Local gold mining syndicates are awaiting a commitment in writing from Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman which an official of the umbrella body administering the affairs of syndicates says should kick start operations by the groups comprising hundreds of small miners.
Some weeks ago, members of syndicates who had traveled to Georgetown to make public their disagreement with that they say was a decision by the Natural Resources Ministry to place a cap on land allocation that restricted syndicates to no more than 10 blocks of mining lands in closed areas had told Stabroek Business there existed instances in which a number of individual miners had been allocated considerably larger swathes of mining lands. Chairperson of the local Syndicates Committee Renwick Solomon told Stabroek Business that the syndicates were seeking the removal of the restriction since that would, in effect, result in a long-term solution to the problems of small miners.
