With a declaration exceeding 127,000 ounces of gold, local mining and trading company Mohamed’s Enterprise has been named the country’s number one declarer and exporter for the year 2018.
This was confirmed by Chairman of the Guyana Gold Board, Gabreil Lall who told <<<<Inews>>>> on Thursday that El Dorado Trading copped the second spot behind the top performer.
While he could not provide the actual figures at the time, the Chairman of the Gold Board pointed out that Mohamed’s declared approximately 4000 ounces of gold more than El Dorado Trading.
This publication understands that in 2018, Mohamed’s Enterprise declared in excess of 127,000 ounces of gold. This is compared to the more than 123,000 ounces declared in 2017.
The company is said to be a top performer in the gold mining industry for the past 10 years and currently employs approximately 200 persons.
An official from Mohamed’s Enterprise told this newspaper that the company’s success can be credited due to the support and cooperation from its customers and various Government agencies, including the Guyana Gold Board, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Natural Resources Ministry and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), among others.
Nevertheless, the senior official called for steps to be taken to improve the operations of local miners such as the provision of better roads and infrastructure. He also urged that the granting of shop and trading licenses be expedited in a timely manner.
In addition, a call was made for more patrols in the Cuyuni Area, since of recent, there have been a number of attacks on mining camps where hundreds of ounces of gold are stolen and in some cases, lives are lost.
On the other hand, the company called for the capping of licences being granted to Brazilian miners, saying that it affects the operations of local operators. Finally, the company reiterated the need for duty-free concessions for heavy-duty mining equipment and machinery.
Last year, the Finance Ministry had said that since 2015 the local mining industry has been benefiting from a number of initiatives taken, such as tax concessions on machinery, equipment, fuel and vehicles for small and medium-scale miners; a lowering of the Tributors Tax from 20 per cent to 10 per cent and a sliding scale percentage based on the price of gold, which replaced the two per cent of gross proceeds.
