Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat has disclosed that Guyanese stakeholders are among the investors who have expressed an interest in acquiring the abandoned Troy Resource mining pit at Karouni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
Since the Australian-based mining company halted operations here last year, the Guyana Government has since taken over ownership of the abandoned mining property and is seeking potential investors to restart operations there.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Bharrat told reporters that the government has been engaging a number of companies, including Guyanese investors, that have expressed interests in taking over the mining operations.
“Only last week I meet with a group – it’s a group involving Guyanese and foreigners. There is another group that I met a few weeks back, I can tell you, without disclosing names, that I met with three or four groups, that is a mixture of Guyanese and international investors, that are interested in the Troy Resources area,” he stated.
According to Bharrat, the ministry has already allowed two of these potential investors the opportunity to have a technical team visit the site to conduct their own independent assessment of the plant, the mining pit and to also do some drilling to determine the resources that are there.
“So at least two companies, we’ve afforded them the opportunity to go into the sites and do a technical assessment. There are about two more that we will afford the opportunity to do the similar exercise and to come back to us with a formal proposal. So, I will say that we are making advancements with regards to seeking out a new investor for that property,” the Natural Resources Minister stated.
Back in June, Bharrat had told this publication that government had approached the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) for them to explore putting together a local consortium to take over the abandoned Troy Resources large-scale operations.
The minister said on Wednesday, “That is still a possibility. But from where I see it, it could be a possibility of a mixture between local miners or the local mining association and foreign investors because it requires a lot of foreign investments to restart the operations there. But I can tell you that we are committed and working towards restarting that operation there.”
It was previously reported that the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of former Troy Resources Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ken Nilsson had on Troy’s overall operations, to the point where the Australia-based company never recovered and subsequently left Guyana.
At the time, however, the company left Guyana, owing the State over $2.6 billion in royalties. This had prompted the Ministry of Legal Affairs to write the company a demand letter and to pursue legal means of recovering the monies owed.
In addition to the state taking control of the mining property here – including the living accommodation, the administrative section, the processing plants and the mining pits, the Natural Resources Ministry has also issued permits to local small operators to mine around the area, while the main pit is reserved for a large-scale investor(s).
On Wednesday, Bharrat disclosed that approximately 112 mining permits have been issued to small operators to date.
Troy Resources had been operational in Guyana since 2015 and out of the 634,905 ounces of gold declared in 2019, Troy Resources, as one of Guyana’s largest gold producers, accounted for a large portion of it. The company had reported production figures of 58,118 ounces of gold from its Karouni, Region Seven mine for 2019. In 2018, its gold production figure was 70,207.
It had also been announced in 2021 that the company would be partnering with Barrick Gold Corporation, a Canadian company with operations around the world. Based on the joint venture, the company was supposed to explore for gold near the Karouni mining site in Region Seven.
All of that has since fallen through and following the company’s departure from Guyana last year, the Government – through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC); the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) – had taken control of the Karouni mine.
In addition to failing to pay outstanding royalties, the Australian mining company had failed to pay rental fees as well as adhere to its environmental obligations to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and work programme.
Moreover, a number of companies and sub-contractors were also owed millions by Troy. In fact, there were workers who are owed wages for extended periods, prompting the Labour Ministry to intervene.
It was further reported that Troy Resources had entered into receivership, the process whereby creditors sell off a company’s assets to recover monies owed. The Government had said that Troy actually initiated this process, but due to poor site management, persons have been raiding the site and stealing equipment and materials.
