Columnist Rawle Lucas has criticised the mines commission and the gold board for their failure to detect what government and law enforcement officials have said has been major smuggling of gold to the US and other countries including Brazil.
A major investigation is now underway and encompasses collaboration between Georgetown and Washington on tracing shipments of gold and their declaration in the US.
The disclosure of the smuggling will up the pressure on the gold mining industry which had been stating that lower declarations over the last two years had been a result of a decline in production triggered by the slide in the international price of the metal. There have been incessant appeals from the miners association for more concessions to spur gold production and these were granted in the recent 2015 budget.
Thus far neither the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) nor the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) have
