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| – GGDMA urges miners to sell more goldAs the gold price hits US$1,300 an ounce, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) is calling on miners throughout Guyana to increase their gold declarations and production.Executive Director of the GGDMA, Mr. Edward Shields, said, yesterday, that he hopes that miners will take full advantage of the current high price of gold and capitalise on it by selling more of their gold and increasing their production.He noted that this is an opportune time for profit and it will also allow for Guyana to get more value for the production.The Association says that it wants to see declarations increase; noting that for every 1,000 ounces sold the Government of Guyana earns almost $17 million in royalties and taxes.The high prices now mean that the government will collect even more benefits from the mineral resources of the country.The GGDMA therefore wants all miners to work with this national interest in mind. The executive director explained that miners have to demonstrate to the government that they are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that Guyana can maximise its benefits from gold mining.Gold won in the interior of Guyana has to be sold to the Guyana Gold Board or to licensed dealers in order for the royalties and taxes to be calculated and paid. The GGDMA noted that it is through the payment of these dues that national development can continue to progress.According to the Association, it wants miners to recognise that the selling of their gold from the mining operation is an overt demonstration of the contribution of mining to the development of the national economy.The GGDMA has set an ambitious gold production target of over 400,000 ounces of gold for 2010. While the miners have managed to clear the halfway mark, there have been numerous challenges to reaching this target.The association, in an earlier statement, noted that more than 40 per cent of mining operations have been affected by bad weather and this has significantly hindered the industry’s ability to reach the target. At present gold declaration is below what the association had projected. |
