Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud yesterday came under intense scrutiny over permission granted to a Brazil company in November, 2012 to survey the south east of the country for minerals, an area that his ministry had said that no mining permits had been granted.
The Permission of Geo-logical and Geophysical Survey (PGGS) to the Muri Brasil Ventures Ltd, while not a permit contains a clause which says that a maximum of 18 prospecting licences “shall be granted” for rare earth elements, bauxite, gold and diamonds and other minerals upon application.
The PGGS was yesterday circulated to the media anonymously and appeared to have been sent to leading government officials and members of opposition parties. The aim of the document was to show that Persaud and his ministry did not disclose in a recent letter to the media that a PGGS was extant in an area east of the New River Triangle.
Amid an ongoing controversy over the building of mining roads in the environmentally sensitive area of the country, Persaud’s ministry’s Per-manent Secretary, Joslyn McKenzie, in a letter to Stabroek News on November 27, had said, “I am further advised that whilst the GGMC [Guyana Geology and Mines Commission] had previously received several applications within the New River Triangle area, there are no mining permits issued in the areas east of New River.” That statement failed to disclose the Muri Brasil Ventures Ltd PGGS which Persaud himself signed on the November 7, 2012 and clears the way for prospecting on satisfaction of the defined work programme and proof of financial ability. This, analysts say, shows clear intent by Persaud’s ministry to permit mining in the area despite its assertions to the contrary.
Observers say the Muri Brasil Ventures Ltd deal once again exposed the secret arrangements being clinched between the government and certain investors without any public ventilating. Prior to yesterday, there was no detailed information on the agreement that Persaud himself signed with the company.
‘Priority basis’
An anonymous letter addressed to President Donald Ramotar and copied to Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon, Leader of the Opposition David Granger, Leader of the AFC Khemraj Ramjattan, Vice Chairman of A Partnership for National Unity Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman, General Secretary of the PPP Clement Rohee and editors of the daily newspapers called for action to be taken against Minister Persaud for what the author described as the selling out of Guyana.
“I read in the newspapers and saw on television the response of Minister Robert Persaud to questioning in Parliament about the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment. Sir, Minister [Persaud] said to the Parliament that he is not aware of any mining lease or permit issued by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission in the area near New River Triangle where we have an issue with Suriname,” the author writes to the president, before alluding to documents that purportedly challenge the minister’s recent statements in the National Assembly.
The documents, including the PGGS, show that despite statements from ministry that no permission for mining has been given out in the area near the New River Triangle, it did give permission for geological and geophysical surveys to a company mining rare earth elements, which could eventually lead to mining.
The PGGS shows that permission was given for Muri Brasil Ventures Inc. to conduct geological and geophysical surveys for rare earth elements, bauxite, limestone, nephelene, syenite, gold, and diamond and granite stones in areas clearly east of the New River.
The PGGS quotes the Minister thus, “Now therefore I by the virtue of the power and authority in me vested under the Mining Act and as Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, hereby grant Muri Brasil Ventures Inc under Section 97 of the Mining Act 1989 the exclusive right to occupy the area and conduct geological and geophysical surveys for rare earth elements, bauxite, limestone, nephelene, syenite, gold, diamonds and granite stones for a period of 36 months from November 7, 2012.”
One clause of the document said that during the duration of the permission, the permission holder shall have the right to apply to the GGMC for, and shall be granted a maximum of 18 prospecting licences provided that such grant shall be subject to the permission holder having satisfied the requirements of the said work programme for the geological and geophysical survey and that satisfactory proof has been furnished to the Minister of financial resources and technical capabilities to carry out its work programme. It said too that the GGMC shall treat such applications on a priority basis.
‘Strongly reject’
“As you would expect, I strongly reject any such baseless assertions,” Persaud said yesterday in response to a suggestion by the letter writer that his ministry is “selling out” out the country. In a statement his ministry did, however, confirm yesterday the granting of the PGGS through the GGMC to conduct Geological and Geophysical Surveys in the Rupununi, Mining District No 6, and noted that the company’s expression of interest predated the creation of Ministry.
According to the ministry, there was a request for expressions of interest in the media “from which this proposal was considered.” It also emphasised that the PGGS was done in keeping with the ISO-certified procedures.
The ministry added that a PGGS “is a property exclusive to exploration and does not include any mining and/or profit related activities. A prospecting licence, it noted, requires in depth and intensive exploration, while the PGGS caters for reconnaissance-type exploration to move to a prospecting license stage for further exploration.
Observers, however, say that the fact that companies will spend significant sums to invest in survey work means that they might eventually get a prospecting licence and then a mining licence and do not buy the minister’s argument that a permission for survey work does not necessarily mean actually mining sometime in the future.
The Ministry said that in addition to previous disclosures through various reporting mechanisms, this information was also shared with the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) and the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, both of which recently met the ministry and agencies under its purview. It noted that it was also shared with the National Assembly in response to a question that a Member of Parliament asked.
Speaking to this newspaper, APNU Member of Parliament Joseph Harmon said that Minister Persaud should not even be contemplating any activity in the area.
“What you have done is extend the borders of Brazil. The Minister should resign or he should be fired,” said Harmon. “I don’t know how it can be justified in any way,” he added of the minister’s actions.
Harmon said the holder of the PGGS feels that he has the power of the Ministry and the GGMC behind him.
“I asked him in the committee whether any activity was taking place and he said no. What is his signature doing there? The minister has to explain that.” Harmon said. “I questioned him on it and he flatly denied it and offered no explanation on the matter,” said Harmon.
Muri Brasil Ventures Inc is a company duly registered under the Companies Act 1991 and whose registered office in Guyana is located at 88 C&D Barrack Street, Georgetown, Guyana.
