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GGDMA threatens Gold Board to sell gold elsewhere
…wants foreign currency payments
The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA) is threatening to stop selling gold to the Guyana Gold Board if the entity continues to conduct business in local currency.
This revelation was made by Patrick Harding, President of the GGDMA at the association’s bi- monthly meeting on Friday.
According to Harding, for the past two to three months, Guyana Gold Board has been paying small and medium scale miners in local currency for gold. He noted that this is a breach of the protocol that the two parties entered into years ago.
The protocol stated that the Gold Board will purchase gold from miners with foreign currency. Foreign currency allows miners to buy input such as machinery and spares that are necessary for mining operations.
Patrick Harding
“We held our end of the bargain and I am calling on the Gold Board to hold its part of the bargain and make foreign currency available to the miners,” Harding said.
He said that miners have been selling gold to the entity. They have been increasing the production resulting in increasing sale and attracting even more foreign currency. He threatened that if miners are not paid in foreign currency they will be forced to take their business elsewhere.
According to a Guyana Gold Board officer,” The Guyana Gold Board cannot issue foreign currency as full or partial payment for purchases when there is none available to us. The Guyana Gold Board continues to ensure that full payment is made for all purchases, to all our clients, in the local instruments or currency.
We are assured by the Banking Sector that there is an adequate supply of foreign currency that our clients can acquire using the funds obtained from their gold sales to us.”
The officer noted that there is prior commitment to ensuring that the legal mandate ‘to purchase all gold produced in Guyana’ is maintained.
It was indicated that the Board, while willing to facilitate that service fully, the conditions that exist will prevent the smooth flow since financing for purchases by the entity will have to be regularized (at the policy makers level).
“This regularization will ensure that the account with our Bankers are not called into question for limited or no funds; and part of the currencies returning from our overseas income can be set aside, allowing the service to continue as desired,” the officer added.
The officer stressed that the Guyana Gold Board and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission will have to ensure that the gold is sold into the legal stream – the Guyana Gold Board or licenced dealers.
“If such a threat was intended otherwise, then that would be a threat to commit an illegal act,” the officer said.
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