– joint ventures with bigger investors a likely option
The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) is currently studying a proposal received from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE) which the ministry says is aimed at transforming and upgrading the activities of small miners “into organized and modernized mining.”
Among the specific offers contained in the MNRE proposal are the allocation to small scale miners of mining areas deemed to have “economic mineral potential and the allocation of land to the Guyana Women Miners Association (GWMA) to assist vulnerable women in the sector.”
Syndicates comprising small scale miners will also have access to mining claims in areas deemed “closed”.
According to the MNRE, small scale miners have already benefited from the issuance of 360 blocks of mining property so far this year and are likely to benefit further from an additional 400 blocks which will be issued shortly. Each block comprises approximately 50 acres of land. As part of the MNRE’s proposal it is also offering to streamline and simplify licensing procedures for artisanal miners and mineral dealers and prepare, disseminate and enforce a code of conduct for mining and processing.
Some of the broader strategic objectives outlined in the MNRE’s proposal include making available to small miners appropriate and affordable technologies while assisting in the transfer of technology by promoting partnership between local small miners and large-scale investors. Additionally, the ministry is offering to provide small scale miners with extension mineral processing and marketing services.
The ministry says that while previous initiatives aimed at providing support for small miners have been taken, that current proposal provides “an array of initiatives that the MNRE considers as pivotal for the improvement of small scale mining in Guyana.”
The MNRE’s proposal which this newspaper understands is being studied by the GGDMA comes on the heels of a public falling out between the association and the ministry which saw the association express an absence of confidence in Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud. The spat between the miners and the political administration has also seen the resignation of Major General (retd) Joe Singh as Chairman of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.
Public officials close to the mining sector have said that tensions between small miners and the administration have arisen over resistance to government enforcement of environmental laws that compel miners to conform to more responsible mining practices. On the other hand some small miners have argued that some of the new requirements being put in place are costly, onerous and threaten to push small miners out of the sector.
