Georgetown : Guyana’s gold production this morning reached 403,000 ounces with an export value of close to US$658M, through output from small and medium scale miners, surpassing the targeted 400,000 ounces.
Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud today said he expected that the projection for gold production for the next few years would move upwards. Observing that the original target set by the Ministry was 373,000 ounces, higher than last year’s declaration, the miners and the associations themselves set a target for the declaration of 400,000 ounces. Minister Persaud said that surpassing this target was a moment to be proud of.
Today’s declaration is the highest ever for Guyana without the input of the OMAI Gold Mines which ceased production in 2006. Guyana’s highest declaration for gold production was 455,918 ounces in 2001with the contribution of OMAI at 354,069 ounces. When OMAI ceased production in 2006, the production of Guyana’s artisanal miners was just above the 200,000 level which has now been doubled
Minister Persaud said that by the end of this year, it is expected that several more thousand ounces of gold will be declared since a number of operations are still working, and there are still some miners and dealers yet to declare their production.
“For our country and all who operate in the sector, this is a historic achievement,” Minister Persaud stated.
President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Patrick Harding expressed pride at the miners’ contribution and urged them to continue to work together, and for illegal miners to get their equipment registered since there will be heavy enforcement of regulations in 2013.
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