Faced with new rules that would tighten up operations in the industry just several months ago, miners have won increased breathing room after robustly opposing some of the proposals even as strong gold prices continue to bolster their dominant position in the Guyanese economy.
One of the most contentious proposals, which required miners to give six months notice to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) before they could commence mining, has been largely watered down. Now, before beginning new operations, miners fill in a form which requires several pieces of information— including GPS coordinates of the proposed operation—and submit it to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). The miners can then start work immediately. In the original proposal, the GFC would have had to approve the operation and the miner would have had to give the forestry concession holder up to six months to extract logs.
Now, the GGMC submits the information to the GFC which informs forestry concession holders of the mining operation. If the area is accessible, the forestry operator can extract the logs. “You don’t have to wait now,” said Colin Sparman, the administrative coordinator of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA). “Now when you apply to work on a particular area, you notify the GGMC and the GGMC would notify Forestry [GFC] but it would not impede you from working.” Sparman said that in many cases, the forestry operator does not have access to the mining site because there are no roads. “It’s a sort of compromise where the logging company can check out and see if he can extract the logs…” he said.
Back in 2010, after inking a US$250 million agreement with Norway in November 2009 that would see Guyana being paid the sum over five years to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, the government floated new proposals which meant miners would have to comply with stricter environmental standards. This was met with an immediate outcry from miners who objected to some of the proposals.
The then president, Bharrat Jagdeo, had set up the Special Land Use Committee (SLUC) to look into mining issues after miners raised concerns that the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) would affect their operations and livelihoods.
The SLUC was set up after widespread protests by miners over the notice that had to be given before mining could start.
In recent GGDMA meetings, the organisation’s president, Patrick Harding, has slammed the work of the committee and said that none of the miners’ proposals were taken on board. Sparman told Stabroek News that since the November elections, the SLUC has not been in existence. “It is more or less in abeyance,” he said. “We didn’t get anywhere.” He pointed out that the recommendations put forward by miners were not “really accepted”.
With the establishment of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, Sparman said, the work that was done by the SLUC is now being done by various other bodies. Over the past months, the ministry has been working on proposals to lift the industry to a higher standard. Miners have continued to object to some of the proposals and have gained breathing room after the authorities have backed down. Sparman said some of the new proposals were what prompted the miners to approve a no-confidence motion in Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud.
There have been other proposals which miners objected to and subsequently were not implemented. In 2010, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds announced that government was moving to limit the number of mining properties a miner can hold. The GGDMA subsequently labelled this move as “disastrous” and said that it will gradually destroy the industry. Sparman said yesterday that this has not been implemented.
More recently, Sparman said, the ministry proposed new rules which miners were informed were to be taken to the National Assembly for approval. The GGMDA official said that the body expressed concern and the minister subsequently said he was going to put the rules “on hold”. The proposed rules were not taken to the National Assembly which has gone into recess until October.
Meantime, earlier this month, following a meeting with President Donald Ramotar, miners won assurances that there would be no bans on river mining or on the use of mercury. Miners had ratcheted up the pressure on the government over these issues by declaring a vote of no-confidence in Persaud and had vowed to step up action.
Their aggressive stance had followed a June announcement by the GGMC that effective June 1, 2012 no application for river claims would be processed. Following an outcry by miners, the government later said that the prohibition of river claims was to last only one month to allow a review in the light of reports of irresponsible mining. The review has not been done.
The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has since said that the concession by the government that there would be no ban on mercury and river dredging has shown how ineffective the environmental community is on pursuing issues of national interest. Director of the local office of Conservation International, Dr David Singh, in an interview with Stabroek News had also lamented the lifting of the moratorium on river mining before a full discussion of the issues. He had said that a moratorium would have allowed the stakeholders to study and understand the industry in greater detail and how the issues can be dealt with.
Over the years, miners have been warned by various officials that they would have to find alternatives to mercury for purifying gold as bans on the export of the chemical by the European Union and the United States come into effect.
In addition, recently the government invited stakeholders to comment on concessions for small miners that would include tax breaks and the releasing of blocks of land for mining.
Sparman acknowledged that the industry has won a number of concessions from the government. “We’re a powerful industry. We’re carrying the country,” he said.
