One framework for small and medium scale miners – GSDS Vision 2040

Jun 27, 2019 News

Small and Medium Scale Miners currently operate within two separate regulatory frameworks. According to the Green State Development Strategy Vision 2040, that needs to change.
Mining, which is currently the largest single sector of Guyana’s economy, has been operating in three separate frameworks: small, medium and large. Small scale leases (at about 27.58 acres) are given to persons who have a land claim, by birth and/or naturalisation. Medium Scale leases (at about 150-1200) are gained via prospecting, can be renewed annually, and can be converted to a mining permit with a duration of up to 25 years. Large scale leases (at about 500-12,000) are also renewable annually, and can be converted to a mining permit for up to 25 years.
The GSDS states that the division of frameworks for small and medium scale miners is not useful. This is due to the fact that methods of production are similar, and in many cases, the producers are the same. The strategy posits that the division of frameworks increases the institutional and operational complexity of the GGMC.
It reads that because the medium scale framework is more stringent, in terms of business and environmental safeguards, those safeguards could be used as the standards for small scale miners too. To support this argument, the medium scale framework is also afforded longer permits, the strategy states.
GSDS suggests, with such a merger, a reduction in the minimum acreage threshold. This is purported to save on costs of oversight for the GGMC, via the merging of its Land Management Divisions, thereby reducing the total number of registered properties and enforcing stronger social and environmental standards.
But even with this merger, the GGMC would still be vastly under-resourced, as the number of miners relative to mining officers is quite high. The Commission has done a lot of work to map the country’s mining districts, based on location and availability of minerals.
So the strategy suggests that that workload could be decreased using advanced, modern, monitoring technologies, like drones, geo-referencing tracking devices and remote sensing devices. Further, it posits that sophisticated monitoring techniques could also involve human resources. Residents of mining areas, community based organisations and local authorities are all in the fold.
It is also suggested that the monitoring responsibilities for small and medium scale mining be moved to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as is already the case for large-scale mining operations.

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