-gold production surpasses 500,000 ounces

AN INTERNATIONAL anti-smuggling expert from the United Kingdom (UK) will soon be in Guyana to assist Government with curbing gold smuggling, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has announced.Over the years, the smuggling of the country’s most-sought-after mineral has been a big issue, and it has been reported that between 50 and 60 per cent of the gold produced here is smuggled out of the country.

The Natural Resources Minister had said in January that not all of the more-than-15,000 ounces of gold exported from Guyana weekly originated here. According to the minister, it has been discovered that gold is being smuggled into Guyana from Colombia and Venezuela, while local gold smuggled out of Guyana reaches as far as the Middle East; hence the country is seeking international assistance to curb the problem.

“We are seeing dents. We have noticed recently some trends that suggest that there may be attempts to re-engage in some quarters, and therefore the Ministry has started, and hopefully will be concluding, arrangements to have an international law enforcement expert coming to Guyana to both advise and assist us with some interdictions,” Trotman told reporters on Friday during a press conference held at Cara Lodge, Georgetown.

He said the expert will be responsible for observing the general trends to see if there are abolitions or spikes. However, if need be, specific persons and companies will be investigated.

“I don’t think there are any specific targets now. What we’re going to probe is the incident of gold smuggling, and then see whether any of those give rise to the need to get deeper. The experts are not going after a particular person or persons, they’re coming to look at how to curb smuggling…. You start at a macro level and then you distill and you come down… It would be wrong to come with a targeted approach without first assessing the magnitude of the issue,” Minister Trotman said.

He added that loopholes in the current system would also be addressed. Making specific reference to the presentation of “scrap gold” on the market, he said Government intends to clamp down on that.

“Scrap gold comes under a different definition than regular gold, so many people make jewelry, either wear it or break it in pieces, and then declare it as being scrap gold…it’s brand new but just broken; or, if it’s a chain, torn in half, and that does not attract the same regime as a gold band,” Minister Trotman said.

He has announced that gold production currently stands at 500,000 ounces, 55,000 short of the year’s target; and has said that as a result of the current production level, a new target of 600,000 ounces of gold has been set.

He said that the industry continues to grow despite the challenges, but “tapering off” has been observed as year-end approaches. He said the rise in gold production is attributed to a collaborative effort between miners and the Government. “We have crossed the five hundred thousand ounce mark and our goal is to get to 600,000 by the end of December… We are in an accelerated drive to get miners to declare and to work with Government to ensure that we make this historic mark,” said Trotman.

Small and medium-scale miners have been hailed for producing the bulk of the 500,000 ounces, and Minister Trotman said statistics will, within days, be posted on his Ministry’s website. “Across the board, the small miners are doing far better than they did last year. They are bringing the bulk of the gold in. The two (major mining) companies -– Aurora Mining and Troy Resources — are doing relatively well, with Aurora of course outpacing Troy Resources. But by and large, it is the medium and small scale miners who are the top producers,” he declared.

Since taking office in 2015, the minister said, Government has distributed some 240 mining land allocations to small miners who previously had no way of securing a spot on a large block to operate their equipment.

As miners continue to request lands, Government is moving toward adopting a system of accommodating mining syndicates to increase production in 2017. He explained that Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, has been tasked with organizing the formation of mining syndicates, a system which groups miners together so collective mining can be done.

A mining syndicate is a mining partnership formed to develop or operate a mine, or explore for minerals, each member receiving share interests in proportion to the amount of their investment.

“The idea of grouping miners together so they could exploit the synergies, technologies, and be able to help each other is something that the ministry will be focusing on going into 2017, but certainly at the end of this year,” he explained.

He noted that while small miners have received mining blocks, “we are thinking now that if we give ten miners three blocks each, the accumulative effects of that is a thirty-block area where a syndicate could mine far better than if they try to do it individually…. The complementarities are evident, and we are going to work with small miners to achieve this,” he declared.

Together, they will share the burden of renting equipment and organizing groceries and other responsibilities, Minister Trotman told reporters.