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Illegal dredges must be removed from Region Nine

Feb 26, 2013 News

– GGMC officers probed for collusion

 

Authorities conducted a number of raids in the Marudi Mountain area, Region Nine, recently and have ordered a number of illegal dredges to remove. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE), its mining regulatory arm, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, has since launched a probe of its officers in area who allegedly may have colluded with operators to turn a blind eye to the mining operations.
The operation in the Marudi Mountains found three unregistered dredges with most of the persons employed, being unable to produce documentation legitimizing their occupancy in the mining district by way of mining privileges or certificates of registration.
“Of the 14 dredges in operation, 10 were Guyanese-owned and the remaining four were Brazilian-owned. There were eight six-inch dredges and six four-inch dredges, with some of the operations being supported by excavators.
Most of the personnel employed by the dredge owners were of Guyanese nationality and of 13 the Brazilians, eight were without work permits.”
According to the Ministry yesterday, all of the operators acknowledged that they were involved in raiding on a mining property and the GGMC advised operators that they were in contravention of the mining regulations and the resulting consequences.
“Only three of the operations were actually found to be working at the time of the inspection and were issued with Cease Work Orders (CWOs). Those who were not working were issued with Orders to Remove within five days.”
The Ministry warned that ‘Operation El Dorado’ will be intensified in all the mining districts to ensure compliance of the Mining Act and Regulations and is expected to be supported by the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Guyana Police Force.”
Buoyed by high world prices, gold mining has become one of the biggest earners for the Guyana economy in recent years.
However, smuggling, unprotected borders, illegal mining and lawlessness have been proving a daunting challenge for GGMC, which has been facing manpower problems also. There have been accusations of collusions between GGMC officers and miners also.

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