The gold rush

By Jainarine Deonauth

There is currently a new wave of excitement in Guyana’s mining sector. Everyone wants a piece of the pie, as the high prices for gold in particular on the world market are triggering the gold rush.
Nationally, the mining sector in Guyana is seen as critical to national development. Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh was quoted in the media recently as saying that the local economy recorded a 2.8 per cent growth in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) up to mid-year, with the mining sector playing a key part.
The recent mid-year report by the Finance Ministry shows that gold whose production grew by 13.2 per cent had export earnings amounting to US$ 268 million, which represents an increase of 16.8 per cent over the corresponding period in 2011.
Additionally, the bauxite sector grew significantly by 41.9 per cent, with export earnings amounting to US$ 79.4 million, which represents an increase of 21.8 per cent. This, of course, is extremely encouraging and the administration must be given some credit for the work it has done in ensuring there is a high level of interest by major overseas investors, notably BOSAI and RUSAL, to invest in the mining industry here.
Surely, the developments we are currently seeing in the mining sector will only redound to the benefit of the entire country, as there will be more money in government’s coffers to spend on education, health care, housing, and other social services.
On its part, the government has shown that it is committed to exploring ways in which the success of the mining industry could be shared by all citizens and has taken a number of steps to ensure this happens. For example, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has started a series of engagements with stakeholders in the sector to assist them in ironing out the difficulties they face.
Issues such as access to land for small miners, training, environmental concerns, security in mining communities, etc have been on the front burner for some time now and we are indeed pleased that they are getting some attention now. We urge that there be continued dialogue between the government and other stakeholders to put arrangements in place where particularly small miners can have access to property for mining so that they do not have to depend on persons who have large mining properties.
Further, recently we reported that the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), will be making more mining properties available through a lottery of special mining permit parcels in each of the six mining districts. This move is part of the government’s drive to provide mining properties to small- and medium- scale Guyanese miners. We believe that this latest initiative on the part of the administration means well for miners, especially those small- and medium- scale operators who could not have done so because of limited or no access to lands for mining, etc. It is hoped that they will now take advantage of the opportunities available.
We have noted that the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association have announced that they will host a new entrants seminar to provide support to potential miners on how to acquire mineral properties, trade transactions for gold and diamond, and the administrative and environmental requirements for sustainable mine management.
However, in a more general sense, we wish to press the need for long-term training and capacity building in the mining industry as this is one area where there is currently a lack of expertise.
Finally, it is well known that the gold rush has brought with it major security challenges. Over the past few months, there have been an increasing number of reports of illegal mining camps being set up, especially by foreigners; illegal drugs and guns entering the mining communities; prostitution; and of course, violent crimes. From all indications, it is clear that our security forces, whether or not they have the capacity and capability, have not been able to wrest the situation. These and other issues have the potential to negatively impact the development of the mining industry, and they must remain high on the agenda and be addressed forthwith.