Even as the Guyana Goldfields Inc. (GGI) continues working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet the requirements needed for a permit for underground mining at its Aurora gold mine in Region Seven, government has called for a speedy and amicable resolution of the company’s internal power struggle.
“We had several meetings and the process is moving forward for permitting. We stipulated some technical requirements, including surface and underground testing at the location, that they have to meet, and they are working on meeting those as part of the permit process,” Head of the EPA Dr. Vincent Adams told Stabroek News via phone when contacted.
Adams, who is away on travel duty, said he believed that the process was “moving forward well.”
In November of last year the EPA had reprimanded the company about the unauthorised start to underground mining plans.
“In spite of notice given to not commence activities, you have blatantly disregarded the Agency’s directives, and [have] been in direct contravention of the Agency’s laws and regulations,” the EPA wrote in a letter to the company, which was seen by this newspaper.
GGI’s Chief Executive Officer Scott Caldwell said that the Canadian company had complied with the EPA and all works were ceased. He promised that the company “will follow the letter one hundred percent with the EPA and we would with any governmental…and regulatory agency.”
Following the EPA’s reprimand, the company’s stock took a sharp drop which analysts believed was as a result of feuding among shareholders coupled with the EPA’s warning.
A group of shareholders, including its former Executive Chairman Patrick Sheridan, is currently seeking to have the current board of the Canadian company removed.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Ministry of Natural Resources welcomed the planned underground mining project, which could see 2 million ounces of gold extracted, and called for a swift and amicable resolution to the company’s internal strife.
In a statement, it said it had taken “serious note of the internal issues within the company and is concerned about the negative impact on the company’s production and overall wellbeing.”
The ministry added that it hoped, as it put on record its position, that the internal matters will be resolved “soonest and in the best interest of all.”
It warned that the issues could have a negative impact on the company’s production and hoped that it is resolved soonest. “Aurora has a total gold resource of 6.25 million ounces of gold in the measured and indicated categories, as well as an additional 1.79 million ounces in the inferred category. The prospective underground operations are aimed at extracting more than 2 million ounces,” it further noted.
“The Government continues to recognize the great role mining plays in our nation’s social and economic development. In this sense, the [Government of Guyana] will continue to promote the sustainable use of our country’s natural resources noting that it will aid in the creation of jobs and enhance sustainable investments in all aspects of our society,” it added.
The mine achieved commercial production in January, 2016 and produced 160,000 ounces of gold in 2017. To be able to move underground, GGI is investing more than US $120 million.
