690,000 ounces of gold declared this year
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman said, yesterday, that his ministry will be aiming for 700,000 ounces in gold declaration in 2017. The minister said the Government is looking forward to all miners producing and declaring high numbers in 2017 and pledged to continue to support the industry.
Minister Trotman, while addressing the media at a year-end press conference in the ministry’s boardroom, explained that in 2016 the Ministry of Finance had projected a gold declaration target of 550,000 ounces, an increase of 21.8 % over the previous year’s target. However, the Ministry, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Gold Board (GGB), privately worked towards a different target which was 650,000 ounces.
“As announced in the National Assembly recently, we surpassed that target. Today, I am ecstatic to announce that declarations stand at an unprecedented and whopping 690,000; the highest gold declaration figure in any calendar year in the history of gold mining in Guyana,” Minister Trotman declared.
The Natural Resources Minister pointed out that this success was as a result of the hard work of small and medium-scale miners who delivered the majority of this gold, along with Guyana Goldfields and Troy Resources, which contributed 70% of the gold declared.
