Sun and Sands has no mining permit in Guyana- GGMC boss

Oct 10, 2018 News

President Donald Ramotar and Bhushan Chandna (Sun and Sun official), turning
the sod for the construction of the new hotel back in July 2014.

While there are reports that persons linked to Sun and Sands Hotel are currently involved in mining, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is claiming that it is yet to issue the company with a licence to carryout mining in Guyana.
Since 2014, Sun and Sands was supposed to construct a massive luxury hotel at Liliendaal. The sod turning and everything was done. The US$54M five-star, luxury hotel and casino was to have some 163 rooms.
The then political opposition had much concern. Particularly, the Opposition thought that Sun and Sands had no real interest in the hospitality industry but was using that to get a foot into Guyana’s mining industry.
Allegations surfaced that prospecting mining licences previously under the control of a prominent local firm had been transferred.
Back in 2014, the now Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, said, “One has to wonder whether this was the real intention all along (to go into gold and diamond mining).”
He said in addition, “We have few details of this deal. It was announced suddenly and we would like to know whether any mining concessions were tied to the hotel construction.”
Recently, Kaieteur News got word that Sun and Sands is still pursuing large scale mining here.
“Yes, they are into mining,” said one source. The source continued, “I knew they did not have certain requirements that GGMC made but like they still went ahead and issued permit.”
However, GGMC said that this is not the case.
GGMC Commissioner, Newell Dennison, said, “As far as I can ascertain, no mining licence has been issued to Sun and Sands.”
Dennison declined to make further comments.
However, other sources at GGMC confirmed that Sun and Sands indeed has a pending application.
The GGMC officer said, “They had made an application for a mining licence and that mining licence has not yet been issued. We had a few difficulties with them; we were not getting from them what we were looking for as it relates to certain information so the process has been stalled.
Another GGMC official said that by now the application should have been cancelled “but you know everybody knows somebody. But I figure that at some stage a definitive decision will have to be made.”

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