Sections of the mining industry that were affected by the recent protests at Linden which impeded the movement of critical supplies to some interior mining locations for several weeks are “rolling again” according to an official of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA).
Association official Colin Sparman told Stabroek Business that the situation in the mining industry was quickly normalizing itself. Sparman explained that while the Linden protests did impact, “in some cases, significantly,” on sections of the mining community, some of the larger mining operations responded to the sealing off of the Linden access road to the interior by transporting large quantities of goods to their mining locations by barge.
Sparman explained that Linden represents the gateway to much of the interior and serves as an important supply line for mining operations located in the Potaro/Mazaruni areas. “These areas have by far the largest swathes of mining operations and during the protest many miners were forced to utilize the longer and costlier Bartica route.” Sparman explained that the decision by some of the larger miners to move supplies to the interior by barge allowed for them to loan material to others.
And according to the GGDMA official, the extent of the hardship resulting from the Linden protest was also minimized by “the mining culture in itself,” which given the remoteness of mining locations from urban centres, has given rise to the practice of stockpiling of critical supplies. Sparman added that it was doubtful that the Linden protest would have caught the miners entirely off guard.
He also said that the industry does not anticipate that such operational dislocation as might have resulted from the Linden protest would affect the overall production target set for 2012. “Actually, there are indications that production at the end of August, the month during which the protest was at a height, exceeded the previous month’s production and the industry has already exceeded 200,000 ounces. There is every expectation that the target for the year will be reached,” Sparman said.
The end of the Linden protest and the normalization of the movement of essential goods to mining locations refocuses attention on the longer-running feud between sections of the mining community and the state-run mining administration spearheaded by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). Following the announcement of the resignation of Major General (rtd) Joe Singh as Chairman of the Commission, government announced that Singh had been replaced by Citizens Bank General Manager Eaton Chester.
Earlier this week, Sparman told Stabroek Business that miners and the GGDMA were determined to work with the administration for the good of the industry. He disclosed that the Association was currently studying a proposal from government which included initiatives designed to enhance the capacity of small mining operations.
