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Guyana on threshold of great development in mineral mining

Sep 18, 2008 News

– GGMC Commissioner

Commissioner (ag) of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), William Woolford, has said that he believes that Guyana is at the threshold of great development of the mining of minerals both traditionally and non-traditionally in Guyana.
Woolford also said that recently there has been an upsurge in interest of minerals found in Guyana, including uranium and platinum.
According to him, there have been significant discoveries of platinum-bearing rocks in the North West recently.
Woolford said that Guyana is a mining destination and that the country has the right investment climate as well as laws and policies.
He also noted that the great thing about the mining sector here is that Guyana has small, medium and large scale mining co-existing with miners having legal rights to do it. His comments came during Mining Week activities which saw an opening ceremony and exhibition at the Guyana Girls Guides Association last month.
Woolford said that the observance offered a great opportunity to celebrate the contribution of mining to Guyana.
According to him, miners leave their homes not just as adventurers but as people determined to feed their families and supply resources to their villages.
In doing this, he added, they manage to bring to the attention of mining companies the location of gold and diamonds.
Woolford noted that the majority of gold and diamond sites were discovered by small scale miners.
As part of this year’s mining activities, he added, GGMC has charted highlights in the history of mining from 1860 to present day. Woolford said that some significant events occurred in 1860.
According to him, in the 1860’s Guyana saw a concerted attempt for large scale investment in mining; the commissioning of the first geological survey of the then British Guiana; development in the study of geology; attempts to start large scale mining and several other ventures.
GGMC Board of Directors Chairman, Ronald Webster, noted that last year mining expanded by 22.7 per cent and represented more than six GDP. “We see growth continuing,” he added.
Prime Minister Sam Hinds, who has responsibility for mining, said that mining is essential to provide metals — gold, silver, diamonds and other precious stones for decoration and a store of wealth; iron, for construction; copper and aluminium for conducting electricity; the very essential, often not thought of non-metallurgical industrial minerals — stone, sands, clays, and limestone for building materials; energy materials – coal, petroleum, potassium and phosphorus— minerals to boost agriculture.
“Mining is essential. We, the world, couldn’t get on without minerals won by mining,” the Prime Minister said.
At the same time, he added, mining, like all human activities, must be pursued in a way that sustains public consent and miners must be sensitive to public sentiments and must set out to win public assent.
According to him, miners of today must maintain in our time the tradition of contribution to national development.

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