Miners have scaled down operations – in some cases by as much as 40%, a high-level meeting on lower gold declarations heard yesterday and the government emphasised at the forum that its efforts to enforce the law was not meant to criminalise the industry.
Yesterday’s meeting of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association also saw a commitment for the review of the Guyana Gold Board Act. Also attended by representatives of the Guyana Gold Board (GGB), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and licensed gold dealers, the meeting aimed to bridge a divide that has yawned open over the 20% less gold declarations this year.
Gold has brought in the largest amount of foreign exchange in recent years and has underpinned the economy. The lower declaration has seen the government accusing miners of hoarding gold and the prospectors retorting with the argument that production has been lower for a host of reasons. The miners have