President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Clinton Urling does not believe the wording of the Permission for Geological and Geophysical Survey (PGGS) granted to Muri Brasil Ventures Inc. is as damning as critics have made out nor does he believe that Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud intended to subvert the process.
According to the PGGS, dated November 7, 2012, Muri Brasil Ventures Inc. has the “right to apply” to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and shall be granted a maximum of 18 licences once it satisfies attendant requirements. It also said that the GGMC shall treat such applications on a priority basis.
“Whether the language in the contract constituted a guarantee or not, I don’t think there was any intent by the Minister [of Natural Resources and the Environment] to subvert a process and engage in some underhand arrangement with the company,” Urling said in an email to Stabroek News yesterday. “It must be noted that this is not the first time that such a PGGS was issued with similar wording. In fact, Pharsalus Inc. was granted a PGGS by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, and recorded by then GGMC Commissioner William Woolford, in 2007 that had similar language and included the clause: ‘during the duration of the permission, the Permittee shall have the right to apply to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission for, and shall be granted, a maximum of twenty (20) Prospecting Licences for radioactive minerals and rear earth elements.”
He pointed out that in this instance, similar conditions were to be met before approval of Licences. “Moreover, the conditions set out in the Muri Brasil PGGS contract that will pave the way for the granting of a maximum of 18 Prospecting Licences are in keeping with the requirements of the Mining Act for issuances of such a License,” he said.
Urling pointed out that Article 30, Chapter 2 of the Mining Act sets out that PL should be granted if the applicant can demonstrate adequate financial and technical experience to carry out an effective prospecting operation and also show that it has an adequate prospecting programme or operational plan.
“I don’t see any issue with the granting of such PL if the company were to apply to the GGMC and meet all the requirements,” he said. “The only issue that needs to be addressed is if the government is willing to change its current policy of not permitting mining in the specified area. Also, the government will have to ensure that if it changes its policy on mining in the area, that it takes into consideration the Guyana-Norway agreement on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) commitments and how funding from that arrangement can be affected if mining in that area raises Guyana’s total forest degradation levels,” said Urling.
He believes the issue raised surrounding security is not one that is major.
“The security issue is one that I believe is a non-starter.
The land area belongs to Guyana and we should not be too overly concerned with Suriname’s reaction, lest we think they have a legitimate claim,” he said. “This raises another issue for our Government to consider, and that is to find a diplomatic solution to settling the disputed territorial claim made by Suriname,” said Urling.
