The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s efforts to clamp down on gold smuggling and non-declaration of gold have started to bear fruit, with President Dr Irfaan Ali revealing that there are already signs of improvement and that the gold sector would end the year with a projected 2.1 per cent growth.
In a broadcast to the nation on Saturday, President Ali spoke of the gold mining sector in the context of the recently released 2024 Mid-Year Report.
The gold sector had previously been making headlines for the wrong reasons…reasons that included gold smuggling and sanctions against prominent members of society.
But there is good news, as the President revealed that despite all the challenges, the gold mining sector is in the midst of a turnaround, thanks to Government policies that include tightening up loopholes that allowed the illegal trade of the precious metal.
“The gold industry had a contraction of 10.3 per cent in the first half of 2024. Given the challenges faced in the first half of the year, which included drought, lack of water, many of the miners could not have worked, (posing) challenges in the mining area,” the president has said.
“And, of course also, as you know, we launched a specific initiative targeting the illegal sale of gold and non-declaration. And as a result of a combination of measures, we have seen improvements in the last six weeks. So, given the performance of the first half of the year, the sector is now projected to grow by 2.1 per cent this year,” the Head of State detailed.
Distribution of an additional 200 mining blocks to miners in Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), is among the steps that have been taken. This followed a similar exercise done in Region Seven, (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), where small miners received 150 blocks.
“Additionally, Government has allocated property holdings to about 100 Guyanese miners in the Troy Resources area. Recall that, earlier this year also, the Government signed an agreement with Reunion gold, with production expected to be over 200,000 ounces annually, once they start producing in 2027,” the Head of State has said.
Mention has also been made of the US$1.8 million mineral mapping contract that was signed with American company Global Venture Consulting in August. The project, which Government hopes would be a multi-year one, would see the firm producing maps to show, among other things, where gold and other mineral deposits are located around the country.
“This study, which focuses both on gold and non-traditional minerals, will give us a better understanding of our natural assets as we plan a comprehensive strategy in how we sustainably develop and target our natural assets in the diversification and expansion of our economy,” President Ali has said.
Overall, the President noted that the mining and quarrying sector is estimated to have grown by 64.3 per cent in the first half of the year. And he described the next couple of years in particular as important years for advancing the quarrying sector.
“…driven by growth in the petroleum and other mining industries. But when you look at quarrying, in the second half of this year, we anticipate several new quarries to commence operation. So, we see the remainder of this year and 2025 as important years in the quarrying sector,” he declared.
“Out of COVID the last two to three years, the project conceptualization stage, the studies and pre-production work for several quarries have been completed, and those quarries are now going to come into operation,” President Ali further explained.
Since 2016, gold production and declaration have seen a steady decline. For 2022, the declaration was 486,415 ounces. For 2021, it was 499,054 ounces; for 2020, it was 584,291 ounces; and for 2019, it was 634,905 ounces.
Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat, in a recent press conference, attributed these low figures to a variety of factors. For instance, he said, for the years 2020-2021, significant flooding had occurred in mining districts, severely impacting operations. In 2023 there was a prolonged drought, and this year mining districts are again being affected by flooding. In 2020, the issue was the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minister Bharrat said Government is hoping to improve production and declaration by helping small miners get better access to land. And with the signing of the mineral mapping contract with the global venture, some 700 miners are set to benefit from these initiatives.
