Head of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Patrick Harding yesterday said “big players,” whom he accused of hijacking the mining industry, are the ones behind the large-scale smuggling of gold.
“Miners don’t smuggle gold,” Harding told Stabroek News when contacted yesterday, while noting that the GGDMA is concerned at the recent reports of large-scale smuggling of gold.
Acknowledging that smuggling occurs, the GGDMA President suggested that “big players” are the ones involved but added that he does not know the extent of smuggling.
According to Harding, miners do legitimate business and the GGDMA has always encouraged its members to sell to the Guyana Gold Board.
He, however, acknowledged that some miners are not doing what they are supposed to be doing and smuggling has occurred. He suggested that some “big players” are sending out gold from the country for various reasons and it looks as though “some people hijacking this industry.”
The GGDMA president said that lots of miners are suffering. “We are trying to keep legitimate miners afloat,” he said. “Some people are hijacking parts of this industry and we are concerned,” Harding asserted, while stating that the smuggling and loss of revenue for the country is of concern.
Government and law enforcement officials have said that there has been major smuggling of gold to the US and other countries, including Brazil, and a major investigation is now underway and encompasses collaboration between Georgetown and Washington on tracing shipments of gold and their declaration in the US.
The disclosure of the smuggling will up the pressure on the gold mining industry, which had been stating that lower declarations over the last two years had been a result of a decline in production triggered by the slide in the international price of the metal.
There have been incessant appeals from the miners’ association for more concessions to spur gold production and these were granted in the recent 2015 budget.
Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Assistant Super-intendent Sydney James recently told Stabroek News that there is evidence of a large-scale network involving several locally-registered mining companies in the smuggling of gold out through the country’s major ports. “Based on information gathered we suspect a number of major networks/individuals are engaged in this practise… there are hundreds of people… some are well-established businesses licensed to export gold,” he said.
Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman, who has responsibility for natural resources management, had told Stabroek News that after the APNU+AFC government took office in May it found evidence of rampant gold smuggling, particularly to Brazil, Suriname and the United States and has made tackling it a priority. “There was gold smuggling when we came into office and we found it was quite extensive. We decided to make it priority,” he said, while adding that the issue is of serious concern as every bit of ore or gold that leaves Guyana undeclared means less revenue for the country.
Gold declarations and earnings have been on a downward spiral since last year, following a record high in 2013. In 2009, gold declarations were 305,178 ounces, while in 2010 declarations rose to 308,438 ounces. In 2011, gold declarations amounted to 363,083 ounces, increasing to 438,645 ounces in 2012.
The following year, 2013, the gold industry achieved total declarations of 481,087 ounces, representing the highest level of production in the history of the industry. However, in 2014, gold declarations dropped by almost 20% to 387,508 ounces.
