(De Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – The so-called ‘shaking table’ is cheaper, yields more and is environmentally friendly. With the upcoming amendment to the Mining Law to eliminate the use of mercury in gold mining, other methods of extracting this precious metal must be found. Sarafina N.V. has made a start with the purchase of a shaking table. Trucks dump earth slowly on an incline that moves these contents down. At the bottom of the incline, the earth is then moved with high-pressure hoses through gullies. The mud then reaches the shaking tables, which use their shaking movements to separate the gold. According to Julien Lansdorf of LaWa Star Industrial, this method not only eliminates the use of mercury, but it also yields more. “Instead of the usual 45%, you obtain 95% of the extractable gold”, he says. In cooperation with Sarafina, LaWa Star and the US company Global Mining Solutions, the equipment has arrived at the concession in P’kin Saramacca. Claudetta Toney, chief executive officer of Sarafina, explains why her company has purchased the gold mining equipment. “It is very simple. The government wants this sector to work without mercury in 2012. I want to obey the law. I love getting things done and that explains the decision to purchase this equipment.”
