| The Minister of Mines met representatives of companies authorized to export gold yesterday. |
Gold prices among grassroots collectors are high and even equivalent to those on the international market, a situation which penalizes licensed exporters who pay taxes to the greater benefit of illicit exporters.
Unexpected problems. “Basic gold prices are significantly higher than the price at which it sells in the international market. This is due to illicit operators who also collect from gold miners,” notes a mining operator from the Gold Trading Company, one of the six companies to have received their trading license to export gold. Yesterday, he and the other approved companies met the Minister of Mines in his office in Ampandrianomby. The subject of discussion was how to deal with illicit activities related to the collection and export of gold, as this is now a proven fact. This phenomenon seriously penalizes the gold sector which is in full recovery.
People buy this valuable product at more expensive prices, too expensive, from gold miners. It’s an overbidding! Currently, among collectors, the price of gold can reach three hundred thousand ariary, almost its price on the international market. To illustrate this ratio, yesterday, the gram sold at 63.73 euros, or 305,904 ariary, while on this market, the products are already refined and comply with the standards of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
Mutual commitments
For those who have complied with legal standards and agreed to play fair, this punishes them. Exporters operating within the legal framework still have to pay several taxes as well as additional costs related to the export of the yellow metal. “If we cannot resolve this price concern, formal operators will not be able to compete with the prices offered by the collectors of illicit exporters,” explains Olivier Herindrainy Rakotomalala, Minister of Mines. Raids on gold mining operations will increase. “Firstly, we are going to carry out a field trip to clean up the extraction sites, given that there are collectors who sell their products to people who are not even on the site even though these people are illicit exporters. They do not pay the various required taxes,” he emphasizes. This will aim to channel illicit flows into the formal circuit. It goes without saying that this commitment from the State, through the ministerial departments concerned, will also be accompanied by a commitment from formal operators. According to the directives given by the President of the Republic, gold exporters must be able to export at least 15% of the total weight for which they have committed in two months and repatriate the foreign currencies, under penalty of losing their approval.
Should we remember that the State sets a deadline of one hundred days to export five hundred kilos of gold. According to these operators, several regions are rich in gold. These are gold districts like Betsiaka in the North, Maevatanàna in the West, Mananjary and the area of Miandrivazo, Dabolava, etc. “If gold mining in these areas is carried out legally, there will be no problem reaching this quantity in less than two months,” assures Olivier Rakotomalala. For Betsiaka, for example, estimates show a production capacity of three hundred kilos of gold per month. “We just need a conducive and legal framework for activities,” believes a gold operator working in this region.
Itamara Randriamamonjy