The mining record of Guyana
25,287 properties in the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission's register, 12,428 of them small-scale claims, held by 3,397 named holders of whom 847 carry a TIN, 32,223 tenure polygons on GGMC's map, and at least 123 mining deaths reported by the Guyanese press.
The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission serves its whole property register through a public search: small-scale claims, mining permits, prospecting permits, special mining permits, prospecting and mining licences and quarry licences, each with its holder, status, grant date, minerals and area; claim rows print each holder's TIN, Guyana's tax id, which no other type does. Its tenure map serves the licence and permit polygons with applicant, acreage and location, and leaves the claims out on purpose. The deaths the press reports are in small and medium-scale alluvial gold and diamond work in the interior backdams and on dredges, which the register covers and the map does not. What no agency publishes is an inspection, a sanction or a per-incident accident record: the Labour Ministry announces one national workplace-death figure a year, and the two dailies report each death within a day, naming the person and the backdam but rarely a permit. The deaths here come from that press, so every count is a floor.
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A Claim under the Mining Act 1989 is the small-scale title, typically an alluvial gold or diamond working; the register shows the active ones and prints each holder's TIN.ⓘ
A mining permit (MP) is the medium-scale title; PPMS is its prospecting stage.ⓘ
The TIN is the Guyana Revenue Authority's nine-digit taxpayer identification number; the register prints it only on Claim rows, so a holder's TIN is known only where they hold a claim.25,287 properties read from the register's search (last refreshed Nov 4, 2026), 3,397 named holders as the register spells them, newest grant Oct 16, 2026. The weekly sync re-reads the current and prior year; the full register is re-read on demand.
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GGMC's mineral property map, an ArcGIS service refreshed a few times a year; polygons carry applicant, application date, permit type and acreage.Licence and permit polygons from GGMC's ArcGIS service, newest application Jul 20, 2026 (last refreshed Nov 4, 2026). The service omits small-scale claims by the publisher's choice; the register has them.
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Counted from press headlines only; Guyana publishes no official per-fatality mining record, so the true number is undoubtedly higher.ⓘ
Events the headline itself places in a backdam pit, on a dredge or at an unlicensed working, as against a named company's operation.English-language headlines naming Guyanese backdams, rivers and regions from 2013 to Jul 15, 2026, read daily through Google News (last pull Nov 3, 2026) and classified by a language model against the headline's own words.
GGMC inspects mines and issues cease-work orders after deaths, but publishes no inspection, sanction or accident record; the Ministry of Labour's Occupational Safety and Health Department counts workplace deaths and announces one national figure a year at a press conference (32 in 2024, primarily mining and construction; action taken against one employer), and its website was unreachable on 15 September 2026; the Ministry of Natural Resources posted named fatality releases in 2016 to 2018 and none since. A letter sent to GGMC on September 17, 2026 asks for its mines-inspection reports, fatal-accident investigations and cease-work orders since 2011; the answer is awaited.
Sent September 17, 2026 as a plain letter rather than under the Access to Information Act 2011, which gives the right of access only to citizens and residents and excludes records created before 2011. A reply date appears here when one comes.
“Man killed in freak incident at Morwa Backdam”
“Moruca man dies in mining camp incident”
“Bodies of dead miners recovered from collapsed mining pit in Region 8”
“Probe launched into fatal accident”
“Miners trapped in collapsed mining pit”
“Two men trapped in collapsed mining pit”
“Rupununi resident killed in mining pit cave-in at Chi Chi Backdam”
“Miner dies after pit collapse at Chi Chi Backdam”
“Brazilian miners die in Guyana after pit collapses”
“Brazilian gold miners die in pit cave-in”
“Brazilian miners die in Guyana after pit collapses”
“Brazilian miners die in mining pit collapse at Chenapou”
Every event is one press item read by a language model: the sentence shown is the headline's own words, the holder link exists only where the headline names a register holder exactly, and most Guyanese mining deaths are in backdam pits and dredges the press places by river or region, not by permit.
| Region | Press accidents | Deaths (floor) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mowasi | 1 | 5 | |
| Mahdia | 4 | 4 | |
| Cuyuni | 2 | 2 | |
| Essequibo | 2 | 2 | |
| Mazaruni River | 2 | 2 | |
| Region Seven | 2 | 2 | |
| Thomas Island | 2 | 2 | |
| Arakaka | 1 | 1 | |
| Bartica | 1 | 1 | |
| Cuyuni River | 1 | 1 | |
| Frenchman Backdam | 1 | 1 | |
| Issano | 1 | 1 |
By the administrative region or mining district the headline names; the press places a death by backdam, river or region, which the register does not carry, so no region total joins to a permit.
| Type | Properties | Holders | With a TIN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claim Claim | 12,428 | 880 | 13,376 | |
| Mining permit MP | 7,597 | 1,862 | 0 | |
| Prospecting permit (medium scale) PPMS | 4,149 | 1,121 | 0 | |
| Special mining permit SMP | 749 | 709 | 0 | |
| Prospecting licence PL | 328 | 103 | 0 | |
| Quarry licence QL | 31 | 20 | 0 | |
| Mining licence ML | 5 | 4 | 0 |
Claim is the small-scale title (the register's only type that prints a TIN); MP a mining permit, PPMS a medium-scale prospecting permit, SMP a special mining permit, PL and ML the large-scale prospecting and mining licences issued before 2016, QL a quarry licence. The register shows only Active claims and Granted permits.
| Area | Properties | Holders | Minerals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knoawaruk NW | 168 | 130 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +1 more | |
| Kaieteur NE | 164 | 84 | Gold, Diamonds, Grantley Crandon, Precious Stones +3 more | |
| Quartz stone SE | 134 | 30 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +3 more | |
| Kaieteur SE | 133 | 70 | Gold, Diamonds, Copper, Lithium +6 more | |
| Oranapai NE | 131 | 53 | Gold, Diamonds, Cassiterite, Rare Earth Elements +5 more | |
| Quartz stone SW | 127 | 31 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +4 more | |
| Puruni NW | 118 | 21 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +2 more | |
| Aurora NE | 111 | 38 | Gold, Diamonds, Cassiterite, Metals +4 more | |
| Oranapai NW | 108 | 54 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +2 more | |
| Puruni NE | 108 | 24 | Gold, Diamonds, Rare Earth Elements, Precious Stones +4 more | |
| Kokerite NW | 107 | 39 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +1 more | |
| Supenaam SW | 107 | 34 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +1 more | |
| Kaituma SW | 104 | 26 | Gold, Diamonds, Granite, Quarriable Materials +2 more | |
| Matthews Ridge NE | 104 | 42 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +2 more | |
| Kurupung NE | 101 | 27 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones | |
| Knoawaruk SW | 100 | 28 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +2 more | |
| Aurora NW | 98 | 43 | Gold, Diamonds, Metals, Precious Stones +3 more | |
| Aurora SE | 93 | 41 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Precious Minerals +1 more | |
| Issano SW | 91 | 31 | Gold, Diamonds, Precious Stones, Semi Precious Stones +2 more | |
| Amakura SW | 90 | 50 | Gold, Diamonds, Manganese, Other Precious Minerals +4 more |
The register's area name (a stock-sheet locality such as Aurora NW or Kaieteur SE), present on about a fifth of rows; claims carry none.
| Holder | Permits | Claims | Polygons | Press accidents | Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfro Alphonso TIN 143099833 | 914 | 252 | 1,867 | 0 | Amakura SE, Amakura SW, Aurora SE, Aurora SW +20 more |
| . Ramnarine TIN 116530951 | 552 | 404 | 343 | 0 | Amakura SW, Aurora NE, Ayanganna SE, Barima Head SE +30 more |
| Shawn Hopkinson TIN 124452553 | 280 | 205 | 565 | 0 | Aurora NE, Aurora SW, Issano NE, Peaima SW +2 more |
| Ramnarine | 5 | 0 | 1,265 | 0 | |
| Shreemattie Budhram | 146 | 0 | 353 | 0 | |
| Michael Vieira TIN 138502227 | 134 | 132 | 341 | 0 | Achiwuib SE, Aurora NE, Ayanganna NE, Issano SW +12 more |
| Edward Hopkinson | 103 | 0 | 348 | 0 | Amakura SE, Kaieteur NE, Kaieteur NW, Kaieteur SE +6 more |
| Stephen Lamazon TIN 160513079 | 112 | 8 | 179 | 0 | Akarabisi NE, Akarabisi NW, Aurora SE, Aurora SW +2 more |
| Ronaldo Alphonso | 107 | 0 | 156 | 0 | Akarabisi NE, Oranapai NE, Oranapai SE, Puruni SE +1 more |
| Randolph Alexander Griffith TIN 128143888 | 104 | 82 | 122 | 0 | Bartica NW, Knoawaruk SE, Kokerite SE, Quartz stone NE +1 more |
| Hongbo Chu | 110 | 0 | 103 | 0 | Bartica NW, Bartica SW, Ekereku NE, Ekereku SE +20 more |
| Raymond Khan TIN 132889710 | 77 | 5 | 213 | 0 | Aurora SE, Bartica NW, Imbaimadai SW, Issano NE +9 more |
| Bissoondial Mahdu TIN 135721916 | 92 | 121 | 96 | 0 | Bartica NE, Ituni SW, Kaburi NE, Kaburi SE +8 more |
| Joseph Orlando Adams TIN 108252971 | 93 | 27 | 118 | 0 | Kokerite NE, Kokerite NW, Kokerite SE, Oranapai NE |
| Carl Adams | 83 | 0 | 167 | 0 | Tiboku NE, Tiboku NW |
| Ryan Pereira TIN 132533817 | 69 | 201 | 113 | 0 | Ekereku SW, Imbaimadai NW, Kurupukari NE, Kurupukari NW +5 more |
| Chunilall Baboolall TIN 143027471 | 74 | 82 | 136 | 0 | Aurora SE, Bartica NW, Knoawaruk NW, Quartz stone SE +2 more |
| Alfro Alphonso TINO Alfro Alphonso & Sons Enterprises | 109 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Bartica NE |
| Donna Lyn Charles | 63 | 0 | 164 | 0 | Matthews Ridge NW |
| Donna Charles | 73 | 0 | 112 | 0 | Kaikan SE, Knoawaruk SE, Kwakwani SW, Matthews Ridge NE +2 more |
| Correia Mining Company Limited TIN 010069548 | 55 | 275 | 67 | 0 | Kurupung NE, Kurupung SE, Oranapai SW, Peaima NE +1 more |
| Brock Inc. | 54 | 0 | 143 | 0 | Ekereku SE, Kokerite NW, Kokerite SW, Waini SW |
| George Griffith | 61 | 0 | 90 | 0 | Akarabisi SE, Aurora SW, Bartica NE, Puruni SE +2 more |
| Azeem Baksh-Snr. | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Akarabisi NW, Ankoko SE, Aurora NW, Aurora SE +15 more |
| Azeem Baksh- Snr Baksh Diamond Enterprise/ G-Star Mining | 57 | 0 | 98 | 0 | |
| Dabria Marcus TIN 132053279 | 54 | 5 | 103 | 0 | Akarabisi NW, Akarabisi SE, Aurora SW, Cuyuni Mining District +12 more |
| Alfro Alphonso & Sons Enterprise | 0 | 0 | 312 | 0 | |
| Henry Alphonso | 47 | 0 | 117 | 0 | Aurora SE, Mazaruni Mining District, Oranapai NW, Oranapai SW +3 more |
| Deonarine Sookram TIN 143872244 | 35 | 216 | 70 | 0 | Kaieteur NE, Knoawaruk NE, Knoawaruk NW, Knoawaruk SE +1 more |
| Bryan Stephens | 49 | 0 | 97 | 0 | Aurora SE, Bartica NW, Quartz stone SW |
Ranked by press events, permits, tenure polygons and claims. Every holder has a page; this table shows the top of the ranking, with the TIN where a claim printed it.
Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (ArcGIS FeatureServer), Mineral_Property_Data_For_Download: Mineral Licences, Large Scale, Special mining permit, Quarry Licences: 12,998 records, fetched Nov 4, 2026. →
Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Property Status Search (Claim, MP, PPMS, SMP, PL, QL, ML): 25,287 records, fetched Nov 4, 2026. →
The register is read through GGMC's Property Status Search; the map through GGMC's public ArcGIS service (four tenure layers); the press through Google News RSS.