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‘US billions in gold, just US$5 per acre’ …Guyana govt charges foreign companies ridiculously low annual rental for mining lands
(Kaieteur News) – Foreign companies operating in Guyana’s gold-rich mining sector pay as little as US$5 per acre annually for access to mineral-bearing lands, a rate critics may view as remarkably low given the billions of dollars in gold resources being developed across the country.
According to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the annual rental rate for foreign companies holding large-scale mining licences is set at US$5 per acre, while local operators pay US$3 per acre.
Mining licences are granted subsequent to a prospecting licence and are usually no larger than 12,800 acres. A mining licence can be granted to local or foreign companies. Meanwhile, large-scale prospecting licences attract annual rental rates beginning at US$0.50 per acre in the first year and increasing over time.
Medium-scale mining permits carry a rental rate of US$1 per acre annually. The rental rate for medium-scale prospecting permits for the first year is US$0.25 per acre, an additional US$0.10 per acre is charged for each successive year. Mining permits for medium scale mining operations and prospecting permits cover between 150 and 1,200 acres each and are restricted to Guyanese ownership or by a joint venture between a Guyanese and a foreigner, whereby the two parties jointly develop the property.
Property Rental Schedule
Over the years Guyana’s mineral wealth has attracted significant foreign investment, leading to almost a dozen Canadian companies engaged in gold mining here. Currently, Guyana has one producing large-scale gold mine, Aurora Gold Mine (AGM) Inc., the subsidiary of Chinese state-owned Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd.
This publication has reported that about 11 Canadian firms are currently advancing gold projects across Guyana’s mining districts, collectively controlling millions of ounces of gold at various stages of development – with some nearing gold production.
Most of these projects are located in Region Seven, the Cuyuni-Mazaruni Mining District, a region recognised for its significant gold potential.
For five of the 11 companies, the Proven and Probable Reserves and indicated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) amount to over 15.7M ounces of gold. The remaining companies are still in the exploration stage and have not reached the point of announcing resource estimates. The five companies are: G Mining Ventures Corp. (GMIN), G2 Goldfields, Aris Mining Corporation, Omai Gold Mines Corp. and Mako Mining Corp.
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