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About Mining in Guyana

• Guyana is generally well known for its traditional mining and production of gold, diamonds, bauxite, stone and other quarriable materials including sand and loam.
• There are several other strategic commodities that could benefit from capital investments for exploration, refining and manufacturing development and export.

DECLARATION FOR COMMODITIES

WHY INVEST IN GUYANA?

Mining 

• Geologically, approximately 36% (76,600 sq.km) of Guyana encompasses highly mineralized crust, the Greenstone Belts.
• Most of the small, medium and large-scale mining operations exist within this terrain which structurally trends NW-SE.
• Majority of the alluvial Diamond and Gold mining operations exist within the Roraima Formation which covers approximately 12% of Guyana (26,520 sq.km).
• The Roraima Formation is predominantly fluviatile sandstones and conglomerates of middle Proterozoic age.

Gold Mining

• Gold Reserves of 14.3 million ounces
• Manganese Reserves of 30 million tonnes
• Copper Reserves of 440 million pounds
• The entire array of semi-precious minerals that have been languishing for inclusion into the formal market place: – amethyst, agate, jasper, topaz etc.
• Other minerals of potential industrial, economic value are molybdenite, kaolinite, potash etc.
• The use of clays including kaolin can be grown into a formidable industry for durable cost-effective construction materials.
• Gold mining subsector represented 8.8 percent of our GDP- the third largest non-oil sector of our economy- and more than 60 percent of our total non-oil export earnings.
• Gold mining in Guyana has been at the artisanal and mechanized scale offering declarations in a good year of approximately 500,000 ozs.
• In the past 30 years, Guyana has only managed three (3) bona fide gold mining operations at the large scale, each with declarations above 150,000 ozs. per year on a sustainable basis.
• This reality does not appear to be in line with the potential that is available. As such in the area of gold mining in Guyana, investment which is alive should be aggressive.

Targets for 2022

• The mining and quarrying sector is forecasted to grow by 86 percent, driven by expansion across all subsectors, namely petroleum, gold, other mining and quarrying, and bauxite.
• The oil and gas subsector is projected to grow by 96.7 percent in 2022.
• The gold mining subsector is projected to grow by 12.2 percent in 2022.
• The bauxite subsector is anticipated to recover in 2022 and grow by 25.4 percent.
• The other mining and quarrying subsector – which includes sand, stone, and diamonds, is also projected to grow in 2022, by 8.4 percent.

RARE EARTH ELEMENTS & BASE METALS

With the advent of changing attitudes towards fossil fuels, alternatives are being pursued.  Power cells are improving and there are strategic elements such as scandium, lithium, etc., that have become attractive for exploration. In fact, the suite of Rare Earth Elements has become popular. Base Metals have also become more popular as targets of exploration. Therefore, REEs and Base Metals can be presented for projects to which exploration capital could be directed.

GEOCHEMICAL EXPLORATION 

• The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has been doing its part in opening the window for project prospects.
• GGMC has compiled reports on the geology, geochemistry and structure of a more recent time frame which covers some 7000 km² of northern Guyana and this database is commercially accessible.
• A total of 65 Geochemical Projects has been conducted between 1999 to 2019 covering a total area of 101,580 sq. Km (47% of Guyana Area).

Bauxite 

• The bauxite deposits in Guyana are still considered of the best quality.
• Exploration has always been a challenge due to considerable overburden of sand.
• Value added has been hindered by the limitations of energy/power.

Quarrying 

• Production of stone, aggregate and quarriable materials has increased significantly to meet demands of the construction and infrastructure development surge.
• Can reach regional and international markets on a competitive basis with superior products (granite, gabbro); white sand (99% silica).

SEMI-PRECIOUS MINERALS 

• The entire array of semi-precious minerals that have been languishing for inclusion into the formal market place: – amethyst, agate, jasper, topaz etc.
• Other minerals of potential industrial, economic value are molybdenite, kaolinite, potash etc.
• The use of clays including kaolin can be grown into a formidable industry for durable cost-effective construction materials.

MINING TENURES OF GUYANA

• The manner in which the mining tenures of Guyana are structured allow for projects directly focused on regional exploration (Permission for Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Prospecting Licences), which can lead to mine development, extraction, recovery and with emerging options for energy and power, refining with downstream industrial scale manufacturing.
• There are also opportunities for joint ventures in mining at the more junior or medium scale level which have been reserved for Guyanese but do allow for capital input.

FISCAL & ECONOMIC INCENTIVES

• Small, Medium and Large-Scale Miners can apply for remission of taxes on the purchase of item(s) for use in the mining sector.
• The exemptions of Large-Scale operations including benefits and obligations are formalized in an Investment Agreement (IA), which accompanies the licence.
• The mining sector presents a host of investment opportunities throughout the cycle (being exploration, exploitation, development and associated manufacturing and industry).
• There is incentive for the several tenures in mining to be pursued, with much room for capital investments either independently or through joint ventures.
• The traditional & non-traditional mineral suites are attractive options for investment.
• The growth trajectory for Guyana includes infrastructure and construction which will create a demand for stone, aggregates and sand.
• The mining sector is undergoing a review of its legislation; fiscal initiatives and incentives