Government, upset gold miners to meet on concerns

Aug 31, 2017 News

The Ministry of Natural Resources will be hosting a stakeholder engagement with members of the mining community next week Thursday.
This engagement, the ministry disclosed yesterday, is intended to address concerns recently raised by miners about the state of the industry and the means through which these will be satisfactorily addressed by all sides.
The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA), the Guyana Women Miners’ Organisation (GWMO) and the National Mining Syndicate, representing mining syndicates from across the country, have been invited to the stakeholder engagement.
The engagement, the ministry said, is part of its ongoing efforts at public consultation and outreach on a number of natural resources-related issues.
The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has been calling on Government for engagements, to address a number of burning issues, including roads, cost of fuel and other supplies and taxes.
Gold, which has been the biggest foreign currency earner for the country, is set to do well this year again.
However, miners last Saturday boycotted the annual Porkknockers Day in Linden.
This week, GGDMA said that Government should take fault for what it said are missed opportunities to capitalize on rising gold prices.
The association said it made a proposal that would have seen Government earning between 25 to 50 percent tax, once prices hit a certain ceiling.
World prices were hovering around US$1,300 per ounce on Monday, a 10-month high.
GGDMA, which joined a number of other mining organizations in boycotting Porkknockers’ Day, in Linden over the last weekend, disclosed that months ago there was a Miners Tax proposal tabled.
The tax scale recommended by the GGDMA proposed that under US$1100 per ounce, there should be a 25% tax. Between US$1,100-US$1,300, the tax would be 50 percent.
GGDMA, comprising large players, disclosed that in May of 2017, it met with the Commissioner-General, Godfrey Statia, and a high-level team from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
GGDMA has been increasingly vocal in accusing Government of not paying attention to mining, which last year remained the highest foreign currency earner for Guyana.
Miners have also been blaming Government for the state of the hinterland roads, following heavy rains this year.

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