Chinese gold company produced over 68,000 ounces in first six months of this year in Guyana

Aug 27, 2024 News

Aurora mining operation in Guyana (Source: Zijin)

Kaieteur News – Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd, a Chinese-state owned mining giant operating in Guyana, through its subsidiary Aurora Gold Mine (AGM) has disclosed that the company produced 1,949 kilograms (over 68,000 ounces) of gold within the first six months of 2024.

This information was revealed in the company’s interim half-year report on its global operations. According to unofficial translation from the report, AGM who owns 100% of the Guyana project, produced 1,949 kilograms of gold. It was stated too that since the group holds full ownership, all 1,949 kilograms are attributed to the group’s equity production.

The Chinese Mining Group’s presence spans across 17 provincial-level regions in China and encompasses operations in 15 countries worldwide, including their ventures in Guyana. Their foothold in Guyana’s mining landscape was solidified in August 2020 when they acquired the largest gold mines operation in the country from Canadian-owned AGM for a substantial sum of US$238 million.

Recently, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat pointed out that gold production has been on a downward trend since its peak in 2016. He said, “I don’t think it’s any secret that gold production has been on the decline. I think if you look at the chart, you will see 2016 peak, and then after that, it went straight up and continues in the 2022-2023.”

Minister Bharrat had also revealed that the government has no issues with AGM, since the company’s gold recovery level is in the 90’s while small- and medium scale-miners’ recovery rate lag behind. The minister had underscored that with the company venturing into underground mining, the company is set to produce even more gold.

Kaieteur News had reported previously that the Bank of Guyana (BoG) disclosed 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, AGM recorded an increase in declarations by 5.2%, which resulted from continued favourable performance in their underground mining operations.  The Aurora gold project, originally developed by Guyana Goldfields, operates in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region as both an open-pit and now underground mining operation, sprawling across an extensive area of 12 square kilometers or 2,965 acres.