Head of the World Wildlife Fund secretariat in Guyana (WWF) Dr Patrick Williams has said that the international environmental body is prepared to support a visit to Jamaica by local gold mining officials to examine the laws, codes and practices there associated with the restoration of mined areas.
The WWF offer came following the presentation to the opening of this week’s Guianas gold mining sector workshop by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds in which he alluded to possible lessons that the local gold mining sector could learn from Jamaica’s approach to backfilling mined-out bauxite areas.
In his address the Prime Minister said that earlier this year during a visit to bauxite mining areas in Jamaica he had observed that the typical bauxite pit in that country is about the same size as a number of small and medium-sized gold operations in Guyana.“We can learn from the Jamaican experience as we seek to require that mined-out areas be restored,” the Prime Minister said.
Critics of environmentally unsound mining practices in Guyana have pointed to what they say is the prevalence of the practice of miners neglecting to backfill holes dug during mining operations, a practice that persists despite existing laws requiring that mined-out pits be refilled.
Stabroek Business has learnt that the practice of leaving mined-out pits uncovered has grown more prevalent in recent years and that the increase in the prevalence of open holes is due in part to the economic costs associated with backfilling which some small scale miners cannot afford.
In an address that alluded to some official concerns over unsustainable and environmentally harmful mining practices the Prime Minister also said that the authorities have “issues” with the turbidity in rivers and creeks in mining areas.
And according to the Prime Minister the authorities have for many years urged the proper use of mercury in the mining sector. “I think we still have some way to go in ensuring that every miner using mercury does so in a safe way,” the Prime Minister added.
The WWF has been providing the local mining sector with support for improvement of mining practices in Guyana
