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Gold declaration dipped in first quarter of 2024 – Bank of Guyana   Jul 16, 2024 News Guyana’s depleting gold declaration over the years Kaieteur News – The Bank of Guyana (BoG) has reported that the country’s gold declaration decreased within the first three months of 2024. According to the Central Bank, the declaration fell to 89,845.8 troy ounces, when compared to the same period last year. It was stated that the dip in the gold declaration was mainly due to lower declarations from small- and medium-scale miners by 24.2 %.  It was explained that the lower declaration is as a result of prolonged dry weather which made access to water limited in many mining areas. Notably, it was stated that the sole large-scale operator, Aurora Gold Mine Inc. (AGM), Zijin Mining’s, recorded an increase in declarations by 5.2%, which resulted from continued favourable performance in their underground mining operations. In Guyana’s gold industry, there has been a noticeable decline in declarations over the past several years.  Kaieteur News had reported that from 2019 to 2023, gold declarations dropped by approximately 209,000 troy ounces, according to the BOG annual reports. With Guyana’s gold declarations dropping by approximately 209,000 troy ounces over the past five years, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo expressed the Government of Guyana’s concern about this trend.  He had warned that strict penalties would be imposed on those found guilty of under-reporting gold declarations to evade taxes and royalties. Jagdeo said at one of his previous press conferences, “We are still very concerned about what is happening in the market,” adding, “We believe that there are people that are not selling to the Gold Board to avoid taxes and we believe at that time that it was organised and that it was having an impact.” Related Similar Articles

EPA asks Exxon to conduct EIA for 7th oil project Jul 16, 2024 News Map showing the location of the Hammerhead project offshore Guyana Kaieteur News – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday disclosed that ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), the operator of the Stabroek Block will be required to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for its seventh deepwater project in the Stabroek Block, Hammerhead. The agency explained that the proposed project will be implemented in multiple stages which will include activities such as well drillings and completions, mobilization and installation of subsea equipment, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF), installation of a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, production operations, and decommissioning. The proposed project will be undertaken largely in the marine offshore environment and would require land-based activities for support activities at marine shorebases. As a result of the intended developmental activities, possible effects to the environment may include impacts on marine water quality, air quality, marine fauna, socio-economic resources and others. Consequently, the EPA has determined in keeping with the Environmental Protection Act, Cap. 20:05, that the proposed development may significantly affect the environment and will require an EIA before any decision can be made as to its approval or rejection.  The agency noted that the Hammerhead development may pose physical, biological, and socioeconomic impacts to the environment which may be significant and long-term, given the type, scale and duration of the proposed activity.  Additionally, the EPA highlighted that the proposed development is in relatively close proximity to other development projects, which increases the potential for cumulative impacts of the projects. In further explaining the need for the EIA, the Agency said, “The associated risks attached to unplanned events of petroleum production activities may be significant.” Citizens are encouraged to make written submissions to the Agency, setting out those questions and matters which they require to be answered or considered in the EIA within 28 days of the Notice.  The Hammerhead development project will develop the Hammerhead field, and potentially additional resources, if determined to be feasible and economically viable. In the Project Summary submitted by Exxon to the EPA, the company explained that the project is expected to add 120,000 to 180,000 barrels of oil per day production capacity. The Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel will be capable of storing approximately 1.4 to 2 million barrels of oil. Third-party oil tankers will be scheduled to offload the oil from the FPSO, making the oil available for export to the international market. Hammerhead is located in the south-central portion of the Stabroek Block, approximately 160 km from Georgetown. Current plans include drilling via drill ships to produce oil using approximately 14 to 30 production and injection wells. Production is expected to begin in 2029 subject to the necessary regulatory approvals and operate for at least 20 years.  To date, Exxon has obtained approval from the Government of Guyana for six development projects in the Stabroek Block – Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two, Payara, Yellowtail, Uaru and Whiptail. The first three projects are already producing oil at a daily estimated rate of 640,000 barrels per day (bpd). Yellowtail is expected to come on stream by 2025, followed by Uaru in 2026 and Whiptail in 2027.  According to the Project Summary, the potential for cumulative impacts exists where impacts from Hammerhead overlap with those of other Stabroek Projects (or other existing or planned future activities) in space or time. As such, a robust cumulative impact assessment will be performed as part of the Hammerhead assessment of impacts. Related Similar Articles

Two nursery schools for WBD to cost $105M Jul 16, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Three has set aside approximately $105 million to construct two new nursery school buildings at La Parfaite Harmonie and Canal No.1 located on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD). This is according to information provided in a tender published by the RDC in the daily newspapers. The document stated that the nursery school for the Canal No.1 community is estimated to cost $50 million, while $55 million is estimated for the school in Parfaite Harmonie, a growing housing scheme. Bids for the project are scheduled to open on July 30, 2024 at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office located in the compound of the Ministry of Finance. Kaieteur News understands that the RDC was allocated approximately $11.3 billion from this year’s budget to execute its education, health, agriculture and public works programmes among others. It is this money that will be used to fund the two projects. At a recent press conference at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), Minister of Education Priya Manickchand had listed over 30 nursery schools that are currently being built or would be built this year, and these schools would be in all the Regions except for Region Two. During that press conference, the minister said that having achieved universal primary education in the country, the intention is to achieve universal nursery and secondary education. Related Similar Articles