Benn was meeting miners as the expanded Land Use Committee set up to look into issues that affect the industry and make new rules, held an outreach in the Region One community. “No matter how long it takes you would not be stopped from mining, the protocol and discussions say that the paper work should go and come in five days, by the time you sign the paper and GGMC notifies forestry, as long as you have an identified area that you can mine anyway, once you on that area, it doesn’t stop you from mining”, the Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted Benn as saying.
Benn, who is chairman of the Land Use Committee highlighted that the Commit-tee’s life has been lengthened and its mandate extended to include issues such as reclamation, exploration, support for mining and access to land, GINA reported. Guyana Geology and Mines Commis-sion (GGMC) and Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) officials were also present at the meeting.
Benn restated government’s position that mining will not stop. “He noted that the imperatives that government was faced with in relation to mining in the interior was sustainable mining and notification of where mining activities will be conducted and equipment that will be utilized”, GINA said. Benn said that sustainable mining is important to the environment and emphasised that it will enable future generations to access much needed resources for their existence. The minister asserted that due to climate change and the negative effects it has on the world including droughts and floods, the Amazonian forest is extremely important.
“We have signed onto international compacts and even if we didn’t sign on we have a responsibility to ensure that there is sustainable livelihood, not only here in Guyana but overseas”, he was quoted as saying. Guyana’s carbon footprint is very low and if the forest keeps standing the country will gain monetary resources “for the oxygen that is produced”, Benn said. Therefore, careful consideration should be taken with respect to mining and removal of trees, he added. “All that was being done was to put a framework in place to allow sustainable actions in relation to forestry and mining in the forest so that we know what we are doing, we know that we are doing it sustainably and we minimize the impacts”, said Benn.
In an effort to continue mining and forestry, it was noted that once they overlap, the GFC should be notified through GGMC of what area of land is being impacted, level of the destruction and recovery, GINA reported. It said miners using heavy machinery like excavators and bulldozers will be required to fill out a form through the GGMC, who will forward it to the GFC, indicating where mining will be conducted and the likely impact of the operations.
The minister said miners will have access to seven acres of land for continuous mining operations. “The seven acre area is to allow you sufficient time to mine and it allows a forester who had a surface right area to come and access (it) whether or not he needs to remove any trees on the place”, Benn was quoted as saying. Foresters have six months to indicate whether they are interested in the trees.
Meantime, GINA reported that another challenge facing the small and medium-scale mining in the country is that there have been efforts internationally to reduce the use of mercury in mining. Some countries which produce mercury have said they will stop production and sale of it within a few years. It was pointed out that the GGMC is trying to develop new ways to mine gold without mercury, GINA reported.
During the discussion, the topic of Brazilians mining in Guyana was raised and Benn said they have contributed tremendously to technological advances in the industry. He said mining areas including Mahdia benefited from the partnership between Guyanese and Brazilians.
Miners were told that GGMC commissioner, William Woolford will be visiting Port Kaituma to identify a suitable location to establish an office of the Guyana Gold Board. This was received with much anticipation from the miners who are also requesting that a bank branch be opened in the area owing to the large sums of money that the mining sector earns, GINA said. The statement added that some of the Region One miners said it has now become clear why government is determined to have mining done in a systematic and sustainable manner.
The Special Land Use Committee has now held meetings in Bartica and Port Kaituma and plans to move to Mahdia this week. Executive Secretary of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Asso-ciation (GGDMA) Edward Shields told this newspaper that new regulations have been proposed and the miners are studying these to give their views on it at the next meeting.
He said a point of contention is the Guyana Forestry Commission having “jurisdiction” over miners. “We don’t want any other agency except the GGMC [Guyana Geology and Mines Commission] to have jurisdiction over us,” said Shields.
Another member of the committee said he is satisfied at the reception by the government and they now seem to be addressing the issues. Progress is being made, he said, adding that while it is not overwhelming, he is satisfied that the issues are being addressed.
Earlier this year, miners across the country were up in arms about a government proposal that they would have to give six months’ notice of their intention to mine. President Bharrat Jagdeo had set up the Special Land Use Committee to look into the issues of concern to the miners. However, miners felt their concerns were not being taken seriously and protests and rallies were held in the mining-dependent communities of Bartica, Mahdia and Port Kaituma.
At a meeting in February at the International Conven-tion Centre, the miners were told that while they will still have to give notice of their intention to mine, they will be given an initial three hectares where they can begin operations before permission is granted for them to work.
