As it laid out its record of compliance, El Dorado Trading yesterday announced that its projected declaration of gold for this year would be at last 250,000 ounces.
Giving a ball park figure of remittances into Guyana’s economy through the official banking system from its operations, Chief Executive Officer of the company, Tamesh Jagmohan, told Stabroek News that it has been about US$400 million, which has helped to stabilise this country’s foreign exchange rate while helping the economy.
Jagmohan emphasised that while Guyana’s largest income earner now is oil, the importance of the gold industry must not be forgotten as it “has been the backbone of this country” for years, ensuring always a ready supply of foreign exchange and stabilisation of the exchange rate.
And now that the price of gold is at a high – averaging around US$1900 an ounce – coupled with the removal of Value Added Tax on mining equipment by the PPP/C government since taking office in August, Jagmohan said that this country should expect additional output.
Local miners, he believes, should be lauded for their contribution to the sector as they have always delivered, no matter the global gold price and he further slated a complaint lodged against his company that it trades in illegal gold from Venezuela.
This newspaper yesterday reported that the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) is currently investigating allegations made to the Minerals Grievance Platform (MGP) that the local large-scale gold trader is connected to illegally sourced Venezuelan gold, a claim the company has vehemently denied.
Following the allegation, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) told the Gold Board that it has suspended the intake of El Dorado gold from the GGB until further notice.
El Dorado has rejected the allegations which were filed with the MGP, saying that there is not “an iota or ounce of truth to the claims” and that the investigations will not only vindicate it, but show how easy it is for not only a company’s name to be tarnished, but a country’s entire sector put in fear of blacklisting because of “haters or fear of competition.”
El Dorado Trading is a Guyana Gold Board client while the GGB is a customer of RCM. As such, complaints from the Mint have to be registered with the Gold Board here.
It has been noted that El Dorado Trading is the only local company which sells gold to the Gold Board that is then supplied to the Canadian Mint.
Necessary facts
Jagmoghan had told this newspaper that he was not worried and that anyone could file a grievance but that when such action is taken, it not only puts a business establishment under a negative spotlight but the country could be impacted.
He said he would hope that when the investigation is completed and his company’s name is cleared, a lesson would be learned by the person or persons who filed the grievance about the implications it could have.
A release from El Dorado yesterday said, “It is obvious that the author of the article ‘El Dorado Trading denies illegal Venezuela gold link’ does not have the necessary facts in hand.”
It pointed out that this year has seen Guyana’s continued rise despite the pandemic. “It has been tough but we have weathered it. The year 2021 promises bigger things for Guyana. El Dorado Trading will continue to play its role,” the release said.
“El Dorado Trading is among Guyana’s largest gold dealers for several years and must offer some clarifications to a deeply worrying report in the Stabroek News of December 31st, 2020 titled ‘El Dorado Trading denies illegal Venezuela gold link – Canadian Mint suspends processing its metal over allegation.’ We insist that our operations meet the highest of verifiable standards in what is one of the most regulated of sectors in Guyana,” the release noted.
It said that as a result of strategic planning and capitalising on the opportunities, El Dorado Trading has been in existence for over two decades and contributes annually to the Consolidated Fund of Guyana, through the payment of royalties and taxes, in sums amounting to billions of Guyana dollars.
“El Dorado Trading has established one of the most modern and robust compliance regimes under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations. Without any notification of the letter referenced in the Stabroek News article, on 28th September, 2020, El Dorado Trading engaged a world-recognized auditor, approved and accepted by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) list of Auditors, BDO (Binder Dijker Otte) International to audit our supply chain and compliance regime dating back to year 2018 and authorized BDO to share with our international business associates all information necessary in keeping with the Precious Metals Industry best practices supervised by the LBMA.
These reports are available to the competent authorities for perusal,” the release informed.
“El Dorado Trading has at all times accommodated our Supervisory Authority (the Guyana Gold Board) to conduct site visits to all (our) locations, the most recent being 28th day August 2020.We have built a loyal base that has been increasing steadily. Over the past two (2) years gold prices has consistently increased which yield an influx of entrepreneurs entering the sector, spurring more declarations to the Guyana Gold Board. It is a fact that the regulated operations of El Dorado and the entire mining sector in Guyana predate Venezuela’s economic situation,” it added.
The company underscored that it has been able to build a solid, verifiable operation that meets internationally recognised standards. “In the past we have been declared as the dealer with the most annual declarations, a feat we are extremely proud of thanks to our hardworking staffers and our biggest stakeholders, the mining community. In consideration of our compliance system, El Dorado Trading is hopeful that this matter will be resolved very quickly as it involves the lives of thousands of our local Guyanese,” it stressed.
El Dorado Trading said that it has confidence in the independence and competence of the Guyana Gold Board.
