Aurora’s underground mining awaits GGMC’s approval

Apr 06, 2019 News

Officials from the GGMC, Gold Board, EPA and members of the media, during a safety brief at Aurora Gold Mine.

Guyana Goldfields Inc., the Canadian owner of Aurora Gold Mine (AGM), located in the north-west of Guyana’s Mazaruni Region, is set to begin underground mining very soon, after securing its much-needed clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The company also announced that it will spend US$25M over the next three years of exploration.
Final clearance for the underground mining has to come from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
The company has over 500 workers and says it has spent over US$300M already, with another US$100M due to be expended in the next 10 years.

AGM’s Chief Executive Officer, Scott Caldwell

The Aurora Mine is one of the largest gold mines in the world, with a reported estimated reserve of 6.54million ounces of gold.
According to AGM’s Chief Executive Officer, Scott Caldwell, all the necessary documents have been submitted to the GGMC for processing, a government statement indicated.
GGMC Commissioner, Newell Dennison, corroborated Caldwell’s statement, telling members of the media that all documents have been submitted, and the usual technical checks were now being conducted. “These things take time, but I can say everything has been submitted and clearance will come, but the checks have to be made.”
On Thursday, AGM hosted the government and private media on a tour of its Mazaruni operations. During the visit, the company’s safety measures and records to date came in for praise from Commissioner Dennison.
AGM commenced open-pit exploration in Guyana in 1995 and began producing in 2016.
So far, according to the company, it has invested approximately $63 billion (US$300M) in its Guyana operations.
For the underground mining exploration, $5 billion (US$25M) is the set bill for the first three years of exploration, with another $21 billion (US$100M) to be used in the next ten years of production.
AGM say it has a 16 percent female workforce, with a special programme designed to teach women how to operate heavy machinery. Training and internship are also offered to GGMC staff and University of Guyana students, specifically in the area of environmental studies.
The Canadian company has been facing internal problems with a number of shareholders questioning the projections and other information that they were given.
A special shareholders meeting is set for May with “dissident” shareholders, as they have been described by the company, set to move to replace the current board of directors.
Government says that the current fight is an internal matter.

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