Reunion Gold to invest US$1M annually in environmental & social projects

– as part of new mineral agreement signed with Govt

Having signed an agreement with the Natural Resources Ministry, Canadian company, Reunion Gold has committed itself to invest US$1 million in both environmental and social projects annually in surrounding communities of its Oko West gold project in Region Seven.
It was explained in a statement from the Ministry that the Canadian company will be prioritising the employment of Guyanese in its project, as part of the agreement. Additionally, it will be implementing comprehensive training to ensure Guyanese develop the additional skills needed at all operational levels.

According to the Ministry, this will contribute to the sustainable development of Guyana through the nurturing of local talent… in much the same way as Reunion Gold’s financial pledges will contribute to surrounding communities.
“The company pledges to establish a financial support program for environmental and social projects, allocating US$1 million annually towards initiatives that promote environmental sustainability and address social needs within surrounding communities. This commitment will commence upon commercial production or within 24 months from the issuance of a mining license, whichever occurs first,” the Ministry said.
Only recently, the Guyana Government accepted the terms of scope for the environmental and social impact assessment on the Oko West project, allowing the Canadian company, Reunion Gold, to move ahead with permitting. The project area occupies about 12,000 acres of prime gold property.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Reunion Gold Rick Howes, had said in a statement last month that the company remains on track with its accelerated development timeline for Oko West, which includes the completion of a preliminary economic assessment by the end of the second quarter of 2024.
The Canadian company had also said it plans to advance work on both the feasibility study and the environmental permits throughout the remainder of 2024 and into the first quarter of next year.
During a recent discussion on the Guyana Dialogue programme, Natural Resource Minister Vickram Bharrat revealed that gold mining operations will commence in three years following the construction of a mining facility.
“So, there is a large amount of it in the large-scale gold mining operation in which we see the results in another three to four years from now. I mentioned a new company we are going into an agreement with soon; they are going to create 1500 jobs during construction and then 500 during production. This is a direct benefit to Guyanese again,” Minister Bharrat disclosed.
In 2023 Reunion Gold in a release said that it has raised $70 million from a bought deal financing and will use part of the proceeds to advance the company’s Oko West project in Guyana to the next stage of development.
The company had said an underwriting syndicate acquired 152.2 million shares at 46 cents per share. It also said the underwriters have been granted the option to purchase an additional 15% of the offering to cover over-allotments, if any. The green shoe option remains open for 30 days after closing.
Back in February 2022, the company announced that it would continue drilling at its Region Seven location since it believes that even more deposits of gold are available at the Wenot deposit.
Before that, the company had filed a technical report with SEDAR, which supports the 16.7 million tonnes of indicated gold and 19.5 million tonnes of inferred gold it had announced the Wenot deposit held back in January.
Gold mining in Guyana is the second-highest contributor to the country’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which grew by 33 per cent in 2023. Some 40,000 Guyanese are currently working in the sector which expanded by 42.6 percent last year.
When it comes to the future of the sector, a total of $710 million is allocated in the 2024 National Budget for several projects, including the rolling out of a mineral mapping project which would be launched in phases.