Small miners in Omai, Region 8 are being threatened with eviction in order to facilitate a large foreign mining company with which the government intends to sign an agreement. This would cause great hardship to a large number of persons, and the government instead should seek to regularize the miners’ operations, former PNCR parliamentarian Aubrey Norton said recently.
Many small miners have been working in the area and have contended they had permission to do so, especially at Quartz Hill, but the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has carried out raids citing the presence of illegal miners in the mined out areas at Omai.
Norton noted in a letter published in this newspaper on December 19 that the small miners recognise that there is still a lot of gold at Omai where the former company of the same name once held a concession, and as such they had commenced mining there. He said that now they were threatened with eviction by the government although “Brazilian miners and others who can afford to bribe the authorities are allowed to benefit from mining.“
He wrote that there were over 1,500 persons involved in mining in the area and this translated into support for approximately 6.000 persons, using the last census estimate of four persons per household. This was a significant number he said, and adding that figure “to the already high unemployment rate in Linden in particular, and Region 10 in general will be devastating and do irreparable damage to the people of Region 10.“
He went on to say that government should work with the small miners to regularize their operations, and while foreign investment must be welcomed and promoted, it should not be done “at the expense of our people.“
As with other areas, he acknowledged, there are environmental concerns but he called on the government to work with the small miners to address those concerns. He also mentioned that the security of the miners should be addressed, and that “there is concern that the police are being used as enforcers for corrupt officials and rich miners, rather than maintaining law and order.“
Recently, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Robert Persaud told the miners at the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) final meeting for the year that the small miners and their concerns would be addressed as a priority issue, since the industry had ballooned in recent years because of their presence. He warned, however, that illegal mining would not be tolerated.
The GGMC has carried out raids in the area on several occasions and last August equipment including dredges was seized during a raid. Former GGMC Commissioner WilliamWoolford noted at the time that the campaign at the Omai area, which also encompasses Quartz Hill and its environs, was part of an ongoing countrywide campaign. Illegal miners, shopkeepers and others were netted by the GGMC officials in the Omai region.
