 ounces of gold.