Prime Minister: 2007 was a very good year for mining

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds has said that total investment in the mining sector was estimated at US$100 million, with in excess of 12,000 small claims and 4,000 medium-scale permits issued.

The declared production of gold was 246,100 ounces and diamonds 286,925 carats, all from small and medium-size operations, Hinds, who has portfolio responsibility for the industry, said.

He said the year 2007 saw an upsurge in prospecting with 26 foreign companies actively exploring for minerals, including IAMGOLD, Aranka Gold, Strata Gold Resources, Sacre Coeur Minerals, Gold Port Resources and BHP Billiton.

Hinds in his introduction to a Guyana paper to be distributed at this year’s PDAC in Toronto, Canada, said a resource estimate of 4.56 million ounces of gold (indicated and inferred) was mined at Aurora on the Cuyuni River, an area with a number of other prospects.

He commended Guyana Goldfield Incorporated for embarking on a feasibility study for developing a hydropower site at the nearby Devil’s Hole rapids on the Cuyuni River to supply electricity for a mine at this hinterland undeveloped forest location.

Hinds said that the government welcomes and fully supports all investment, foreign and local, specifically in mining.

“Our resounding message is that Guyana is open for business,” he is quoted by GINA as saying.

The mining industry continues to be one of the main contributors to Guyana’s exports and provider of foreign currency.

The Prime Minister said he was exuberant about the future of mining because of the many developments last year.