–as gov’t begins evaluating firms to conduct on-the-ground surveys, digitise existing data, Natural Resources Minister says

THE Government of Guyana will soon begin the process of conducting on-the-ground surveys, and digitising existing data to establish a mineral inventory, Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat has said.

During a recent interview with local reporters on the sidelines of an event, Minister Bharrat disclosed that the ministry is currently in the evaluation phase of selecting a company to begin the process of examining the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC)’s existing data.

“There is a lot of data that is available at the GGMC, but it’s in the raw form. We will first start digitising the information and processing it, and this project, which will be a multi-year project, will lead to the physical survey being done in the mining districts of the country,” Minister Bharrat explained.

According to the minister, it has been decades since the country has updated its mineral inventory. As such, on-the-ground surveys will also be conducted to make the relevant updates.

“This hasn’t been done in a very long time; I think maybe over 40 years now since we have done a mineral inventory to identify minerals, the type of mineral, the quantity of minerals in specific areas. So, the mineral maps that exist now are maps that would have been drawn up from data that was acquired maybe 40 years ago,” Minister Bharrat said, adding:

“The technology and the equipment available today are much better than the ones that were available 40 years ago.”

Budget 2024 has allocated some $400 million to commence the mineral inventory process in the country’s mining districts to facilitate strategic mining and added benefits for medium and small-scale miners.

“It’s not only about gold mining, but we are looking at bauxite deposits, manganese deposits. We are also looking at the critical mineral, which is very important in regards to the transition of renewable energy. So those are some of the kinds of things that we will be adding to the mineral inventory,” the subject minister said.
Mineral mapping is a low-impact mining technique that refers to the process of identifying and mapping the distribution of minerals in a given area or region.

It involves the use of various techniques and technologies to detect and analyse the presence and abundance of different minerals within the earth’s surface or subsurface.

This process will assist in identifying areas that hold mineralisation potential, to avoid aimless deforestation by miners.

This first phase will focus on the main mining districts, such as the Mazaruni, Puruni, and the North-West District.

Additionally, the project is expected to reduce the cost of prospecting or exploration for small and medium-scale miners.