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Mining sector grew by 153% – Pres. Ali
…despite gold, diamond declarations on decline
Kaieteur News- President Irfaan Ali has highlighted what he termed the ‘significant growth’ in Guyana’s mining sector, which expanded by 153% over the last four years. He made the announcement during a live broadcast on his Facebook page Sunday night.
However, while the sector has experienced overall growth, the Ministry of Finance’s 2024 Mid-Year Report revealed notable declines in key areas like gold and diamond declarations. The report attributes the sector’s performance to increased outputs in oil and gas and the “other mining” subsectors, which it says offset contraction seen within the first half in gold, diamond and bauxite mining.
President Irfaan Ali.
The gold mining subsector contracted by 10.3% in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. According to the report, “At the end of June 2024, gold declarations stood at 188,160 ounces, with the 35.3 per cent increase in declarations from the lone large producer outweighed by lower declarations from the small- and medium-scale producers. Declarations from the latter fell from 159,084 ounces in the first half last year, to 119,603 ounces at the end of June this year.” Despite these challenges, the subsector is expected to grow slightly by 2.1% for the year.
The bauxite mining subsector faced significant hurdles, contracting by 20% in the first half of 2024. Total production during this period was estimated at 196,650 tonnes, hindered by marketing and operational difficulties. The Ministry noted that, “Overall production for 2024 is now projected at just over 1,620,000 tonnes, and the sector is now projected to grow at 41.3 per cent.”
While production from the larger operator is expected to improve in the latter half of the year, the smaller operator anticipates a return to stability as operational challenges are addressed.
The “other mining and quarrying” subsector emerged as a bright spot, recording 45.5% growth in the first half of the year, primarily due to higher sand and stone declarations. According to the report, “Sand and stone declarations are estimated to have grown by 46.6 per cent and 73.4 per cent, respectively, outweighing the contractions of 23.9 per cent and 9.2 per cent observed for diamonds and manganese, respectively.”
The continued demand from construction activities across the country is projected to drive the subsector’s overall growth by 24.7% this year.
Notably, while traditional mining activities like gold and bauxite face notable challenges, the mining sector’s diversification into areas like sand and stone production has been pivotal in sustaining growth.
(Mining sector grew by 153% – Pres. Ali)
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