Australian gold miner Troy Resources has restarted work in some areas and Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman says that he is confident that by the end of this month there would be production from the company.
“Insofar as Troy is concerned, work has been ongoing and they will ramp up by the end of the month,” Trotman told Stabroek News, when contacted. “They were processing some ore that was available and I am confident that by the end of the month, we should see some production,” he added.
Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally last week Tuesday rescinded a cease work order issued on October 10th by Junior Social Protection Minister Keith Scott which triggered a shutdown of the company’s operations and the laying off of hundreds of workers. The order was issued following the death of geologist Ryan Taylor on the site.
While Scott is charged with oversight of labour-related issues in the ministry, the junior minister, this newspaper was told, issued the order without first consulting with his senior and thus it had no legal grounds.
Only senior ministers’ names are gazetted and thus they are directly answerable and legally responsible for their respective ministries. It is in this vein that all directives issued on behalf of the Government of Guyana must first get the approval of the senior ministers.
Troy Resources had been critical of Scott’s action claiming that the stop order was inconsistent with normal protocol in such situations. Normal protocol, they argued, is to cordon off the area of the incident, being the Hicks 1 Extension Trench, a process the company had already undertaken immediately after Taylor’s death. Having taken this action, Troy expressed surprise at the cease order, which covered all mining areas including the Smarts 3 and Larkin Pits, which are not where the fatal accident occurred.
Sources told Stabroek News that the company petitioned government for a reprieve after explaining that a cease order would mean that its entire operations had to be halted.
The company maintained that Troy and its directors, management and supervisors are strongly committed to the long-term health and safety of all its employees and that the company provides significant occupational health and safety training, both at induction and on an ongoing basis at its Karouni location.
