CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Avalon Jagnandan, has said that they have managed to get a commitment from Government to review the processing fees per ounce of gold.
The Guyana Gold Board had recently increased the fee from $1,000 to $2,500 per ounce, which caused an outcry by small and medium-scale miners.
According to Jagnandan, the Gold Board had proposed an increase of $4,000, but that was withdrawn after the association objected. “Over the past few weeks we received numerous complaints from miners about the $2,500 processing fee,” he said.
The association had reportedly asked the Gold Board to give an increase of $2,000 or less, but they went ahead with $2,500. Jagnandan said they had a chance to raise the issue again on Thursday during a stakeholders’ meeting at Cara Lodge.
After hearing about the impact that it has on small and medium-scale miners, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman and representatives of the Gold Board reportedly gave their commitment to review the fee. A miner who was present at the meeting said he was grateful for the decision to review the fee, because it was burdensome to him. The miner said when he calculated his expenses and the processing fees, he was left with a marginal profit.