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darter2on Dec 14, 2011 8:46am
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Guyana government welcomes Canadian Investors
Guyana government welcomes Canadian InvestorsGov’t open to continue working with Canadian investors Natural Resources Minister0
Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud this morning joined Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Mr. David Devine at the Canadian High Commission at a Video Conference with Canadian investors. The Conference was held in Fairmont Royal York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada and attracted the attendance of Azimuth Resources Limited, CGX Energy Inc., Columbus Gold Corporation, Guyana Goldfields Inc., Reunion Gold Corporation and Sandspring Resources Ltd. Minister Persaud said, inspite of the fact that the ministry he now heads is new and Government is working on creating the ministry, he assured investors that things are settled and the necessary preparations for continued investments are in place.
“Guyana’s natural resources sector is a very important sector for our economy, particularly in the areas of mining…all aspects of it such as gold, diamond and manganese, and the exploration activities of oil and gas,” Minister Persaud said. Towards this end, President Donald Ramotar decided that Guyana needs to have a much more coordinated, harmonized and integrated approach in the area of natural resources management, as this area is seen as a significant growth sector, which, going forward, will increasingly contribute to the country’s national economy, wealth and prosperity for all Guyanese. Minister Persaud also said that with the new ministry, it is hoped that all hitches to procure the type of environment and facilitation of all activities within the natural resources sector as it regards to pertinent issues, can be responded to, thereby serving the needs of investors, operators and stakeholders within the natural resources sector, moreso within the mining sector.
“As a government we have been very pleased with the interest shown by Canadian investors in the mining sector, also the work done by the Canadian High Commissioner in his office… We are very appreciative of the contributions so far…Our government is open for business, moreso for increased activities within the mining sector, particularly looking at the areas of gold and bauxite, also other interests in different minerals. There is openness and we want to let every single investor feel comfortable,” Minister Persaud said. Towards this end, there will be a focus on the environment, and sustainability in development as that would not contradict in any way, to increase activities once they are properly managed, “So we have pushed ahead and emphasised the need for sustainable management and due respect given for the environment, we do not see that impeding investment activities in the mining sector, we expect everyone to be corporate players, respectful to our environment,” Minister Persaud said.
“I want to reassure you that we are very accommodative to your investments, moreso we look forward to increased interest and our offices, with the new ministry is here to safeguard that…we are open and ready to continue the engagement we have as there are 28 Canadian investors in the mining sector and we certainly look forward to having this number increased,” Minister Persaud said. In September this year, REPSOL, the internationally renowned oil exploration company was given approval by former President Bharrat Jagdeo for an extension to its deadline for drilling of the Jaguar Well in the Guyana offshore area.
Tullow Oil, a London-based Company, YPF and CGX of Canada are the main partners in the Jaguar well joint venture drilling project, holding equity interests of 30 and 25 percent respectively. The drilling process was halted by a rig that was used by another operator in Suriname at the time but is in Guyana now and ready to commence for a period of about six months (180 days), President Ramotar said recently. In mining, Guyana Goldfields Inc., a Canadian- based company signed an agreement in November to the tune of US$1B, for the development of the Aurora Mines located in the Cuyuni River, Region Seven.
The agreement is similar to the recent accord between the Guyana Government and Sandspring Resources Inc for construction of the Toroparu mines in the same district and will be followed by another agreement for mining at Bonasika. Additionally, manganese mining in the North West District, Region One, has been reinvigorated after agreements were sealed in March with Reunion Manganese Incorporated.