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Gold and diamond declarations in three-year decline- Bank of Guyana Report
Kaieteur News- For three consecutive years, gold and diamond declarations have been declining at the half-year mark. This is according to statistics in the Bank of Guyana (BoG) 2024 Half-Year Report.
Gold and diamond declarations in three-year decline (Bank of Guyana Report)
These declines have often been blamed on unfavourable weather conditions, labour shortages and poor access roads to mining sites. This year it was no different. According to the report, at June 2022 gold declarations were 236,728 ounces, followed by 209,756 ounces in 2023. This year, the declarations during the first six months of the year fell further to 188,160 ounces.
A similar decline was observed in diamond declarations. In the first six months of 2022, some 49,016 metric tonnes (mt) of diamond were declared, followed by 38,608 mt during the same period in 2023 and 29,387 mt this year.
The BoG 2024 Half Year Report explained that total gold declarations declined by 10.3% to 188,160 troy ounces, reflecting lower declarations by small and medium scale miners. It explained, “the sole foreign company’s declaration grew by 35.3 percent to 68,557 troy ounces, due to continued favourable performance in their underground mining operations.” Meanwhile, Central Bank said small and medium scale miners declarations declined by 24.8 percent to 119,603 troy ounces, resulting from dry weather which affected miners in the first quarter of the year while heavy rainfall stymied operations in the second quarter of the year. It was also explained that shortage of labour has been a challenge within the industry as miners sought better opportunities within the petroleum subsector.
With regard to diamond declarations, the report noted a decline of 23.9 percent to 29,387 carats at end-June 2024. “The outturn resulted from labour shortages, poor access roads to mining sites as well as unfavourable weather conditions in the second quarter of the year,” the report said. Guyana’s mining industry has faced rampant smuggling, particularly with regard to gold. Following a statistical report by Kaieteur News highlighting a year-on-year decline in gold declarations, the government announced an investigation into reports of smuggling.
It was reported that since 2017, gold declarations have been dwindling. Government says after the report indicated that an investigation was underway as authorities here believe the resources are being smuggled into neighbouring Brazil.
(Gold and diamond declarations in three-year decline- Bank of Guyana Report)
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