Russian gold firm to work on Matthews Ridge concession

More than 86 Guyanese have, so far, been employed to work with Major Minors Incorporated, a new gold mining company which has set up office in Guyana.

The company has been in Guyana for the past three years, and was successful in getting mining concessions to operate in Matthews Ridge, Region One.

Investor and Public Relations Officer of the company, Shiloh King, told Guyana Times International on July 3 that Major Miners Inc is now in its “setting up stage”, and has established an office in Lamaha Gardens, Georgetown.

King explained that the company is looking forward to working with communities across Guyana, and will move to assist the communities in which they are operating.

She stated that one of the thrusts of the company is to ensure that it lives up to its corporate responsibilities; and regardless that operations have not yet been started, the company will support any worthy event or programme. King noted that the company will also be giving its support to the education and health sectors of Guyana. When operation begins, the company will also move to hire more Guyanese.

The company is a subsidiary of Petropavlovsk Plc in London, reputedly the third largest Russian gold producing company in the world. On Sunday, the company took its corporate support programme to St Cuthbert’s Mission, where officials made donations to the community athletics club’s annual marathon race. They presented the cash prizes for first, second and third-placed winners, and trophies for the forty participants.

Petropavlovsk has been operating as a gold producer in Russia since 1994. Petropavlovsk PLC is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of £2 billion. The group has commissioned three open-pit hard rock gold mines: Pokrovskiy, Pioneer and Malomir; and it is currently on schedule to launch its fourth mine, Albyn, during the final quarter of 2011. Acquired as pre-development and early-stage exploration targets, these projects were developed utilising the group’s in-house expertise for exploration, engineering and construction.

Additionally, Petropavlovsk has several licences to mine alluvial gold, and operates a joint venture. The Amur region is home to the group’s primary operations, and a large proportion of its development assets lies there. The region has a good transport system, based on two of Russia’s key railroads, and good access to low cost electricity from two large hydroelectric plants – providing a sound base for gold production.