Wednesday December 12, 2018
PAGE 29
Kaieteur News
Terminated Guyana Goldfield chairman developing new mining operation in Cuyuni Former Executive Chairman and board member of the Guyana Goldfields, Patrick Sheridan, who was terminated from the former position in July less than two weeks after he was appointed, is back working on a number of projects right in the Cuyuni. Guyana Goldfields is the country’s biggest gold mining operations, with the Canadian-owned company heading into the first underground mining. Sheridan is now the executive chairman and CEO of Sandy Lake Gold, who is reportedly steering the Red Lake-focused junior towards several strategic acquisitions in Guyana, according to a report in the Northern Miner. Sheridan has been credited with the discovery, financing and development of the Aurora gold mine in a remote part of Guyana’s rain forest, about 170 km southwest of the capital of Georgetown. Guyana Goldfields put the mine into commercial production in January 2016. Sandy Lake Gold recently signed a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) to acquire a 100% stake in a suite of exploration properties in the far south-
west of Guyana’s Cuyuni Basin, which hosts the Aurora mine and numerous artisanal mine workings. The properties under the LOI include the historic Aremu mine and the Peters mine concessions, two of Guyana’s four historic producing mines.Sheridan, who was terminated as Guyana Goldfields’ executive chairman at the end of July and resigned his seat on the board at the end of October, the report said, declined to comment on Sandy Lake Gold’s letter of intent in Guyana until after the company receives permission from the TSX Venture Exchange and shareholders for the Aremu transaction. In a press release on November 22, Sheridan said the acquisition of “historic and advanced stage properties immediately launches Sandy Lake Gold into the forefront of mineral exploration in Guyana,” and noted that Aremu and the Peters mine “share similar geological settings and history as the Omai mine (3.7 million ounces produced) and the Aurora gold mine.” Both properties “offer an outstanding opportunity for the discovery and develop-
ment of high-grade vein type, as well as open-pittable disseminated gold deposits,” Sheridan continued. The company also said that it would continue to assess “other properties of merit in the Cuyuni Basin with the intention of making additional acquisitions.” The Aremu mine produced 6,488 ounces of gold from 14,632 tons of mineralized material at an average head grade of 0.44 ounce gold per ton between 1906 and 1911. Previous owners sunk a vertical shaft to 170 feet (52 metres) and there has been 1200 feet (366 metres) of horizontal drifting at the -82 foot (25 metre) and -160 foot (49 metre) levels.The mine consisted of veins and workings including the Aremu Quartz Reef, Power House, Scotland and the Donicker veins—all of which were situated along a 16,000-foot (4,877 metre) east-west trend. The Peters Mine produced over 40,000 ounces of gold between 1905 and 1909, with mill head grades exceeding over one ounce per ton. The mine was developed to 91 metres below surface with the majority of production above 61 metres and accord-
Huawei CFO facing extradition to US released on $10 million bail Vancouver, Canada (CNN Business) The chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei has been released on a $10 million bail, a judge in Canada ruled yesterday. Meng Wanzhou faces extradition to the United States, which has accused her of helping Huawei dodge sanctions on Iran. She was arrested December 1 in Canada during a layover at Vancouver International Airport. As a condition of her release, Meng has agreed to surrender her passports and live in one of her homes in Vancouver. She will also pay for a 24-7 security detail and wear a GPS ankle bracelet. Yesterday’s decision came three days into a hearing for Meng, who is a prominent executive at one of the world’s biggest makers of smartphones and networking equipment. Meng’s attorney, David Martin, argued that she should be released on bail while she waits for an extradition hearing because of health concerns. Meng has severe hypertension, for which she was hospitalized after her arrest. At issue in court was whether Meng posed a flight risk. Martin said she did not, since her ties to Vancouver go
back 15 years and she has two homes in the area. Leaving Canada would also embarrass her personally, and would h u m i l i a t e h e r f a t h e r, Huawei and China itself, Martin said. Yesterday’s decision could help ease tensions between Washington and Beijing as the two sides try to negotiate an end to their bruising trade war. Her arrest had been met with consternation from Chinese officials. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said over the weekend that it had summoned both US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad and Canadian Ambassador to China John McCallum to address Meng’s detention, which it described as “lawless, reasonless and ruth-
less.” Meng, 46, is the daughter of Huawei’s founder. In addition to her role as CFO, she serves as deputy chairperson of the company’s board. The United States alleges that Meng helped Huawei get around US sanctions on Iran by telling financial institutions such as HSBC that a Huawei subsidiary, Skycom, was a separate and unaffiliated company. The US Justice Department has declined to comment on the case. Meng faces “serious charges of fraud involving millions of dollars” in the United States, according to the affidavit of a Canadian law enforcement official. She could receive substantial jail time if convicted, the statement said.
Little answers over non-appointment of... From page 11 amount was set aside for a rental next year of Duke Street property belonging to singer, Eddy Grant. The property, located south of the US embassy, says Minister Patterson, will house all the United Nation offices, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation, UNICEF, UNDP, PAHO, UNAIDS and IOM with more than 200 staffers expected to be there. According to Patterson, UN security officials came down to inspect the premises and he is convinced that it is a good deal.
ing to Sandy Lake Gold, was “the most developed and highest grade deposit in Guyana” before the Omai mine was built in 1993. The Geological Survey of Guyana completed geological mapping, sampling and diamond drilling at the Peters mine in the mid 1960s. The work was sponsored and funded by the United States Geological Survey and the United Nations. Guyana Goldfields acquired the project in the late 1990s and did limited drilling as operator; it optioned the property to WSR Gold Inc. The work focused on the area around the main shaft and returned historic (not compliant with NI 43-101) assays including 6.10 metres of 32.70 grams gold per tonne from 122 metres downhole in hole MS01; 5.20 metres of 13.87 grams gold from 125 metres in hole MS-07; 52.60 metres of 5.70 grams gold from 107 metres in MS-08; and 7.11 grams gold over 40 metres from 11 metres
Former Guyana Goldfield’s Executive Chairman, Patrick Sheridan in MS-18. Under the terms of the letter of intent, Sandy Lake would likely purchase a 100% interest in the various properties by issuing to the vendors 100 million common shares of the company. Sheridan has a significant interest in the vendors of the Guyanese properties, which
total about 25,888 acres (10,477 hectares). Over the last year Sandy Lake Gold has traded within a 52-week range of $0.04 and $0.125. At press time in Toronto it was trading at $0.085 per share. The junior has about 104 million shares for a market cap of about $8.86 million.
Russian nuclear-capable bomber aircraft fly to Venezuela, angering U.S. MOSCOW (Reuters) Two Russian strategic bomber aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons have landed in ally Venezuela, a show of support for Venezuela’s socialist government that has infuriated Washington. The TU-160 supersonic bombers, known as “White Swans” by Russian pilots, landed at Maiquetia airport near capital Caracas on Monday after covering more than 10,000 km (6,200 miles), the Russian and Venezuelan governments said. Their deployment came days after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose left-wing administration is the most significant U.S. foe in Latin America, held talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.As OPEC member Venezuela’s socialist-run economy implodes, Russia has become a key lender of last resort, investing in its oil industry and providing support to its military. Capable of carrying shortrange nuclear missiles, the planes can fly over 12,000 km (7,500 miles) without re-fuelling and have landed in Venezuela twice before in the last decade. “Russia’s government has sent bombers halfway around the world to Venezuela,” fumed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Twitter. “The Russian and Venezuelan people should see this for what it is: two corrupt governments squandering public funds, and squelching
liberty and freedom while their people suffer.” ‘HIGHLY UNDIPLOMATIC’ The Kremlin yesterday rejected Pompeo’s criticism, saying it was “highly undiplomatic” and “completely inappropriate.” “As for the idea that we are squandering money, we do not agree. It’s not really appropriate for a country half of whose defense budget could feed the whole of Africa to be making such statements,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Russia’s Defence Ministry, which said the bombers had been accompanied by two other Russian military planes, did not say if the planes were carrying missiles, how long they would stay for, or what their mission was. Russia has used them in the past to flex its military muscles under the nose of the United States, delighting Venezuelan officials who have cast such flights as evidence it is able to defend itself, with allies’ help, from any attack. Maduro frequently invokes the possibility of a U.S.
invasion in the South American nation, a notion U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration denies. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza called Pompeo’s comments “not only disrespectful, but cynical,” highlighting the number of military bases the United States owns abroad. “It’s strange the U.S. government questions our right to cooperate on defense and security with other countries, when @realDonaldTrump publicly threatens us with a military invasion,” Arreaza tweeted, referring to Trump’s Twitter handle. Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for details on the bombers.Maduro said the talks with Putin in Moscow this month yielded Russian investment in Venezuela’s oil and gold sectors. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told his Venezuelan counterpart at the time that such long-range flights provided pilots with excellent experience and helped maintain the planes’ combat readiness.
Speeding drunk driver knocks... (From page 19) popular night spot in the town.The driver was imbibing and some women were in the car. The driver who claimed not to remember what occurred and denied hitting any one initially resisted arrest and police reinforcement had to be summoned. A breathalyzer test was conducted on him and he was fund to be way over the legal limit.Search of the vehicle unearthed a quantity of marijuana, a bottle of rum and a cutlass among other things.Saunders remains in custody and the vehicle has been detained. Investigations are continuing and the accused is expected to be slapped with several charges.