Natural Resource Minister PDAc conference in Canada

Georgetown : Guyana day at the Prospectors and Developers’ Association of Canada (PDAC) in Toronto was reported attended by some 120 plus private and institutional investors, potential investors and financial institutions.  Participating from Guyana was the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Robert Persaud.
The Guyana team, in collaboration with the High Commission of Canada, held its first and very mining seminar in Toronto at the PDAC Conference and Exhibition on Sunday.   Minister Persaud was accompanied by officials from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) including Karen Livan, Commissioner of GGMC and Deputy Commissioner Rickford Vieira.

High Commissioner To Guyana David Devine highlighted the importance of the mining sector to Guyana and the role that Canadian companies were playing in the development of the mining sector.  High Commissioner Devine highlighted that Guyana had crossed a significant milestone in positioning its industry on the map through the overwhelming show of interest by the numbers that flocked the event to participate in the Guyana forum. He noted the importance of the partnership that the Ministry of Natural Resources and the High Commission of Canada shared and highlighted some of the major projects that the Ministry and the High Commission have partnered on in support of Guyana’s extractive industry. These include improvements of educational capacities within the sector, partnership on corporate social responsibility and cooperation on strengthening of the regulatory environment among others.

 The Minister informed the audience that Guyana was in the process of qualifying for membership to be a part of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).  The Minister underscored Guyana’s interest in welcoming new investors but also pointed out that in the spirit of greater transparency in the management of Guyana’s resources, a quarterly supplement would be circulated locally so that local residents can be made aware of opportunities in the mining sector. 

Minister Persaud’s presentation was followed by four 15 minute presentations from Canadian companies which are holders of mineral agreements in Guyana,  Presenters were Claude Lemasson, President and Chief Financial Officer of Guyana Goldfields, Rich Munson, President and Chief Financial Officer of Sandspring Resources,  Ian Fodie, Chief Financial Officer of First Bauxite, and Jim Crombie President and CEO of Reunion Manganese.
All four companies spoke positively of their experience in Guyana and their very optimistic outlook for their future developments.  As part of the forum, investors, financiers and companies took the opportunity for one-on-one networking with the Minister, his team and to seek out additional information on the development of projects in Guyana.