Production in several large-scale gold mining projects is not foreseen within the next two years, according to local mining officials.
Two of the largest proposed projects; Guyana Goldfields’ Aurora project and ETK’s Toroparu project are fairly advanced in terms of exploration and they have detailed information but they are not close to production. At Aurora, actual mining is unlikely to commence for another 24 months at minimum, said Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), William Woolford. He added that at Toroparu, this would probably take place in another 24 to 36 months. “We welcome them, they’re working hard and so on but we don’t anticipate that they’ll be producing gold for another two to three years”, Woolford said last week.
Head of the Geological Services Division at the GGMC, Kampta Persaud noted that before they get to that stage, the companies would have to determine the feasibility, tie up financing and then begin construction which can take a while.
It was noted that some smaller companies are likely to take less time to set up their operations. There is the Peters Mine project- associated with Guyana Goldfields and the Shoreham project in the Marudi Mountains. There is also the Tassawini project.
Guyana Goldfields’ project at Aurora, Cuyuni River is one of the largest and the company aims to produce between 250 000 to 350 000 ounces of gold per year. A project summary of the proposed mine states that the development and operation of the mine site will involve construction and operation of a hydropower plant on the Cuyuni River, construction of an access road to the mine site, and construction and operation of a wharf at Buck Hall on the Essequibo River.
The project summary says that ore recovery will consist of a combination of open pit and underground mining and the combined schedule will result in a mine life of approximately 12 years. Power for the process plant operation and ancillary services, according to the summary, will be provided by a run-of-the-river pondage hydropower plant to be constructed on the Cuyuni River, 8km away from the mine site. According to the Guyana Goldfield’s website, a 10-15 megawatt hydroelectric facility is envisioned and two pre-feasibility studies done found that the optimum site both technically and economically is the Julian Ross Itabu River location, where the installed capacity is calculated to be 11MW.
The company has already done some preliminary construction at the mining site including the building of a camp and it has also built a 2000-feet airstrip at the Aurora location. Guyana Goldfields Inc is a Canada-based mineral exploration company primarily focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits in Guyana, where it has operated since 1996.
ETK Incorporated last year applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the necessary approval for a gold and copper mine at Toroparu along the Upper Puruni River. The company, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian mining company, Sandspring Resources Ltd, said that it plans to produce gold and copper from the Toroparu Mine. The project will entail the development and operation of the mine site, upgrade of an existing access road, construction of an off-site concentrate treatment facility, and a barge and ship loading facility. According to a summary of the proposed project, historic exploration data and mining has proven the existence of commercially viable gold and copper deposits. Current feasibility and metallurgical test work on the Toroparu deposits postulates mine production rates ranging from 3.5 million tonnes of ore per year in the initial phase of operation to 20 million tonnes per year at peak production levels, it says.
Shoreham Resources Limited last Friday changed its name and is now known as Guyana Frontier Mining Corp. The company is a public mineral exploration company and is focused on the exploration, discovery and development of precious metals deposits in Guyana. It began acquiring interests in local gold exploration properties in 2007, and now holds various rights to obtain working interests in approximately 322 150 acres of prospective lands. Its main asset is the Marudi Mountain Project and its goal is to develop a significant gold resource there and to explore its other projects using joint venture funding.
Meantime, in relation to Groundstar drilling for oil in the Rupununi, this may be completed by March. Persaud said that the company is expected to drill to about 3000 metres. It would take roughly three months to drill the well. According to Woolford, the company feels confident because they are drilling close to where oil had been discovered and they feel they are bringing greater technical strength to ensure they could have a commercial find. It was noted that the company is moving at a slow pace because the drill is a new one.
