In a swift and decisive move, the Government of Guyana, last week revoked the Mineral Agreement and Mining License granted to Troy Resources Guyana Inc over several issues including unpaid royalties. Since the termination, the government and opposition has been caught in a blame game regarding who was responsible for allowing the company to operate without paying its royalties.
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo today revealed that following a conversation with the Guyana Gold Board (GBB)‘s General Manager, Eondrene Thompson, it was revealed that in 2018 under the then coalition government, Troy Resources failed to pay royalties for 5639 ounces of gold which is equivalent to US$7.2M. Furthermore in 2020, the company failed to pay royalties for 879 ounces equivalent to US$1.6M. As such, he said the former administration must accept its responsibility for allowing Troy Resources to get away with not paying.
It is worth nothing that the former Chairman of the Guyana Gold Board (GGB), GHK Lall recently said the former APNU+AFC regime must accept responsibility for the role it played in Troy Resources’ abandonment of its gold operations in Region Seven, leaving billions in unpaid royalties.
In an interview with Guyana Standard, Lall said that during his tenure, efforts were made to bring an end to Troy’s disregard for its agreement with Guyana by stopping a shipment of gold in 2019. “We stopped a shipment because we said these people owe us money but the Ministry of Finance kicked us in the a** for this and you can quote me on that,” Lall said.
In the government’s announcement of the termination last week it said Troy Resources Guyana Inc. failed to address several critical issues, including outstanding royalties, rental fees, non-compliance with the work program, and environmental management concerns.
The history of this agreement dates back to October 16, 2014 when the Government of Guyana entered into a Mineral Agreement with Troy Resources Guyana Inc. (TRGI) and other stakeholders, focusing on the development and operation of a mining project at the Karouni Property. TRGI commenced mining operations successfully, with the first gold poured in November 2015.
However, in subsequent years, TRGI faced operational challenges and the need for organizational restructuring. By early 2021, the company had gone into “care and maintenance.” Despite commitments to resume operations, TRGI failed to do so, even proposing to liquidate its assets, a proposal rejected by the government. The primary reason for this rejection was the slow response to addressing the payment of outstanding sums.
The significant amount of over $2.6 billion owed to the government in unpaid royalties became a pressing issue, ultimately leading to the cancellation of TRGI’s licence. The Office of the Attorney General has since initiated the necessary steps to collect these outstanding sums.
The government has also assumed control of the Karouni mining site and all remaining materials. To ensure the site’s ongoing viability and prevent it from falling into disrepair, various government agencies, including the GGMC, Corp of Wardens, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the Guyana Police Force (GPF), are actively monitoring and conducting enforcement patrols at the Karouni site.
