Recognising that miners are not working efficiently, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has set up a Technical Services Unit (TSU) which, while currently manned by one employee, is intended to increase the productivity of the sector.
This pronouncement was made on Wednesday when the GGDMA held a members’ meeting to give an update on their accomplishments so far, and on future plans. Head and currently the only member of the Unit, Vasquez Ramdas, who has been at the association for more than five years, gave an overview of the TSU’s aims and what they have done so far.
Established last year, the TSU was transitioned into the unit it is today from the association’s Environmental Department, and according to Ramdas, one of the aims of the unit is to provide technical consultancy services to all members of the association, free of cost.
Ramdas explained that they have noticed that there are a lot of changes currently occurring in the mining sector, inclusive of the various plans and reviews to regulations and Acts.
“Also, from the GGDMA, there’s a recognition that there is a need to increase efficiency and effectiveness in mining. Currently, we’ve observed that our miners are not operating efficiently and we want to increase efficiency and we want our miners to get more productivity at the end of the day to get more profitable,” Ramdas explained.
He noted that while the unit is still in an infancy stage, with him being the only employee, they are hoping that when it fully matures they will have three or four more technical persons such as a geologist, mining engineer and a mineral processing engineer to provide miners with additional technical services on the ground.
The unit reports to Hilbert Shields, who is in charge of the Technical Service Management sub-committee.
Having recognised that miners are operating inefficiently, Ramdas emphasised that they are aiming to reach out to miners to increase their efficiency as it relates to prospecting, exploration, extraction and the right use of technology, among other parameters.
“…What technology do we use? How do we design our sluice box? Our vision for the future is to assist in the areas of exploration, extraction, processing and even after that,” he explained.
As they move forward to realise their vision, the GGDMA and TSU by extension, was last year awarded a grant of US$688,000 as part of a project that is being administrated through Conservation International for addressing the drivers of deforestation in Guyana.
He said that the project also includes Peru, where they are examining cocoa farms as the driver of deforestation, whereas in Guyana, gold mining has been identified as the main driver of deforestation.
“The GGDMA applied to work with miners to build capacity and make them more efficient to have less impacts on the environment,” Ramdas said.
The project, which started in 2016, will run for five years and concludes in 2021. Ramdas said that while they had a late start in 2016, they have completed most of the groundwork and have been collaborating with stakeholders such as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the National Toshaos Council, the Guyana Women’s Miners Organisation, the National Mining Syndicate and others.
The aim is to build capacity among the miners in the sector, while encouraging them to adopt the best practices that will not only positively affect their operations but also the wider environment.
The project is divided into four components and will address issues and inefficiencies in mining as it relates to prospecting, exploration, mineral processing and productivity. It is currently at the end of its second phase.
“We want to move into phase three, which is the mineral processing and extraction and that will encompass how you extract and the best ways to have maximum recovery,” Ramdas added.
He also said that part of the project will be advocating for the responsible use of mercury.
The TSU will also consider offering their services to non-members with a cost attached, Shields revealed, saying that one of their overarching aims is to not only make mining more efficient for their members but also for the entire sector.
