Large scale gold mining at Marudi in Region Nine is a step closer as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and mining company, Romanex Guyana Exploration Limited, yesterday inked a licence for the company to mine there.
Acting GGMC head, William Woolford had told this newspaper last year that Romanex was one of two companies granted licences for large-scale gold mining and was looking to produce between 50,000 to 100,000 ounces of gold per year.
Yesterday, the regulatory body and the company inked the Marudi Mountain Mining licence, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported. According to GINA, the mining licence is being granted on behalf of Romanex, “a Guyana Company which holds 100 percent of the Marudi Mountain Project in Region Nine”. The licence solidifies the right to develop and mine the Marudi Mountain targets, it said.
Earlier this year, Stabroek News had reported that Shoreham Resources Limited, a Canadian exploration company had exercised an option to acquire 75% of the shares of Romanex, which is held by Infinito Gold Corporation (formerly Vanessa Ventures Incorporated). A press release from Shoreham had also announced that the company had signed an agreement with a French mining company Rexma Participacions (Rexma), for that company to work in Shoreham’s Marudi Mountain Gold Project. The release had said that French gold mining company is looking to begin production at Marudi by November 1 and had committed to major expansion of production capacity within the next two years.
Vice President of Shoreham, Glenn R. O’Gorman was present at yesterday’s signing and said it is a momentous occasion since it punctuates the company’s start in Guyana in developing mines. “We have been very active in Guyana in the last year and we have acquired quite a number of properties some at vast stages. We like Guyana…and we hope to be part of it and so this is a start,” GINA quoted him as saying.
Woolford said the Marudi Mountain property has been of interest to investors for a long time and expressed pleasure to see that the company has made a start. “We welcome the investment and look forward for responsible mining in the area of the Marudi Mountain,” he was quoted as stating. Chairman of the GGMC Board of the Directors, Ronald Webster said the area has enormous potential and assured that it will be monitored by the Commission with a great deal of interest. “It is a pleasure to see a company from a prospecting stage move to actually mining,” he said, according to GINA.
In recent years, GINA said, the GGMC has examined the prospects of developing the mining sector where several mining projects were conducted. These include medium-scale investments in various areas of the country including the North West District, Mahdia, Quartz Stone, Aremu and other regions.
Romanex was to have initiated gold mining in Marudi several years ago but it never got off the ground. The recent sharp rise in the price for gold has seen more interest in the sector.
Shoreham is a Canadian company dedicated to the exploration of precious metals and polymetallic deposits in South America and Canada. According to its website, the company holds significant exploration land positions in the Marudi Mountain and Potaro River (Omai/Mahdia area) of Guyana. These project areas include the advanced Marudi Mountain/Mazoa gold targets and the Maple Creek Diamond/Gold Mine. The company is actively exploring for gold along the Marudi Mountain/Paint Mountain Trend and in the lateritised greenstone areas of the Potaro Project area. The objectives are expansion of the Marudi targets to a nominal objective exceeding one million ounces of gold, and development of shallow bulk mineable gold targets in the Potaro area, according to a statement on its Guyana operations.
