Georgetown: The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has refuted claims by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Natural Resources Ministry that duty-free concessions were available for small and medium-scale miners.
In fact, the GGDMA said that while duty-free concessions should be available to all miners, this was not the case. A release from the Association made it clear that the concessions only go to the large-scale miners.
“The Association perceives there have been a breakdown of communications as it refers to the Ministry statements on duty free for spare parts on equipment, and the reduction of tax on fuel. For the record, these statements can be deemed partially accurate, but the concessions are only extended to large-scale miners and not small and medium scale.”
In the release, the mining body emphasised that while it was grateful for the current intervention initiatives put in place by the Government, there was need for more “immediate” relief to be provided to the sector.
Observers have already noted that at present the gold industry is in a crisis and is in need of an intervention on the part of the Government, but this has not been forthcoming.
The GGDMA pointed to several relief initiatives that could be implemented by the Government to save the sector from its downward spiral. These included: reduction of rental payments by two per cent for small and medium-scale miners once the price for gold is less than US$1400 , duty-free allowances for spare parts, and reduction of the tax vis-à-vis the price of fuel.
The Association also called for the reconvening of the interministerial task force that is supposed to meet, discuss and make recommendations to President Donald Ramotar on the mining sector.
Amid the unsteady gold prices and complaints from the local mining community, GGMC Board Chairman Clinton Williams has said miners needed to focus on minimising production costs.
Williams said that aside from the relief from Government, miners should “zero-in on the high-cost production areas”. He believes that once the miners pay attention to reducing extraction costs, they would face less of a backlash as the price for gold falls on the international market.
It was explained that neither the Government nor the GGMC has any control over the prices for gold on the international market. The prices are basically controlled by market factors such as the price for the US dollar among other things.
While the mining sector is primarily focused on gold, bauxite and diamonds, Guyana also has deposits of semi-precious stones, laterite, manganese, kaolin, sand, radioactive minerals, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, iron, nickel, and other metals. Guyana also produces high-value refractory A-grade bauxite, which is produced nowhere else but in China.
The mining and quarrying sector represents a critical component of Guyana’s economy, accounting for 50 per cent of exports.
Much of Guyana’s growth in recent years had come from a surge in gold production in response to then skyrocketing global prices. The downward trend in gold prices may threaten future growth. However, the prospects are still encouraging, as exploration results suggest that significant gold deposits are still there to be mined.
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