Small miners are to be given greater access to more lands with potentially good yields in another three months, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman announced Friday.
He made the announcement at the opening of a meeting for Small Scale Gold Miners held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, Liliendaal.
“I, therefore, want to ensure that these lands are given to genuine small scale miners,” he told a well-attended meeting.
Trotman said he has instructed the Closed Areas Committee of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission to work toward the opening of new lands with known reserves.
Small miners last year declared 411,000 ounces of gold last year.
The Minister also announced that steps would be taken to “resolve the mountain of land tenure disputes.”
Other related forms of assistance, he said, that would be provided would include roads and bridges to get to mining lands, and data on lands that “will give you good yields.” Geo-technical, Global Positioning System (GPS) and satellite services would also be provided.
Miners were also told by Trotman that authorities would ensure that there are acceptable occupational safety and health standards.
The Minister of Natural Resources said demonstration sites would be made available to train miners in best practices.
Among those present were the incoming chairman of the GGMC Stanley Ming, Acting GGMC Commissioner Newell Dennison, Interior Police Commander Ravindranath Budhram, and representatives of the Labour Department of the Ministry of Social Protection, Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association and the Guyana Women Miners Organisation.
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