Guyana Goldfields Inc. has announced that it has signed an open pit contract mining agreement with an overseas company and is targeting commencement of underground development for the fourth quarter.
According to a media release from Guyana Goldfields Inc, it has signed an open pit contract mining agreement with STRACON GyM International S.A.C. in order to meet higher waste stripping requirements through to the end of 2021, as forecast in its optimised life of mine plan which was announced in February. STRACON is expected to commence work on 1st July of this year.
Following the positive results from accelerating selective underground mining from the Optimized Life of Mine study, the company has initiated and continues to advance the bidding process for the contract mining of the initial underground development, the statement said. A site visit for potential underground contract miners has been completed and the company has initiated the movement of the previously-purchased underground mining equipment to Guyana. The company is targeting the commencement of underground development in the fourth quarter of 2018.
STRACON is a leading world class contractor focused on open pit and underground mining in the Caribbean and Latin America, the press release said. It has extensive experience providing efficient and innovative mining and earthworks services to international mining companies with the highest standards in safety, environment and community relations. Along with Guyana Goldfields, it is committed to the employment of local personnel and the utilisation of local suppliers of goods and services.
According to the media release from Guyana Goldfields, STRACON participated in a tender process along with other mining contractors for mining of overburden at the Aurora Gold Mine. The mining requirement is to cover a three and a half-year peak in waste mining requirements, which is in excess of the company´s own mining fleet capacity, and will allow the company to focus on mining of gold-containing ore for processing.
