Underground mining driving increased gold declarations from AGM

…but labour challenges persist in mining sector amid lure of oil & gas

Aurora Gold Mines (AGM), the last remaining foreign owned, large-scale gold mine in Guyana currently producing gold in commercial quantities, produced 68,557 troy ounces of gold in what is a favorable result driven by the successes of the Chinese owned mine’s underground operations.
According to the recently released Bank of Guyana Mid-Year report, declarations from the mine which is operated by Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd through its subsidiary, rose by 35.3 per cent to 68,557 troy ounces “due to continued favorable performance in their underground mining operations.”
Total gold declarations were 188,160 troy ounces. Of this, declarations from small and medium scale miners declined by 24.8 per cent, to 119,603 troy ounces. The dry weather was a major factor against these miners in the first quarter of the year, while heavy rainfall also stymied their operations in the second quarter. Labour shortages have also not helped declarations.
“Shortage of labour has been a challenge within the industry as miners sought better opportunities within the Oil & Gas subsector. Declarations of diamond decreased by 23.9 percent to 29,387 carats at end-June 2024. The outturn resulted from labour shortages, poor access roads to mining sites as well as unfavorable weather conditions in the second quarter of the year,” the report states.

Labour shortages have not only been affecting the mining sector, but also the agriculture and construction sectors. In the case of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the company had announced in June that it has been shifting increasingly to mechanizing its operations in order to address this issue.
GuySuCo Chief Executive Officer Paul Cheong had noted that with the economic growth, more and more perosns are going into other fields to work… hence the need for mechanization. As a matter of fact, he had said that in the crop, mechanization would be used for some of the crop to be harvested.
Even with efforts to mechanize, however, the CEO assured the workers that there is still a need for them within the sugar industry. In fact, he outlined the steps taken by GuySuCo to train and upskill sugar workers.
Meanwhile in the construction sector, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has said on several occasions in the past that private entities were complaining of shortages of labour. Speaking on the issue last year, President Ali had noted that the housing drive across the country had created a demand for labour that Guyana did not have.
As far back as 2021, members of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) had informed Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh that the shortage of labour was having a significant impact on the business sector in the region.
In July of this year, however, an investment Climate Report released by the United States (US) State Department had shed some light on this labour shortage, finding that the country has a major informal economy that accounts for between 30 and 50 per cent of the job market.
The government has meanwhile been taking a hands-on approach to ensure that more mining blocks are made available for small and medium scale miners. In addition to assuring miners that more mining areas will be opened up, there have also been lotteries aimed specifically at small and medium scale miners.
Back in April, the Ministry of Natural Resources in collaboration with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) hosted a lottery in Bartica which saw the distribution of 150 mining blocks. Additionally, in June, 200 Blocks were distributed in Mahdia.
Then there is the abandoned Troy Resource mining pit at Karouni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). Since the Australian-based mining company halted operations here last year, the Guyana Government had taken over ownership of the abandoned mining property.
They have since issued approximately 112 mining permits to small operators to mine around the area, while reserving the main pit for a large-scale investor. (G3)