Due diligence being carried out for Guyana Goldfields application ─ GGMC

Underground mining

…company estimates underground mine will exceed previous earnings

Guyana Goldfields is just an approval away from launching its underground mine at Aurora, but according to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), due diligence will be carried out on the documents submitted to the agency before it issues such a permit.

This is according to GGMC’s acting Commissioner Newell Dennison, who was part of a Government and media team touring the facilities on Thursday. The trip was facilitated by the Canadian-owned Guyana Goldfields.
Last month, Goldfields was issued a permit by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to construct the underground mine. It is currently awaiting further approvals from GGMC. In fact, this newscast observed equipment assembled at the site, waiting for the go ahead.
Dennison laid out what are some of the things GGMC expects. “There is no one formula. There are some basic rules when it comes to safety, engineering and technical issues that apply. We would look for those things. But we don’t have a one-size-fits-all to say this is it.

“You can prejudice yourself in such a way that you find a company can’t meet that premium benchmark, and you rule them out. But we certainly wouldn’t want companies to conduct and operate in a manner that is below a certain threshold. And we look to our regulations to define what that is.”
Dennison explained that the GGMC is in possession of Goldfields’ application and will soon know whether anything else is needed. He made it clear that GGMC has no intention of delaying the process.
“From what I am aware, they have submitted [the documents]. I am of the view that we are in good way to be conducting the examination to determine whether we need anything more.
“To the extent that we ascertain that what is therein is sufficient representation of what they plan to do, and it is in keeping with our regulations and what we consider typical practices for these types of activities, we would then issue the permit,” Dennison said.

Earnings
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Goldfields, Scott Caldwell, was optimistic of the underground mines surpassing their previous operations. According to Caldwell, the underground well is likely to be a game changer when it comes to revenue. He also spoke of expanding the workforce and possibly opening another mine.

“We hope to receive the exploration permit shortly, so in three years’ time that would be up and running. Hopefully, we would tour underground and you would see Guyanese men and women working underground. I think the profitability of the underground is actually going to be better than the open pit. I think it’s a unique deposit for that, so I think it’s going to be really good,” he said.
“The underground would be about 300 employees, plus. There would be no changes to the other employees. Some people might transfer, but the level would go up as it is. We have more employees today than we had a year ago. And hopefully, we have another mine somewhere else, maybe in Guyana, maybe somewhere else. So hopefully we have the underground going in three years.”
So far, Guyana Goldfields has invested US$300 million into its local operations. The underground mine is expected to cost US$25 million in the initial exploration stages. A further US$100 million is likely to be invested over the next ten years of production.
The company is eyeing the third quarter of 2019 to 2021 to conduct underground development activities and explorations, with production expected from 2022. For now, a portal at Aurora’s Mad Kiss pit and the waiting mining equipment are a harbinger of things to come.