-Trotman lauds small miners, promises govt’s continued support

SMALL and medium scale miners have been lauded for their contribution of close to 70% of the record 641,668 ounces of gold declared this year, the highest ever recorded in the history of gold mining here.

The figure, which surpassed the 550,000 production target for 2015, has seen the projected target for 2017 being set at 694,000 ounces.

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, during the 2017 Budget Debate on Thursday evening told the House that the 550,000 target was calculated as a 21.8 % increase of the previous year’s target.

A buoyant Trotman told the House that small and medium scale miners contributed 429,188 ounces of total gold for 2016 while large scale mining firms, Guyana Goldfields and Troy Resources delivered 145,236 and 67,244 ounces respectively. “Today I pause to congratulate them on behalf of His Excellency President David Granger and to assure them that the APNU+AFC government will neither abandon nor undermine their efforts”, he said of the small and medium scale miners.

Regarding the new projected target for 2017, Trotman told the National Assembly that while the target is difficult to clinch, it is not impossible to reach. “We Guyanese are a resilient people with a “can do” attitude”, he said, a phrase which he said he used recently at another forum.

Trotman said that the Ministry of Natural Resources will exert all of its energies to meeting the 2017 target for several reasons, including a need for the people of the country.” I am confident that we can achieve this target as we expect that all categories of gold declarants will continue to grow.”

In 2015, a total of 451,490 ounces of gold was declared at the Guyana Gold Board, surpassing the target that year of 380,000 ounces.

Speaking on the buying and selling of the precious metal, Trotman noted that in 2017 moves will be made to improve the monitoring and regulatory processes of the Guyana Gold Board as the method of buying gold has been discovered as being flawed.

He explained that last year the government reported that the Guyana Gold Board had over a number of years amassed a deficit of more than GY$9B. He said that the figure saw the need for a “comprehensive review” of the 35-year old Gold Board, noting that the Ministry of Natural Resources has fought tirelessly for the continued existence of the Gold Board since it is seen as a merit regarding its organizational function as a regulator to monitor gold dealers and continue to provide the service of trading gold on a profitable basis.

Trotman said that the fluid functions of the Gold Board allows for manifold benefits as it provides statistics that can inform decision-making and policy, manage and monitor the trade of gold and ensure a strategic supply of gold to the Bank of Guyana.

This year, he said that a complete organisational review was conducted on the Gold Board and during the stocktaking process it was realized that the method of buying gold is flawed.

The changes to the scenario will be made in 2017 in consultation with relevant stakeholders. He added that it was also discovered that the monitoring and compliance goes beyond that scope to include the licensed gold dealers.

As a result, in 2017, legislative changes will be made to allow the Gold Board to enhance its monitoring and regulatory process and increase revenues from application fees and penalties.