Port Kaituma, Guyana’s second highest gold declaring district, is set to have fully operational offices of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Gold Board by November.
This announcement was made by Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud and GGMC Chairman Clinton Williams, both of whom said the offices will boost mining operations in District Five.
The offices will be housed in the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) building in Port Kaituma. It was revealed that GBTI will be in charge of the Gold Board office and will be buying gold on behalf of the facility.
This is especially welcome news since the Gold Board’s sub-office in Bartica was closed in April following the discovery of multimillion-dollar fraud at the facility. So far, seven persons were questioned by the Police in connection with the fraud, but it was unclear whether any arrests were made.
Presently, there are two operational offices of the Guyana Gold Board and the Minister had previously indicated that the Government will be looking to work with the private sector in the establishment of Gold Board offices around the mining districts.
Meanwhile, the construction of the new GGMC office in Bartica, Region Seven, which is slated to be completed in September, is behind schedule.
The building was scheduled to be completed in September, but the contractor, Eustace Lowe has blamed the unavailability of materials and the inclement weather for the delays. Lowe explained that the project started in March and maintained that he would be able to meet a mid-September deadline for the completion of the job.
He explained that the wood used to construct the building – Greenheart – is unavailable in Bartica; and, there is a major issue with transporting the wood from Parika.
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