[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and its regulatory agency, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) maintains that no mining permits or licenses were granted in areas east of the New River.
According to the Ministry, “as previously disclosed a company whose expression of interest predates the Ministry was granted the Permission for Geological and Geographical Survey (PGSS) through the GGMC to conduct Geological and Geophysical Surveys in the Rupununi, Mining District No. 6. A PGGS is a property exclusive to exploration and does not include any mining and/or profit related activities.”
This, the Ministry has stated resulted from a request for a public expression of interest from which the proposal was considered. A copy of the advertisement was provided to the media.
Questions are being asked through an anonymous letter to the media, senior government officials and opposition members about unconfirmed reports of mining activities within the New River area.
The Ministry maintains that all documentations are public and notification of the award of the PGSS was made public in the media earlier. More recent, the Ministry pointed out that disclosures were made through various reporting mechanisms as the Ministry shared this information with the Guyana Human Right Association (GHRA) and the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources both of whom recently met the Ministry and its agencies.
As to why the Minister signed the PGSS, the ministry said that according to the Mining Act only the Minister can sign a PGSS.
