Manganese workers will be in danger of serious neurological illnesses

Manganese workers will be in danger of serious neurological illnesses – company’s EIA Report

Jul 18, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Manganese—it is one of the world’s most crucial elements, particularly in the manufacturing industry. It is used in making batteries, alloys, pigments, fertilizer, bricks, glass, and even textiles. But when it comes to making steel, manganese is an irreplaceable building block hence it is vital to the world’s leading producers of steels, namely in the USA and China.

Guyana Manganese Incorporated (GMI) office and base operations.

But what is hardly given the same attention or regard are the detrimental effects the extraction and production of this resource can have on the health of workers. At least, this much was highlighted in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Guyana Manganese Incorporated (GMI), a company that was created in 2016 as a subsidiary of the Bosai Minerals Group of the People’s Republic of China.
GMI recently submitted an EIA to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for permission to invest in the resuscitation of manganese mining and processing in Matthew’s Ridge following which it will export its production from Port Kaituma to Trinidad and Tobago. The EIA, which is 734 pages, notes that the investment will focus on the historic, previously mined sites located in Matthew’s Ridge.
With respect to the effects on health, GMI acknowledged that workers would be exposed to high concentrations of manganese. It noted however that if this occurs over a “prolonged period”, workers would be “at risk of serious neurological illnesses.” While it did not expound on the illnesses, Kaieteur News via independent research found that inhaled manganese is often transported directly to the brain before it is metabolized by the liver.

A map of GMI’s projects in the area.

The symptoms of manganese toxicity may appear slowly over months and years. Furthermore, manganese toxicity can result in a permanent neurological disorder known as manganism with symptoms that include tremors, difficulty walking, and facial muscle spasms. These symptoms are often preceded by other lesser symptoms, including irritability, aggressiveness, and hallucinations. Some studies suggest that manganese inhalation can also result in adverse cognitive effects, including difficulty with concentration and memory problems.
This news agency also found that acute or intermediate exposure to excess manganese also affects the respiratory system.
In fact, inhalation exposure to high concentrations of manganese dusts (specifically manganese dioxide [MnO2] and manganese tetroxide [Mn3O4]) can cause an inflammatory response in the lung, which, over time, can result in impaired lung function. (See link for more details: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp151-c2.pdf)
As a measure of mitigation, GIM in its report noted that, “occupational exposure to inhaled manganese dust or particles can be managed if appropriate Personal Protective equipment (PPEs) is used by vulnerable workers.”
If appropriate PPE is utilised, GMI said, “this potential impact will be of moderate significance and likely to occur during the project lifetime. As a result, occupational exposure to manganese dust is Medium Risks of the project.”

ROLE OF MANGANESE MINING
According to GMI’s report, manganese mining has historically played a crucial role in the development of Guyana’s North West District in Region One. In fact, manganese occurrences were first observed in Matthew’s Ridge, Arakaka and Pipiani in 1937 and by 1957, Manganese Mines Management Limited commenced establishing the facilities and infrastructure required to mine and export manganese ore. Mines facilities included mine buildings, processing plant at Matthew’s Ridge and some relics of which remain standing at present.
GMI noted that the company also transformed public transportation infrastructure by construction of a 48-kilometre (30-mile) railway with adjacent roadway for the transport of ore from Matthew’s Ridge to Port Kaituma; built a Bailey bridge over the Barima River at Eclipse Falls and dredged the Kaituma Canal, the Mora Passage and sections of the Barima River. Ancillary shipping infrastructure was also established at Port Kaituma.
Kaieteur News understands from the report that mining commenced in 1961, however, by 1968, a precipitous fall in the price of manganese caused operations to cease. Over the eight-year operational period, a total of 1.7 million tonnes of manganese ore was exported. Operations never resumed although multiple attempts were made by several different investors in the 1980s as well as in 2008 and 2011. GMI is hoping to resuscitate the operations and begin shipment to Trinidad and Tobago as soon as possible. It is already in the construction phase of its plans.

GMI’S HISTORY
Kaieteur News understands that GMI was registered in Guyana on November 17, 2016. Chongqing BMG of Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China, is the controlling shareholder. Starting from small industrial minerals undertakings in Nanchuan, China, BMG was established in July 2003, and has grown into a large-scale manufacturing enterprise with total assets worth over US$1.58 billion and annual sales of up to US$3.16 billion.
BMG has over 7,000 employees of which over 1,200 are non-Chinese. BMG has more than ten manufacturing enterprises in China located mainly in Sichuan and Chongqing. Internationally, it owns the Ghana Bauxite Company, and Bosai Europe GMBH manufacturing in Germany. In Guyana, it owns Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Inc. and GMI.
BMG anticipates that with its Guyana manganese acquisition, it will be able to produce 500,000 tonnes of additional concentrates annually.
GMI has said that it plans to invest US$75 million into the project to restart manganese mining in Guyana after an absence of 50 years. It said mining will resume after rehabilitation with the aim of producing 2.0 million tonnes annually of manganese ore for processing to turn out 500,000 tonnes of concentrates for intermediate shipment to Brighton Port, Trinidad.
In order to realise this project, the company said some 400 workers will be required over a one year construction period. Project operation is intended to employ over 400 workers, of which 340 (85%) would be Guyanese with the others being technical trainers and process specialists from China. At the Port Kaituma wharf facility, some 200 workers will be required over a 7-month construction period while project operation is intended to employ some 30 workers, of which 27 (90%) would be Guyanese with the others being administrators and specialist technicians from China.
GMI was keen to note that the extraction rates planned when related to current reserves yield a mine and project life of 13 years.