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Govt. bans transacting business with gold
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat
Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana has banned the use of gold to pay miners wages and transact business in Guyana’s mining district.
Guyana’s Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat at a press conference on Wednesday said his government has decided to take this step as one of the ways to clamp down on smuggling and stop decline in gold declaration. The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) published a notice in the daily newspapers saying that “mine operators and claim/permit holders are prohibited against payment of wages and services in gold.”
“This public notice reminds all mine operators, claim holders, permit holders, and lessees that paying wages or compensating goods and service providers with gold in any form is strictly prohibited,” GGMC said in the notice before adding, “This is in accordance with the governing regulations regarding the conveyance of gold, which forbids such transactions without the proper permits or licences from the relevant authorities.”
The notice reminded too that “all mine operators and claim/permit holders and licensees must only sell gold to the “Guyana Gold Board and/or authorised dealers and their agents, or traders licensed by the GGMC” and warned that failure to comply will result in their gold being seized and legal action taken against them.
For years, the use of gold to transact business in Guyana’s interior location has been a common practice. Some of the reasons for this are because of the remoteness of some of the locations and the difficulty to get cash there-especially when it comes to the paying of wages. Most workers prefer to be paid immediately after a wash down (known as cut); only few would opt to wait on their bosses to travel to the cities and nearby landings to get cash.
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