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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Authorities in Guyana are probing whether locally mined gold laced with silver alloy has been shipped to markets overseas.
Police have closed the Guyana Gold Board's buying office in a remote Guyanese mining town that regulated the sale of raw gold. Investigators say the office in Bartica allegedly mixed silver with mined gold and then sent it to the capital as pure gold.
Mining Minister Robert Persaud said Sunday that investigators are trying to determine the extent of the fraud. So far, four people have been arrested.
Persaud says Guyana will collaborate with overseas law enforcement agencies to determine if there is a "foreign element in this racket."
Gold is Guyana's main export. The precious metal is sold to several markets abroad, including those in the U.S. and U.K.
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