[www.inewsguyana.com] – Prime Minister Samuel Hinds at the weekend visited the Guyana Gold Fields project, the Aurora Gold Mines located in the north-west of the country in Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Region Seven where he was given an update on the progress of work for the soon to be established open pit and underground mining operation.
“The activities have moved from prospecting 10 years ago, and now they are moving into the construction of a plant, and if all goes as planned about 14 months from today they should have their first bar of gold,” the Prime Minister stated.
The Aurora Gold Project is designed to produce 3.29 million ounces of gold, averaging 194,000 ounces yearly.Development of the mining area was known for 100 years before its development, the Prime Minister stated, and “when I visited 10 years ago they were prospecting, and we saw some equipment from some activities from way back.”
The Prime Minister added that the operation would start with open pit and then continue into an underground operation and they will soon look at the possibility of extending the life of the plant or make way for a bigger one. The Aurora Gold Mines has a project life of 17 years.
Meanwhile the company’s General Manager Vic Rozon, said the company started construction in January of this year and has a completion date of May 2015.
Thus far, the company has seen investments from companies, in Australia and Peru, and provides employment for hundreds of Guyanese.
“Construction of a road project has begun and we were working on other infrastructure area such as dams and bridges and airport strip and also getting the mine areas ready for production. There is a lot of work ahead of us, so far we are committed,” Rozon said.
Also, Rozon, stated that he was pleased with the Government’s commitment towards the company in terms of providing the necessary duty- free concession and other support.
Guyana Goldfields is one of South America’s largest gold mines and Guyana’s second largest gold extracting operation since the departure of OMAI in 2005.Guyana Gold Fields has undertaken a comprehensive ESI and the necessary permits to ensure compliance with local laws and international best practices. The company’s management team took a decision to reduce the “carbon footprint” of the site’s mining plant from 2,000 hectares to 1,200 hectares.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission’s Environmental Division will be upgrading their monitoring capability and enforcement capacity to manage and ensure compliance.[GINA]
