Aug 22, 2024 News Officials at the signing ceremony of the mineral mapping contract Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and American company Global Venture Consultancy on Wednesday morning signed a US$1.8 million deal to conduct a comprehensive mineral mapping of the nation’s mining hotspots. The multi-year project for Mineral Mapping Study of Guyana’s Mineral Resources, targets both traditional gold reserves and emerging non-traditional minerals.
The areas that have been identified as priority for 2024 are the North-West Mining District, Cuyuni Mining District, Mazaruni Mining District, and Potaro Mining District. It was stated that the project is intended to add to a previous inventory which was completed in 1968. Kaieteur News had reported that Global Venture Consulting’s bid of US$1,981,218 was ultimately selected following a tendering process.
However, at the contract signing event it was revealed that the ministry was able to negotiate a 5% reduction of the cost, to US$1,875,000. The contract signing event hosted at Duke Lodge in Georgetown, was attended by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, Permanent Secretary of MNR, Joslyn McKenzie, Her Excellency Ambassador Nicole Theriot and others. In his address, Minister Bharrat said, “This project will reenergize the small and medium scale sector in Guyana we know that large scale is progressing well.
..” Bharrat noted that the project will also benefit indigenous communities to work with the Guyana Geology Mines Commission (GGMC) so that their mining activities can be more lucrative.
He noted that instead of spending large sums on prospecting or prospecting in areas that do not yield great benefits, when the project is completed the government will be better able to point Guyanese to mineralised areas. “What is also important too with this project is to identify whatever critical minerals that may exist in Guyana..
..” Bharrat said the project ties in with Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030), as the world moves towards renewable energy.
“Critical minerals will become more critical...
we believe that there may be traces of critical minerals in Guyana,” the minister said. Bharrat is hopeful that the project would provide information on Guyana having minerals like Lithium, which he said is the most sought after. For her part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global Venture Consulting LLC, Emily King stated that her company is ready to map out the mining industry for a better understanding of the country’s mineral potential.
She also spoke about the cutting-edge technology that Global Venture Consultancy will be using for the project. “By crafting these mapping and surveying plans with precision, Guyana is set to leverage cutting-edge target detection, and predictive analytic tools. Guyana is poised to become the very first country to undertake almost a national scale mapping programme using this innovative approach.
” Ambassador Theriot in her address underscored that mineral mapping provides a clear picture of what lies beneath the surface. “This is a country of remarkable natural beauty and rich biodiversity. It is also blessed with significant mineral resources that hold the potential to add to the country’s already impressive great, from gold and diamonds to bauxite.
..these minerals are not only a cornerstone of economic growth but they are key to unlocking new opportunities to progress.
” She added, “mineral mapping is a fundamental process to understand the full extent of these resources, it involved comprehensive analysis and document of mineral deposits across the country, providing crucial data that can guide policy making, attract investment and ensure that resource extraction is conducted in a responsible sustainable manner.” This year, the sum of $400 million has been allocated for the project. At his recent press conference, Minister Bharrat had underscored the importance of updating Guyana’s mineral inventory, noting that the existing data is severely outdated.
In mining, the mineral inventory, or mineral mapping, has not been updated for decades. So today, if we point a miner in a direction and say that there is mineral there, that data is old data that was that would have been acquired maybe 40, 50 years ago, and a lot has changed from now to then,” Bharrat stated. “We will start with specific mining districts.
.. because we have a larger amount of our small miners and major scale miners concentrated in those four mining districts,” Bharrat said.
Moreover, he stated that the project is not only about identifying existing mineral deposits but also about positioning Guyana to tap into the global demand for critical minerals, particularly those needed for renewable energy technologies. “So this is a project that will help us significantly to identify not only where our deposits are, but all minerals, and you know, in keeping with what is happening around the world, especially in the transitioning phase from fossil to renewable, critical minerals are critical. Critical minerals are needed.
They are heavily in demand,” Bharrat outlined. He pointed out the global interest in minerals such as lithium, especially in South America, and suggested that Guyana could potentially have traces of these valuable resources. So this project is going to help us to identify all of these minerals in that we have.
So, it will help us in the allocation of properties, and to ensure that we see a general forest,” the minister concluded..
