-income generation estimated at $140M

A LOCALLY owned company named Connection International is looking to invest up to $40 million to set up a 22-acre sand-mining operation along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, according to a proposal recently submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The document, prepared by the company’s sole proprietor, Telford Layne, indicates that the aforementioned cost would cover expenses for a used fronthead loader, the purchase of fuel, as well as the payment of salaries, maintenance and miscellaneous.

More interestingly, with Guyana’s current construction boom, the company has estimated that its income will more than triple the size of the initial investment.

“The forecasted generated income stands at $140 million of which the royalties have to be deducted monthly for the GGMC (Guyana Geology and Mines Commission),” the proposal noted. The company said that it intends to make royalty payments on the third day of every month.

The calculated income is expected to derive from a reserve that is estimated to contain approximately two million tonnes of sand deposits. Layne, in his proposal, noted that the operation aims to supply materials for the regional glass-making market, as well as “the best quality of sand for construction and civil works.”

Once approved by the EPA, the total duration of the project, including the reclamation exercise, is slated to be around seven years, with the implementation of three phases of operations: clearing, mining and reclamation.

“All clearing, mining and reclamation will be done in accordance with the EPA regulations,” Layne said, emphasising the fact that his company’s operation will have an environmental impact of less than one-percent, since the area is already an allotted mining zone with zero human population.

Once mining begins, Layne outlined that this will be done in a strategic manner, beginning with 10- acre slots. “Ten acres will be cleared out for mining and when these 10 acres are finished it will be replanted or prepared for reclamation and after a while, converted to an eco-tourism patch after the entire 22 acres are mined,” the proposal read.

The mining activity will last for a period of six years and six months and the reclamation period will last for the same duration.

Further, Layne said that all man-made waste will be buried six feet, while all waste oil will be resold or “given away” to those in need. According to the project summary, Connection International Company is a multi-marketing company that markets in logs, lumber and mining, and soon gearing up to engage in commercial agriculture, vegetables and fruits and other natural raw products that may be in demand. Layne’s operation is coming on stream at a time when there has been growing demands for construction materials, including sand and stone.

Along with the demands, investors seem to have been heeding the government’s call to ramp up production in aggregates, as well as continued investments in the sand-mining and quarry industries.
Consequently, within the past couple of years, the sector has seen notable growth. As a matter of fact, figures recently provided by Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat, shows that for 2021, the production for sand alone surpassed 1.65 million tonnes, as compared to the 688,051 tonnes produced in 2020. But even with improved production, there have still been complaints of shortages of materials, including sand, in various parts of the country.

Notwithstanding this, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, had reported that even with the devastating 2021 floods, the quarry sector still managed to expand by some 81.6 per cent. “Sand extraction and stone production are estimated to have grown by 132.8 per cent and 15.9 percent, respectively,” Minister Singh specified.

With a number of new quarries and mining operations slated to come on stream by the end of 2022, production figures by the end of this year would see further improvements.

“Beyond oil and gas, other extractives such as gold, bauxite, sand, stone, and other minerals will be major contributors to Guyana’s economy going forward. Our government recognises the critical role of the mining sector in the economy and will continue to invest in, and promote, the expansion of the sector,” Dr Singh told the National Assembly last month.

Shortly after the People’s Progressive Party/Civic assumed office in 2020, it brought an end to what was deemed as a standstill in the quarry industry, owing to the non-granting of licences throughout the tenure of the David Granger-led government.

With Guyana embarking on a massive infrastructural transformation, the government has promised increased and continued investments to boost the production of construction materials.
In addition to sand, efforts are already afoot to also facilitate cement production.