Canadian-owned Guyana Goldfields Inc. has been given clearance to begin underground mining.
This was announced by Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman when he toured the company’s Aurora mine on Thursday.
In 2017, Guyana Goldfields processed over 2.2 million tonnes of ore from which it extracted gold; last year, the amount of ore it processed was ten percent more, giving it over 150, 000 ounces of gold.
Now, the company has received environmental authorization to resume construction and development work on an underground exploration decline as it moves towards exploration and definition drilling in support of planned underground production.
The Company temporarily suspended work on the underground decline in November 2018 at the request of the EPA.
But now, the clearance from the EPA has been received. The announcement came from Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman.
“I am happy the government was able to issue the final permits for the underground mining… last week the EPA issued that,” said Minister Trotman.
He said the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) had cleared the mine plant before.
“So, we were awaiting EPA’s approval for the environmental part… the two regulatory agencies are separate and should be kept separate, and so I’m happy that on their own the EPA was able to come around and see that this is a good and viable project,” the minister noted.
Minister Trotman, along with a visiting South African delegation, toured the company’s Aurora Gold Mines on Thursday and hailed the company for the work it has been doing.
Company officials trumped up all aspects of the company’s operation, including its strict adherence to environmental safeguards and safety.
The visiting Deputy Minister of Natural Resources of South Africa Godrey Oliphant was impressed with what he saw at Aurora.
Guyana Goldfields Inc. this week announced that the second phase of its mill expansion is mechanically complete and was fully commissioned.
The company said the Aurora mine, which has been in commercial operation as an open pit since 2016, is anticipated to transition into an eventual combined open pit and underground operation and would become the first modern underground mine developed in Guyana.
