The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) will hold an action on Wednesday for medium scale mining properties as the sector looks to increase production following a slump in gold declarations.
The 20% decline in gold declarations for the first five months of this year drop caused alarm both in the sector and at the level of government and the authorities moved to open areas across the country for mining with auctions and lotteries for lands scheduled to take place in the mining districts. Gold exports amounted to US$648.5 million last year and Chairman of the Guyana Gold Board, Gobind Ganga has said that the drop has seen Guyana losing about US$100 million in foreign exchange and approximately $1.5 billion in royalty and taxes.
In an ad in the Stabroek News yesterday, the GGMC said that the auction of the medium-scale parcels