(De Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – If everything goes according to plan, the Kaloti Suriname Mint House will be producing by late 2012, early 2013. The stone laying ceremony for a refinery is scheduled for the first quarter of 2012. The refinery will be able to refine gold to a 99.99 percent pure quality, says Wilson, Kaloti’s representative in Suriname, in an interview with DWT. The company recently signed a contract with the government for determining the purity, smelting gold and production of gold bars that meet international standards. Wilson explains that in Phase one his company will focus on refining gold. Phase two will be the production of bars and minting on demand. The Kaloti representative says that the short term plans call for processing Surinamese gold, but the plan is to be a decisive factor in the region for processing gold and producing bars and mint on demand. However, the Kaloti official could not comment on the details of the contract between the state and his company. Suriname produces 30,000 kilograms of gold annually, more than half of which is produced by small miners. IAMGOLD refines its gold at the Royal Canadian Mint. That deal is still very unsatisfactory because the value of the gold is decided outside of Suriname. It is to be expected that the state will pressure IAMGOLD into refining its gold in Suriname to determine its exact value. In its press release Kaloti states that it has surveyed several Latin American countries to set up a mint house. Minur Kaloti, president of Kaloti Jewelry Group has been doing business with Suriname for ten years, but this is the biggest project so far. Establishing a mint house will enable the company to expand its presence in the region. Putting up a mint house will be favorable for Suriname as more gold will be drawn from the gold industry since processed gold has a higher value.
