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Reports: Several camps closed as authorities raid

Aug 19, 2010 News

… Illegal mining at Omai backdam

Authorities yesterday reportedly raided the Omai backdam in a crackdown to clear the area of illegal mining.
While officials of the mining regulator, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), were not immediately available to confirm the raids, reports are that the exercise was coordinated by police and inspectors.
A few miners called Kaieteur News and claimed that raids were being conducted.
“They bunning up and destroying all we things, we beg them to stop but they ain’t listening. All meh life investment now gone down de drain,” said one man who had set up camp in the Quartz Hill area, located not far from the Omai operations.
Yesterday, Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, indicated that GGMC was planning to conduct exercises but he was unclear whether this was underway yesterday.
The area had once been under the control of Omai Gold Mines which has since closed its operations.
However, the land there was not found to be financially feasible to be mined by that company and it was handed back to the government.
It was distributed, using a lottery system, to miners. However, following reports of uncontrolled mining back, as far back as 2008, authorities had moved in and a committee of miners from the area was established.
Yesterday, sources in the mining industry, disclosed that GGMC had been preparing to raid the area but was unclear when this would have happened.
The situation at Omai backdam, as it is more popularly known, had spilled over in 2008, with one man shot by security officials of the Omai Gold Mine site. Several persons were also arrested for trespassing the property.

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