Guyana’s gold industry will be significantly boosted with the potential establishment of three large-scale operations here, following interest currently being expressed by some major international players.
According to Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh, these developments would create scores of job and business opportunities for Guyanese.
‘Multiple international companies are actively engaged in, at various stage of development of world-class, large-scale gold mining operations in at least three very promising developments across Guyana, that could see gold mines, each of which will be bigger than Omai Gold Mine. And, those of you who know Omai, would know how significant that is,” Dr Singh revealed.
He was at the time delivering remarks during the Private Sector Commission’s (PSC) Annual General Meeting.
“And these are international investors. Some of them are on the international stock exchange, stock exchanges around the world, they’re raising capital in the international market all to finance large-scale gold mining in Guyana,” the Finance Minister added.
“Contemplate for a moment, three large-scale developments each of which is larger than Omai. Consider for a moment, each one of these will probably be employing more than 1000 Guyanese persons. Consider the food and other supplies that they will need, transport services, the construction services, the equipment supply and maintenance services, and all of the multiplier benefits those three large-scale gold mining operations will generate in Guyana,” Dr Singh expressed.
Omai Gold Mines, which has already started a 5000-metre drilling programme in the Wenot pit, had announced in April 2021 the presence of high-grade gold in the first two holes that extend at least 100 metres below ground.
The company only returned to the Wenot and Fennell pits at the Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) site in 2020 after leaving Guyana in 2015. It had announced in December that it would be pressing forward with the 5000-metre drilling programme.
It was only in November 2020 that Omai Gold Mines, which is aiming to reclaim its place as Guyana’s top gold producer, announced the impending resumption of trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, following the recent reverse takeover of Avalon Investment Holdings.
