Toolsie, DTL complain of uncontrolled mining

Feb 03, 2010 News

---

As miners protest over government’s attempt to streamline the mining and forestry industries, there are indications that the administration’s proposal for a six-month notification, before any mining operations, are being seen as justified in some quarters.
This is evident in correspondence from at least two large logging companies which complained to government of severe environmental impact due to mining of gold in its concessions.
Yesterday, documents released to Kaieteur News indicated serious concerns by the Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL) and Toolsie Persaud Limited (TPL).
As early as last March, TPL wrote the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) requesting that requirements for harvesting timber in a number of concessions be waived so that the company could immediately harvest them to avoid their destruction due to ongoing mining activities there.
In July again, TPL wrote GFC Commissioner James Singh, asking permission to harvest another concession being destroyed by mining.
The company said that two areas “destroyed” by mining was equivalent to three years of logging as allowed by GFC. TPL complained that the heavy gold mining had rendered the area unsuitable for “sustainable forestry activities”.
In September again, in several correspondences, TPL begged the GFC to speed up the process. “As a result of current poor stocking, we were forced to park numerous pieces of very expensive heavy duty equipment including closing of a modern sawmill,” the company wrote in a letter dated September 9.
On October 6, TPL’s Interior Forest Industries Company Limited, a subsidiary, urged GFC to move to protect its forest concession TSA 11/85 since although logging had been stopped there, mining continued to deplete its timber.
Asking for permission to harvest the area affected by mining before it was too late, the company said it continued to pay acreage fees for areas being denuded on a daily basis of forest cover.
The company also slammed GFC and said that it is an example of a company being forced to comply with stringent regulations in areas where mining had already taken place and where future mining “is beyond the control of the company or the GFC”.
In November, the company wrote GFC again, this time requesting permission to relinquish the concession.
On November 24, the company again wrote James Singh, Commissioner of GFC, stating that mining activities within the concessions TSA 03/85 and TSA 11/85 had caused it to seriously consider the future viability of its logging and sawmilling operations. The uncontrolled mining had placed the company in a crisis situation and $1.5B had already been invested in sawmilling and logging equipment. The company emphasized that almost $1B was owed to the local banks.
According to the company, it is facing the very real possibility of foreclosure by the banks to recover monies owed to them.
“In this regard, the company is seeking the consideration of the GFC to facilitate its continued logging operations to protect the assets of the company and to secure the jobs of its 250 employees.”
Meanwhile, an internal memo of DTL in November said that mining at one of its concessions at Mabura is having a negative effect on operations as well as the “fragile” environment in the concession itself.
“Mining operations have had such a devastating effect on the environment that flora as well as fauna life has clearly been adversely affected. In some cases it can be seen that all plant life has been cleared in order to get to mineral deposits below,” a surveyor of the company wrote to the Chief Executive Officer.
The memo also said that there was evidence that the waterways have been severely affected by the use of heavy equipment, with aquatic life suffering significantly.
Miners had been maintaining that their activities in the country affected land of less than 1%.
They are asking government to consider a proposal of allocating between 7-10% of its forest areas where minerals is suspected to the mining community.
In keeping with the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), government has been working to introduce regulations that will see miners give a six-month notification before mining operations start.
Government says that the most of the proposals being studied by a special committee appointed by President Bharrat Jagdeo, and chaired by Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, are already in the law but are now being enforced.
On Monday, the mining community of Bartica came to a standstill as miners and residents alike protested the proposed six-month notice.
Benn’s committee is expected to wrap up work this week and submit its findings of mechanisms to increase the synchronization between forestry and mining to the President for considerations.

---

---