REFLECTIONS ON THE GOLD INDUSTRY

Oct 11, 2020 Consumer Concerns, News

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CONSUMER CONCERNS

By Pat Dial

Kaieteur News – Gold and Guyana have been associated for centuries and Sir Walter Raleigh, the great Elizabethan nobleman and explorer named the Guyana area ‘El Dorado’, the City of Gold. Though no such city was ever found, Guyanese people, in their psyche, always felt that their country was on the threshold of great wealth and that Guyana was blessed with rich natural resources of every kind awaiting development.
There was indeed great amounts of gold in Guyana but it was not in a city of gold, rather, it was under the earth. In the last quarter of the 19th century, this truth became widely known and gold deposits were discovered in such areas as the Mazaruni and North West District and this resulted in a gold rush mostly from the Afro-Guyanese community of the coastal villages such as Buxton. Indo-Guyanese were not permitted to leave the Coast since they were regarded as necessary labour for the British sugar plantations and the few who joined the gold rush were those who happened to live in the villages or in Georgetown. These gold seekers were known as porknockers and among the very few well known Indo porknockers were Bullah Khublall from Albouystown and Hanuman Bheir and Bullah Vera who, from porknocking, opened an Interior shop and became a rich man. Vera’s name came to be spelt Veira (Portuguese) and he was often called a Goan. He was the first Guyanese to own a sugar plantation and was the progenitor of a well-known and distinguished family.
These porknockers were mostly simple folk who did not know the geography of the country or of the dangers of the forests and rivers and many were lost in the wilderness or drowned in the rivers and rapids. But they persevered and overcame and soon were able to master the geography of the interior. Many mined enough gold to make them rich men but unfortunately no one advised these simple folk as to how they could invest their wealth and they pathetically squandered it in a very short time.
Three to four decades ago, foreign mining companies became interested in Guyana and several established themselves here. They brought modern equipment and machines and were able to extract large quantities of gold in a fairly short time. Ironically, the areas where these companies exploited were the same as the earlier porknockers had located. Recently, one of the larger mining companies, the Canadian Guyana Goldfields Inc, sold its Aurora mines to Zijin Mining Group, a Chinese company. It was rumoured that the Chinese company would dismiss the entire Guyanese workforce and replace them with Chinese. The rumour proved to be false but it brought to the fore, the foreign companies’ treatment of local workers which was believed to be less than the Guyanese labour standards. The State and the Trade Unions must ensure that the Labour Laws are adhered to and be not infringed and the Unions must have a steady surveillance since mining workers are particularly vulnerable.
Safety is of paramount concern and workers should be protected against the effects of chemicals, which may be used in mining operations. Such requires not merely protective clothing but training in the processes using such chemicals. There have been many incidents of land caving in and burying workers. Necessary precautions should be taken against such landslides and no risks should be taken in this regard. Also first aid and medical help should be available at short notice.
There has been much talk of underground mining. This form of mining is different from surface mining and has its peculiar risks and dangers. For example, it would require oxygen supplies, lighting facilities, safe transportation down shafts, particular care to strengthen walls of shafts to ensure no landslides and so on. Guyana may be able to secure help and guidance in underground mining from friendly countries such as South Africa and Britain. No company should be permitted to embark upon underground mining except such conforms to best practices.
As mentioned above, proper medical facilities should be provided by the mining companies for their workers. Such could be done in collaboration with the State. The companies should insure their workers against death and disabilities and must be in contact with next of kin in the event of any accident the worker may suffer. Companies must have the responsibility of ensuring that their workers are registered with the National Insurance Scheme.
Mining companies worldwide have a reputation of paying little regard to the environment. The State must ensure that they do not use dangerous chemicals in their operations; they do not destroy the forest cover; they do not destroy or weaken the banks of rivers; and do not unnecessarily harm the flora and fauna in the areas in which they operate.
The State, the Trade Unions, the Environment Agency and the population at large must ensure that the Labour Laws and Customs and the Environment Laws are not infringed by the mining companies, both local and foreign.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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