THE Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) last Saturday called on the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to urgently release lands that have proven mineral resources to small-scale miners.The Association also wants the GGMC to strengthen its public education programme to ensure persons understand how land is acquired.
The Association’s calls follow a suggestion by President David Granger that more lands need to be made available for small-scale miners.
“The GGDMA notes that this has always been an area of concern and more specifically not just the availability of land, but land with known occurrences of minerals and accessibility.
“The Association makes this distinction, since many persons can acquire lands that are without any minerals or with occurrences too low to ensure viability. We, therefore, wish to refine the request of the small scale miners to be: the need for land with proven occurrences of minerals,” a statement from the association said.
Over the past year, approximately 2,000 mining permits have been relinquished for medium scale miners due to falling gold prices and the high cost of holding lands. As a result, the association believes that “The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is well aware of the number of lands that have been relinquished for one reason or another, while the information regarding how many large scale land packages and small claims have also been relinquished over the last year is not included here, it is worth noting that the quantity of mineralized land abandoned in the medium scale category alone amounts to over 2,000,000 acres of land.”
The release noted the struggles of many in the sector. “This more than two million acres is the ideal land for small scale miners, since these are more likely to bear fruitful prospects. The GGDMA therefore calls for urgent action and keen attention to ensure that the real estate agents who lurk in the sector do not get access to these lands before the genuine miners can have an opportunity to make effective use of the land.”
The association believes that the GGMC has had enough land locked off that can be distributed to small scale miners; a situation which must be addressed urgently.
“The more than two million acres of returned lands is more than adequate to satisfy this need and one does not even need to dip into the state reserves at this time. However, it is key to ensure that it is not parceled off to the real estate agents with no intention of engaging in mining activities or any proven track record of contributing to the sector by way of infrastructural investment and production.”
GOV’T SHOULD INTERVENE
It is believed that the current system through which lands are returned to the closed area system or “surreptitiously revert to the hands of agents” offers an ample opportunity for the government to intervene and facilitate the genuine small miners. “These are the lands which must be made available not held in an indeterminate state,” the GGDMA release stated.
The association stressed that mining is a business that has seen many persons rush into operation because of the record high gold price over the years. Those very persons rushed out of the industry when times became difficult.
Not a hobby
“Gold mining is not a hobby or a get-rich-quick scheme. It is a daily struggle to venture into the unknown, to pry from the land the precious few minerals and to sometimes risk it all on a single pit or claim. It is a partnership between genuine miners and the state. There are those who are motivated by vested interest and real estate schemes, who are bent on making a quick flip of mineral properties; then there are the genuine miners. The latter we represent.”
“Professional miners” did not acquire land via a “land grab” over the years when gold prices sky rocketed but acquired land in the 1990s and early 2000s when many were leaving the sector due to the “meager price of gold at US$2,000 to US$350/ounces,” the association stated.
The dedication of gold and diamond miners must be recognized the association said, as in “very lean and difficult times” those who stayed in the industry labored tirelessly on the brink of bankruptcy to keep their operations alive.
“…they persevered in the sector despite all of their trials, continuing to contribute to our nation’s GDP, creating jobs and providing our country a means to continue earning foreign currency through exports. Over the last decade, many who acquired lands also did so at hefty prices paid to GGMC, in excess of billions of dollars at public auctions,” the GGDMA said.
The continued investment and sense of security in the industry has always been vested in continued land tenure and a right to invest and plan for the future, the association said. The GGDMA remains alert and has observed statements in the press that suggest that “some are bent on ‘reorganizing’ the sector to benefit those who now wish to make a quick fortune rather than mine.”
“The GGDMA wonders, if there was increased interest in investing in certain other commodity sectors where there are also limited lands and licenses, what would be the proposals by these persons?:
* What would be the outcome should the same “reorganization” be applied to the other industries such as Timber, Fishing/ Shrimping and even Rice?
* Will land be taken from Rice Farmers, Timber and Bauxite concessionaires?
* Should those who have made long-term investments and conducted astute stewardship be uprooted to satisfy the demand of new entrants and persons with vested interest?
* Will there be an arbitrary reallocation of legally held lands, titles, concessions and permissions?” the association questioned.
It is the view of the GGDMA that redistribution of land at the expense of private sector investment should not be entertained. “…the days of nationalization should be well behind us and support for keen and genuine national investors should be embraced and supported, not questioned and threatened. The setting of such a dangerous precedent would not only be deleterious to the local private sector, but would hurt prospects of foreign investments; such developments would no doubt give such investors reason for pause and hinder monetary flows into our country.”
The association referenced Venezuela’s “expropriation of farmland” as a hallmark policy central to former President Hugo Chavez’s “revolution” designed to ensure that the poor would have lands to work, spur increased production and end the dependence on food imports.
While the intentions of Chavez may have been good, “today even the blind can see the cataclysmic end results. Venezuela is much poorer and weaker than it was a decade ago.”
“No one will invest the typical sum of more than $50 million to start up a medium scale mining operation without being sure that tomorrow the whims and fancies of some whispering consultant with past grievances and vengeances will result in the taking away of properties and its redistribution to someone “more deserving.”
The GGDMA recognises that there has been a traditional symbiotic relationship between professional mining companies and small operators as many small operators do not have the means to setup a full-fledged operation and depend on a partnership agreement to get started in the industry.
“The area of concern is not the existence of such relationships, but the structure of the relationship that must ensure fair terms to all parties involved and the legal enforceability of the terms of this relationship so that there is a sense of longevity and security. To this end there needs to be a well-crafted and formal partnership agreement.”
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
The partnership agreement has been discussed with the GGMC and a proposal to have it placed within mining regulations to ensure the protection of both parties is in the pipeline.
Meanwhile, the association committed to continuing to work hand in hand with the government to address the issues facing the sector with the aim of “strengthening and fortifying the Guyana Gold and Diamond mining industry while fighting for the rights of all legitimate miners.
“The association would like to work with the GGMC on refining the definition of a small miner to ensure that it is clear who can benefit from any new mechanism and thereby ensure the survival of the industry,” the association concluded.