A MULTIMILLION-dollar geochemical exploration project in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni District is near completion and according to Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona

Broomes, the information being garnered will be of tremendous benefit to the extractive industry.
Covering approximately 1,800 square kilometres between the Cuyuni and Mazaruni Rivers with Itaballi and Takutu to the east and west, and Piari and Oku to the North and South, the Mazaralli Regional Geochemical Exploration Project valued at $40M entails the collection of 410 sediment samples, and the simultaneous mapping of the area. The samples will be analyzed for their mineral resource potential. Some of the samples will be sent to Actlabs in Canada for analysis.

Accompanied by Manager (ag) of the Geological Services Division of Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Gordon Nestor and Marissa Foster – a young female geologist, Minister Broomes on Thursday journeyed from the capital city –Georgetown – to the Cuyuni/Mazaruni District to gain greater understanding of the project.
After travelling more than seven miles from Bartica to the Teperu Crossing and then another

20 miles from Itaballi to GGMC’s Base Camp, the Natural Resources Minister and her team met with the geologists, geo-technicians and the casuals attached to the eight-week project, which is being led by Senior Geologist Dr. Kantharaja Danavadi Chandrappa – an Indian national who has been working in Guyana since 2006.

Addressing the Minister under one of the many makeshift tents erected at the camp, Trevor Hicks, one of the geologists, explained that the project commenced on October 13, 2016 and is set to wrap up on December 8.
More than 90 per cent of the proposed stream sediments sample locations have been

covered, he said, noting that the samples received thus far appear promising. Hicks is part of a dynamic team of 12 of geologists and geo-technicians who are working on the project with the support of more than 30 casuals or workers from various regions of the country.

On a daily basis, the team would be divided into smaller units and would be given proposed sample points to locate for the extraction of the required samples and Thursday was no different.

One of the units, which included more than three female geologists, led Minister Broomes and the Manager (ag) of the Geological Services Division to a sample point some 500

metres away from Base Camp. After trekking through the partially mountainous and heavily vegetated terrain laden with swamps, Minister Broomes, who is no stranger to the area and to this type of landscape, having worked as a miner for more than 28 years, arrived with the team to the proposed stream, more than 15 minutes after leaving the Base Camp.
Using a colander or a sifter, the casuals, while equipped with their safety gear, sieved the sand to acquire the required sediments. A “batel” was also used.
Well packaged and well labelled, the samples were taken back to the camp where they were placed on the sample rock to dry before being transported to GGMC headquarters.

Braving the rainy weather and the treacherous waves, another group comprising the Project Leader Dr. Chandrappa and Geologist Lawrence Simon, then took the Natural Resources Minister 14 miles up the Mazaruni River for the collection of rock samples.
In her address to the geologists, geo-technicians and casuals, Minister Broomes said it was very important for her as a minister to visit the team in the field given the importance of the extractive industry. “I want to manage based on facts,” she told those present, pointing out that it is based on advice out of the Geo Service Division that programmes and policies would be implemented.
Singling out the Manager (ag) of the Geo Services Division, Minister Broomes said she is impressed with his passion for the profession and his outstanding leadership, noting too that she is also enthralled by the high quality of work being done by the young crop of geologists.

“I am really satisfied to come and see the magnitude of work that has been going on. I think that we have a competent team, and I know that they have greater plans in store,” she said.
However, Minister Broomes implored that greater systems be put in place to make the information accessible to persons within the extractive industry, particularly for the small miners. The information, she said, will be able to help miners determine the mineral content of areas of their choice.
“I want especially the small miners to know that this information can really help them. And I want to encourage them to go into the Geo Services Division and access the information.”
However, despite its importance, Minister said the Geo Services Division was neglected in past but that neglect will remain in the past. “It was an area well neglected in the past, and I want to say that an end must come to that, and that an end has come to that,” she lamented.

While she was pleased with the project, the Natural Resources Minister bemoaned some of the conditions under which the team has to work. “The squatting should be a business of the past,” she said, while alluding to the makeshift latrine used by members of the team. In this modern age, she contended that the GGMC workers should have access to portable toilets. “A portable toilet is not a luxury, it is a necessity in this case,” she added.
Nestor for his part said the Geo Services Division is hoping to map the entire country in the next three to four years. “We want to map the entire country so we have an understanding of the minerals here. This country is not only about gold and diamonds, there are other minerals just as important to the economy of this country like coltan, the minister spoke about lithium, the search for rare earths and we are using geochemistry because the technology has improved…In the past people use to analyze only for gold, but now they are analyzing for 40-plus elements,” the Chief Geologist explained.

He also explained that the information not only informs geologists of the mineral content of the identified area, but also about the chemical elements found in the water. “People go and live at places and they don’t even know that some of those places can be radioactive, it can damage you, it can have a lot of arsenic, you can be drinking arsenic inside and you can be poisoned, so it is important for us to get an understanding of the geochemistry of the area,” he explained.
Senior Geologist Unatha DeFreitas explained that when the samples are analyzed, the information is placed into a database and forms part of the geochemical atlas of the country.
As of recent, she noted that the division has been offering advice to miners based on the information received from the exploration. However, it was also noted that companies would be required to pay a fee to the commission in order to access the information.

The Mazaralli Regional Geochemical Exploration Project is one of three projects executed this year by the division. The Guyana Chronicle was told that the division had submitted 12 project proposals, but only three were approved for this year. It was noted that Thursday was the first time a Minister of Government had visited one of the project areas of the division.