Guyana Gold Fields operations will not affect small miners – Natural Resources Minister

Georgetown : The operationalising of the multi-million dollar Guyana Gold Fields mining investment will pose no threat to small miners, according to Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Robert Persaud. The company is set to launch its operations in 2015.

“There is absolutely no threat, this is an area that the investors, the company have so there will be no displacing of small miners,” the Minister said.

He noted that the whilst there will be a small amount of open pit type mining, most of the operations will be underground with some tunnels reaching depths of more than 947 meters, utilising “Hard Rock Mining” technology.

More than 300 jobs will be created and production is estimated to be in excess of 350,000 ounces, annually. This, Minister Persaud said, will almost double the gold production declared for 2012. Billions of dollars in revenue will significantly boost the local economy with both direct and indirect revenue flow, he added.

 Guyana Gold Fields recently announced that a feasibility study has indicated that the Aurora Gold Property mining operation will be able to produce in excess of 3,000,000 ounces of gold.