Executive Director of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Edward Shields, in an interview with Stabroek News last week said that up to the end of April, gold declarations were over 78,000 ounces and diamond declarations were approximately 60,000 carats. He said that the contributions in terms of royalties amounted to $497 million for the first four months of the year, exceeding the projections by 12%. Meanwhile $554 million have been paid for the same period in rentals, exceeding the projections by 30%. Rentals are the annual fees paid on among other things, claim licenses.
Shields believes that the importance of the sector is often not appreciated, pointing out that for over half of the past ten years, the gold and diamond sector contributed more to the Gross Domestic Product than sugar, which is often said to be a mainstay of the economy. Last year, sugar exports brought in US$133.4 million while gold exports brought in US$203.7 million and diamonds brought in US$31.2 million.
Shields said that the earnings so far can be attributed to the high gold prices and more miners entering the sector. He added that more gold is being sold to the Guyana Gold Board and it is envisaged that the sector’s regulatory body, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) will be collecting much more royalties for the latter part of the year. In terms of rentals, Shields attributed the increase to the fact that the GGMC is much stricter with leases, with persons being given a certain period in which to pay their fees, uplift the leases and begin work or else the permit could be cancelled.
Meanwhile, the security situation in the interior has improved, he said. The Miners Association official pointed out that the GGMC and the police have set up certain checkpoints in the interior, which are fully supported by the GGDMA though this is not fully implemented as yet. One of the issues being examined is a form of identification for persons going into the interior, he said.
Regarding the security of mining camps, Shields stated that most of the large-scale miners have been able to employ some sort of security and they are working closely with the police, with some of the personnel being supernumerary ranks. He added that obtaining firearms for the owners is easier. “Once the security force is approved by the police, the owners have no difficulties in obtaining the necessary firearm licences,” he commented drawing a distinction with experiences in the past when the process was “rather bureaucratic”. Shields attributed this to meetings with the Commis-sioner of Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs, which he said, had expedited the process. He noted though that the decision on whether or not to grant firearm licences to individuals is strictly a decision of the Commissioner of Police.
Meantime, however, Shields stated the “major problem” of illegal shops or Kayamoos, persists. “These shops are the ones that harbour most of the criminal elements as well as a lot of illegal activities are conducted (there),” he asserted. While underlining that the GGDMA has no objections to shops, he stated that there is a protocol that must be complied with. He noted that the GGMC has identified areas where shops can be set up, ‘Landings’, and persons have to apply to the regulatory body for permission. “This need to be rigidly enforced… this will minimize the criminal activity in the interior by at least between 40 to 60 per cent,” he declared.
Shields emphasized that overall security has improved and it is now more of a joint effort, noting that miners could not depend on just the police. The GGDMA Executive Director observed that a lot of the individual miners have taken up the opportunity to secure their operations and there are a lot of exercises done by the joint services. He added that now there is also better communication between the camps and the coast.
Meantime, according to him, about 80% of Brazilians in the mining sector are undocumented. The GGMC is currently carrying out regularization activities for illegal miners and this is something it is trying to do on a more regular basis, he said. He stated that officials are targeting those undocumented Brazilians, to ensure that they have permits and other documents.
Shields said there are lots of individuals who have good intentions but because of the language barrier, they are being misled by “brokers” who take money to process documents but this is never done.
He urged those persons to do the right thing and contact the GGMC, where they would be advised about the documentation needed. Shields explained that the regulatory body would recommend them to the Ministry of Home Affairs if they qualify. Once this was done, he said, the ministry would normally grant the necessary approval and the process usually took no more than two weeks from application to approval.
The regularization exercise currently being done is a “one-stop exercise”, comprising personnel from the GGMC and the Home Affairs Ministry. The GGDMA Executive Director noted that in the past, some of the brokers attempted to “sabotage” such exercises and the Brazilians would hide as they felt that the exercises were attempts to trap and deport them. He encouraged the affected persons to be a part of the exercise.
Shields said too that they are working on improving the environmental aspect of mining and have several ongoing projects to assist miners in better mining practices.
He noted that the sector has come a long way and contributes in a major way to other sectors as well. The Miners Association director pointed out that billions of dollars circulate within the industry, which supports the aircraft industry, shops, fabrication businesses, and heavy equipment companies among others. Heavy equipment sellers such as MACORP, he stated, attribute about 90% of their sales to miners. Such was the volume of business done with those in the industry, he commented, that the companies have asked to become associate members of the association. Further, he pointed out, in the past miners found it difficult to get loans but now banks, notably Scotiabank, are on board, and encourage miners to take out loans.
Importantly too, he added, employment in the sector is high with 15,000 to 20,000 persons directly involved and they support their families as well.
