Revised Mining Toolkit launched; Minister Persaud optimistic of reduced impact on environment

By Kurt Campbell

At a ceremony where scores of stakeholders to the mining industry converged, Minister Persaud delivered the keynote address; registering his optimism with reduced impact on the environment and the livelihood of communities by using the information contained in the kit.

He said the toolkit, which is to a large extent a simplified version of the laws and regulation that guide the sector in Guyana, will serve a number of purposes; among which is to allow more Guyanese to have a better understanding of the sector and participate in its growth and opportunities therein.

The Environment Minister said too that the kit, which has transformed the complexities of mining, has made it easy for the ordinary miner to understand the more than a dozen legislations that directly and indirectly govern the sector.

He is confident that once the kit is disseminated and read widely by miners across the country it will engender better compliance and enforcement, consequent to persons understanding their roles. He said too that better management of relationships between miners and local communities are to be expected.

He called on all miners to use the kit as their guiding instrument and make the sector something to be proud of.

Meanwhile, Design Consultant, Ajay Baksh warned that although the information contained in the book was a simplified version of laws that govern the sector and references several legal documents, it is not a replacement for the laws.

He said there will need to be constant upgrading to keep the book current and relevant. It will be available in digital form on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The book was originally developed from the Canadian toolkit, which has been adopted by several other mining stable countries across the globe.

To this end, Dr. Giles said the Government of Canada was proud to partner with the Guyana Government; adding that all the contribution from all the stakeholders, inclusive of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and the Guyana Geology and Mines commission have been nothing short of valuable.

She said Canada and Canadian companies have always pursued excellence in the extracted sector and as such are happy with the guide that reinforces, in simple terms, best practices.