GGMC shuts down mining at Kaieteur National Park

Nov 07, 2023 News

…offers alternative blocks to Chenapau residents

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has ceased all mining at Chenapau within the Kaieteur National Park (KNP) in Region Eight.

This was confirmed by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat who told this publication on Monday that the miners’ equipment is being relocated from the area. “Mining has stopped,” he said, adding that 80% of the equipment has been removed by the authorities thus far.

Bharrat noted as a reminder that mining in a protected area, such as Kaieteur National Park, is illegal. However, he noted that in the situation at Chenapau, the GGMC will be offering alternative mining blocks to the miners. This publication reported two weeks ago that the miners from the village of Chenapau had clashed with armed police ranks who ventured into the area along with GGMC officers to stop the villagers from mining at an area which the residents said was within a buffer zone.

Toshao of Chenapau, Standford John told Kaieteur News two weeks ago that the villagers were granted permission by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Natural Resources to mine within the buffer zone which he noted is approximately one kilometer from the boundary line of the village.

The GGMC subsequently noted in press release that according to law, no mining is allowed by anyone within protected areas, including the KNP. “The laws and regulations are applied evenly to everyone and mining activities remain prohibited within the KNP as it has severe implications on the environment.”

Miners of Chenapau and GGMC officers during at standoff at the Kaieteur National Park last week.

The miners staged several protests at the mining site even as GGMC officials and the police ordered them out of the area within the past week. The residents displayed documents which they noted were processed by the GGMC and which gave them the right to mine in the area. “I spent thousands of dollars to process these papers at the same GGMC which is not telling me to remove from this area,” one resident said in a video recorded at the area in question last week.

In May 2017, the police arrested and charged 20 people from Chenapau for illegally mining within the KNP. “It has been decided that as an act of good faith, Government will not prosecute the charges against the more than 20 persons arrested on Sunday May 28, 2017, for mining within the iconic Kaieteur National Park,” the Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement at the time. The charges were dropped after the ministry met with the GGMC and several other government agencies. At the time, the National Toshaos Council (NTC) had criticized the arrests, noting that the park’s boundaries were extended in 1999 without the consultation of residents of the area.

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Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Kaieteur National Park, Mining has stopped, Minister of Natural Resources, National Toshaos’ Council (NTC), Vickram Bharrat

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