2019

Guyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a sovereign state on the Caribbean coast of South America. Although Guyana is part of the Anglophone Caribbean, it is the only Caribbean country that is part of South America. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Guyana is a member, has its secretariat's headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown.

Guyana was originally colonised by the Netherlands. Later, it became a British Colony, known as British Guiana, and remained so for over 200 years until it achieved independence on 26 May 1966 from the United Kingdom. On 23 February 1970, Guyana officially became a republic. In 2008, the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member.

Guyana is a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations and has the distinction of being the only South American nation in which English is the official language. The majority of the population, however, speak Guyanese Creole; an English-based Creole language with slight Dutch, Arawakan and Caribbean influences.

Modern Guyana is bordered by Suriname to the east, by Brazil to the south and southwest, by Venezuela to the west, and by the Atlantic Ocean to the north. At 215,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the third-smallest independent state on the mainland of South America after Uruguay and Suriname.

Guyana contains one of the most prospective, yet under-explored, gold regions in the world. It has a long history of alluvial gold production, but only recently declared itself open to foreign investment and mineral exploration after enacting the Land Tenure Act in 2004. The self-financing Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is the government entity responsible for overseeing the country's mining and quarrying sector, a critical component of the Guyanese economy.

It is a stable parliamentary democracy with a population of approximately 770,000 people. Its currency is the Guyanese dollar, and its capital city is Georgetown, which is home to approximately 250,000 people. Guyana's other major cities include Linden, New Amsterdam, Rose Hall, Anna Regina, and Bartica.

WHY GUYANA IS AN EXCELLENT MINING JURISDICTION?

• Westminster -style parliamentary democracy.
• English language and British Law
• Government has followed a free-market model for development with a policy for economic liberalization and promotion of direct foreign investment
• Long history of bauxite, gold and diamond production
• Two current operations - major bauxite mines (Rusal and Bosai)
• Historical Omai Gold Mine produced approx. 3.6 million ounces (closed in 2005)
• Stable Mining Act
• Highly prospective, yet under-explored region. Gold proterozoic belt spanning from Venezuela through the Guyanas to Ivory Coast and Ghana.
• Relatively low risk on community/environmental issues
• Real GDP growth in excess of 3% annually in average in recent years. Significant part of GDP is based on the extractive industries
• Mineral exploration: 25+ Canadian, American and Australian companies
• Current Mines in development: Aurora Gold Mine (Guyana Goldfields) & Karouni Gold Mine (Troy Resources)

Guyana Mining Laws

Mining Information Toolkit for Guyana

N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng., Executive Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, is the Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, responsible for the preparation of the technical information included in this website and for supervision of field activities related to the Company projects.