–pledges to do more about safety in the sectors

HIGH targets of production have been set for the gold and forestry sectors this year and the authorities will continue to address the issue of safety in light of a recent mining-related death.

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman told the media on Thursday that the gold production target for this year has been set at 800,000 ounces.
He said that for 2017, production stood at 653,754 ounces, which was a shortfall from the 700,000 target. “It must be remembered that even with a lower-than-projected gold outturn, the result for 2017 was higher than that which was projected in 2016,” Trotman said.

In 2017, too, the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) made the sum of $241M in sales from 193,000 ounces of gold as compared with the $226M from 184,000 ounces it made in 2016. What this means, he said, is that even though declarations were lower for 2017, the country yet earned more foreign currency.

On that score, he commended all miners in the sector, and urged that they continue to do the right thing by declaring their gold to the Gold Board and licensed dealers.

He also hailed the efforts of Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ms Simona Broomes with regard to the work she has been doing with the mining syndicates, and said that while there may be teething issues regarding land allocation, dialogue with the relevant stakeholders has been the order of the day.

He said that in 2018, the mining sector will benefit from improved focus on safety, in light of a recent accident which resulted in the loss of a life.
He announced, too, that with the consent of the Ministries of Finance and Public Infrastructure, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) will this year resume management of some hinterland roads.

According to Minister Broomes, there’s now a unit at the GGMC which addresses the issue of roads within the hinterland.
She said in 2018, the ministry will be looking at areas which are highly populated with mining concessions, and how roads can be improved there, all in the interest of increasing production.

In terms of performance, Minister Trotman said that though the figures are still being tallied, the forestry sector will have surpassed its target of 320,000 cubic meters in 2017. At the moment, he said, the figures stand at 345,000 cubic meters, and according to the Guyana Forestry Commission, the final figure is expected to climb to 360,000 cubic meters, “which is very good.”

Noting that this year’s target has been fixed at 400,000 cubic meters, Minister Trotman said that with the redistribution last year of Barama’s concession, this “gives hope that other concessions given by government in 2018 would see greater yields.”

This year also, the government plans to implement a National Log Export Policy, a draft of which document has been completed and sent to Cabinet for approval.
In addition, a revised Forestry Policy Plan has been reviewed by the GFC board, and will be taken to Cabinet shortly.