Georgetown: Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud on Wednesday announced that an international mining firm is looking at large-scale magnesium mining here.
Persaud, who was at the time speaking at the launch of Mining Week activities in Port Kaituma, Region One, said the Government is currently engaged in talks with the firm and additional developments will be announced in the near future. At the same time, the Minister urged small miners in the area not to rely solely on the prospects of gold mining, but to also diversify into other areas.
Mining districts such as Port Kaituma are principally dependent on the mining sector for survival. The Government awarded Reunion Manganese Inc four prospecting licences – some 185 square kilometres (km²) to conduct exploration and development activities for manganese in the North West District.
In 2011, it was awarded two permissions for a Geological and Geophysical Survey (14,770 km²). The project is centred on an abandoned manganese mines at Matthew’s Ridge and Pipiani, which was operated by a subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation from 1962 to 1968.
In excess of 1.66 million tonnes of manganese concentrate were shipped from the mine site during that period. The main project footprint hosting the manganese mineralisation consists of a 15 kilometre-long series of nine hills contained within the Matthew’s Ridge Formation and is known to extend for more than 40 kilometres of strike.
Diversification
The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has also advocated for diversification in the mining sector, noting that should the gold industry collapse, residents in mining communities would be able to sustain themselves.
Meanwhile, Region One Chairman Paul Pierre also advocated for miners to pursue riches in the area of manganese.
While legislators have not publicly decided on a possible date for tabling of the Hire Purchase Legislation, Minister Persaud assured miners that this in, no way, means that hire purchase entities will take advantage of them.
He said that if the miners so wish, he would be making representations on their behalf to hire purchase dealers such as MACORP for them to be able to access mining machinery.
Earlier this year, acting Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali had said when this legislation comes into force, consumers will no longer be at the mercy of hire purchase schemes, noting that the current system that prevails is disadvantageous to consumers.
“We are working on having the Hire Purchase Legislation laid in Parliament before the recess,” he said, adding: “I know we have been having a lot of problems with the repossession in the automobile industry and now also with the gold miners… we have persons paying as much as 80 per cent and just because of the remainder not being paid, they lose the items and the money they would have already paid.”
This, he explained, is a grave disadvantage to consumers.
Ali also added that the Bill is not only being drafted with the protection of the consumer in mind, but also that of the companies which offer hire purchase plans to consumers. As it stands right now, consumers who would have failed to complete payments on items bought on hire purchase terms would have their items repossessed by the stores. This would be done even though the consumers have paid a large part of the total amount of monies owed for the item.
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