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Brazilians arrested for illegally mining in Rupununi
…helicopter, equipment seized, camps destroyed
Kaieteur News – Members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on Sunday arrested two Brazilian men and a helicopter pilot after they were found illegally mining for gold in the New River Area of Rupununi, Region Nine.
The Helicopter seized by GDF
The Brazilians had a well organised operation ongoing with a helicopter to transport materials and supplies from Brazil to their mining camps. They were also equipped with small engines and a stone crusher.
The tunnel erected by the Brazilians to extract gold.
Based on photos taken by GDF of their mining set-up it appears as if the men were conducting underground mining operations via the tunnel method better known in Latin American countries as “Veta mining”. This form of mining is done by drilling a cylindrical tunnel vertically towards the material that contains the gold. Once they find gold they would then start connecting horizontal tunnels to follow the gold material commonly known as gravel.
To prevent the walls from caving in on workers, miners would cut down trees for boards to reinforce them as they go deeper. A pulley system would also be installed to take miners down into the tunnels and to bring gold material that would then be placed into a stone crusher and washed to extract gold. GDF spent some four days to destroy the camp.
Illegal mining camps destroyed
The camps were dismantled and set on fire while the tunnels were flooded and destroyed. The army took possession of the helicopter and confiscated some expensive mining equipment. Investigations are ongoing.
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