Patrick Pereira, the businessman and miner who stood up for the mining sector during a period of great uncertainty for the industry in 2010 when many miners feared that proposed conservation regulations would put them out of business, died on Wednesday. He was 75.
Hailed as an innovative and well-respected miner by President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Associa-tion (GGDMA) Patrick Harding yesterday, Pereira, in letters to the newspapers, interviews, ads, meetings- even clashing with then President Bharrat Jagdeo – was a leading voice defending the sector following the launch of the Low Carbon Development Strategy under which new regulations were proposed which miners said would cause the majority of operations to shut down.
Under pressure following protests and rallies throughout the mining districts, the government eventually backed down and some of the proposed regulations have not been implemented to date.
“He was one of our leading miners, well-respected,” Harding told Stabroek News.
