Outgoing President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Patrick Harding on Thursday demanded that the current administration and all other stakeholders lend more support to the mining industry as gold prices continue to drop.“There has been ineffective support to the mining industry, ineffective support from the government, the Guyana Gold Board, and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission,” he said. Gold prices have fallen from US$1800 an ounce to US$1100 an ounce over the past few months.

Speaking at the 32nd Annual General Meeting, Harding told a gathering of miners that the former administration failed to lend enough support to what he deems a “struggling industry”.
According to him, the last two years have not been “calm” for the industry. “We did try unsuccessfully in negotiating with the [former] government for assistance to steady the ship.”
But he said, with the new government, the GGDMA is hoping to see the way forward.
“We had good discussions with them while in Opposition. Now that they are in government, we will certainly hold them to the promises,” Harding told fellow miners.
He lamented that with the falling price for gold on the international market, the industry is “struggling”.
“While we still have the falling gold prices, we still have high operational costs, the cost of fuel and spare parts are still high….With those prices, everybody is tight; we don’t know what is next,” he said
The outgoing GGDMA President noted that persistent issues of heightened criminal activities, impassable roads, increased mining accidents, and smuggling of gold as some of the many challenges plaguing the mining community.
Gold declaration
Aside from falling gold prices on the international market, gold declaration also experienced a drop this year. Harding announced that “this year has not been that good; production declaration from January to August this year is 224, 544 ounces compared with January to August last year’s 265,553 ounces; a difference of 40,008 ounces or 15% decrease.”
He said with the falling gold prices and declarations, the industry is in a “crisis.”
“We are in a crisis. We are not begging the government for handouts; we are seeking concessional support from the government so that we can remain afloat and continue to play a pivotal role,” Harding said.
The outgoing president noted that the association has requested several things from the former government including the waiving of duty and taxes on mining equipment and spares.
At the moment, there is a tentative arrangement and it is expected to be finalised with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in the new week.
“That arrangement will allow for the waiver of duties and taxes on 4*4 vehicles,” he informed miners.
He said too that while the GGDMA has obtained a licence to import diesel fuel and lubricants, the 10% decrease received from the previous administration in 2014 still does not make small and medium scale miners competitive.
“We are in discussion with the government for us to have the same concessions as the large scale mining companies.”
The association has also requested a 50 % reduction on the rental of mineral properties, a reduction in royalty from gold sales from 5 % to 4 % while the price for gold is under US$1400 on the international market.
Accordingly, Harding believes that with the granting of the many concessions requested by the association, the mining industry would stand on firmer ground. “We would be able to reduce our operational costs,” he said.
Notwithstanding the failures of the previous administration, the GGDMA is committed to working with the new administration. “We are prepared to work hand-in-hand with government,” Harding said.
With respect to the mercury-free technology, he said the association is working with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission but that process is slow. “We agree with technology that will reduce the use of mercury.”
The issue of marginal returns given that miners have been working and reworking the same properties is a major issue according to Harding. He noted that the association has requested 20 mineral properties from the GGMC, but to no avail.
However, the association remains optimistic that the current administration will assist small and medium scale miners in keeping the industry alive.
The mining industry in Guyana creates over 60,000 jobs directly and about 200,000 indirectly.

By Ariana Gordon