Georgetown : The gold price is reported to have increase to US$1330 per ounce.
Minster of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud during a recent interview said the “reality has shifted, we were anxious as well as the mining community and we share that anxiety, as to the unpredictable nature of gold prices given the importance of this ministry and the investments made.”
He said discussions are ongoing to come up with measures to cushion the situation and these discussions will continue, but the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment will have to establish a “floor price”. There will be need for a standard or cut off price for gold. Once those measures are approved by the Government, they will be activated.
There are some current measures which are being built in, such as the royalty rate which states that there will be a 2% drop in the rate, if the price hits below US$1000. The Minister said, “We are happy the price has bounced back up, not to the levels they were, but certainly to a level that I believe will bring about some relief and comfort. Already we are seeing some positive signs in this regard from the miners, given the importance of gold to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
