…commits to assisting where possible

MINERS and loggers operating in the country’s interior journeyed to the Natural Resources Ministry in Kingston, Georgetown, on Wednesday to bring to light many of the challenges they face in the industry.

The availability of mining lands for miners was among concerns raised by the miners with Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes and a team of officials from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Forestry Commission.

Minister Broomes said that while provisions have been made for the establishment of syndicates, there is still an interest by some small miners to have their own mining properties. “A lot of persons are talking that people don’t want to get into mining anymore but today, in Georgetown, and yesterday in Bartica, we had persons literally coming forward and saying that they have been mining for years, how do I get to own my own mining property,” the Junior Natural Resources Minister said.

She said the increasing amount of new lands for mining would be brought to the attention of the Close Area Committee which is headed by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman. “I will definitely write to Mr. Trotman and indicate that based on what we have gathered, there is a great interest for mining lands, particularly for small miners,” she said.
Added to that, the Junior Natural Resources Minister said ‘clarification on claims’ continue to be a burning issue. “We have a lot of claims throughout the country; I think that this year the commission is trying to see if they will zone them off, bringing them up to scratch,” she said. Minister Broomes said once the areas are zoned, it would be easy to determine areas that have been verified. “It is important for us to complete the verification because the backlog is huge. The staff there (Land Management Division) has been pushing overtime and I think it meets to a stage where we want to bring everything up to scratch to know where claims are located, if they are valid or not; so we can avoid a lot of the conflicts that come out,” she explained.

She emphasized that significant efforts on the part of GGMC’s Land Management Division have been made to address many of the issues with respect to claims.
A number of loggers also met with the minister and team on Wednesday. “I was briefed by the Guyana Forestry Commission just before budget presentation; they have areas and they are pushing to have more areas made available for the small loggers,” she said. The Junior Natural Resources Minister noted that small loggers continue to play a significant role in the logging industry.

Overall, the Natural Resources Ministry will be working assiduously to improve its services so as to better serve the people of Guyana, she said. It was noted that the ministry will be further decentralizing the services offered at agencies such as GGMC and the GFC. Additionally, she said there will be a greater push to improve infrastructure such as roads in the mining areas.

During the open day activity, the minister was accompanied by GGMC’s Chief Mines Officer, Mohan Persaud; Deputy Chief Mines Officer, Kerwin Josiah; Chief Surveyor, Evanson McKenzie; Krishna Ramdas, Manager (ag.) Mines Division; and Rawle Lewis, GFC’s Deputy Commissioner of Forests.