–quarrying, mining sector grew by 45.2 per cent in first half of 2023

GUYANA’s flourishing construction industry has prompted the commissioning of the US$10 million EKAA HRIM Earth Resources Management Quarry in Batavia, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) on Saturday. It is expected to help meet the high demand for aggregates.

The initial investment phase for the quarry is underway, with an additional US$10 million to be invested during the second phase.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali, at the commissioning ceremony, said that for the first half of 2023, quarrying and mining, as well as the construction sector, saw a growth of over 40 per cent each.

He said that government had to spend a significant amount on importing quarrying materials over the past three years in office, however, given the high demand, they still cannot keep up with the pace at which development is taking place.
“We have had to spend a lot of resources over the last three years in importing quarry material. One of the things is that because of the demand and supply, the prices went up and we had to seek to bring in imports,” he said.

President Ali added: “We have maybe couple million tonnes in contracts and still this is not enough to keep pace with the type of development that is taking place and this is just the initial phase of development. After 2026, 2027, that is when the real phase of massive infrastructure development will take place.”
He noted that this is just the first wave of infrastructure and in a few years, during the second phase of investments, it will require much more quarrying materials.

“This is the type of transformation that we are talking about when we speak about the investment in Guyana, which all requires quarrying materials and a significant increase in our production capacity and that is what this investment marks. It is about increasing our production capacity,” he explained.
He said that according to the quarry’s Chairman, Saju Bhaskar, the quarry will be delivering the quarry material at less than $9000 per tonne to Kingston, Georgetown which is against a market that is now $12,000 or $13,000 per tonne.

“That is a significant reduction. That would have a very positive impact on the construction sector, so as we get more and more production capacity and more supply in the system the prices will come down,” he said.
President Ali related that the investments into quarrying have created an opportunity in transportation and logistics.

“Right now, the country is out of barges, every barge in contracted…all the quarrying material has to be barged. There is no cheaper option. This creates that opportunity of transport and logistics, which create an opportunity for boat captains, mechanics, engineers, heavy duty machine operators,” he explained.

Dr. Ali further noted that forming consortiums is beneficial and said that they must move away from the old tradition of family wealth creation and move towards more collective consortium type of activities, which will allow them to bring bigger partners and do bigger projects.
He said that they are now working on bringing about 100 miners together, to work as a consortium to go in the deeper pit.

President Ali also challenged the Chairman of EKAA to have all the heavy duty operators for the facility trained from Batavia.
“We should not only celebrate the commissioning of this facility but we should look at ways in which we can further expand on the opportunities created, like the training for young people,” he said.

According to Toshao of Batavia, Oren Williams, over 15 residents are employed by the company. He noted that the development of the quarry to where it is now has moved at a fast rate and its management has been very helpful to the village and its residents.
Meanwhile, Chairman Bhaskar said that they share the government’s mission of a prosperous Guyana, where they aim to set new standards in responsible mining and sustainable development.

“As part of our sustainable initiative, we are planning to power the entire mine with solar power, which will be established here in the form of solar farm in the near future. It is also in line with the Low Carbon Development Strategy of the country,” he explained.
Bhaskar said that the quarry will bring numerous opportunities from employment to new infrastructure in the community and noted that it is their pledge to not just extract the resources from the land but to give back to the land and the community.
The quarry, he said, aims to produce 100,000 tonnes per month by the end of the year and they will increase it based on the demand.