The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) yesterday came out strongly against any lottery of mining parcels for prospectors who had been caught operating illegally at Marudi.
Management consultant at the GGDMA Tony Shields told Stabroek News that the association was of the view that the illegal miners should not be able to benefit from any lottery. He said the association’s position is that those found mining illegally should be charged and they should not even be permitted to participate in any lottery of mining parcels.
The statement by the GGDMA comes in the backdrop of what appears to be divergent approaches to the question of the illegal Marudi miners by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
In late February, the GGMC swooped on the Marudi area and found dredges operating illegally in an area that had been assigned to the company, Romanex. After issuing the relevant notices to the miners, the GGMC began preparing to bring charges against the operators.
However, days later, the Ministry of Natural Resources began meeting with some of the same illegal miners under the rubric of the Rupununi Miners Association during which there were discussions about a lottery of mining parcels for these miners.
The Special Mining Lottery was to be held on March 30, 2013 in Lethem and was to be divided into two parts, one consisting of 25 parcels for 25 dredge owners who worked the Romanex concession and another 25 for other persons from the Rupunnuni district.
Critics had expressed dismay at this, arguing that the ministry would in effect have been rewarding the miners for operating illegally.
Sources say that pressure on the ministry eventually led to the scuppering of the lottery on March 30. A GGMC official who preferred to remain unnamed was adamant on Sunday that those miners who had been operating illegally would face charges.
There are still a number of other unresolved issues surrounding the Marudi miners. The GGMC had said that not a gramme of gold from the illegal miners had been sold to the Guyana Gold Board but receipts were produced by the miners to show that they had legally sold gold.to the Gold Board. This matter is supposed to be under investigation. Sources point out that any purchasing of the gold by the board confers a measure of legitimacy on the operations of the Marudi miners.
In early March, a policeman on the Marudi trail accompanying a GGMC unit had beaten a woman and a child who were blocking their passage. A video of the beating was posted on YouTube and evoked outrage from various civil society groups. No charges have yet been brought against the policeman.
The illegal mining at Marudi also raised questions about the length of time companies like Romanex were holding down concessions without producing gold. A statement from the GGMC had said that the Marudi Mountain Mining Licence was granted to Romanex Guyana Exploration Ltd. on the 17th April, 2009 after being held as a Prospecting Licence (large scale) from 1990 to 2009 by the said company.
“The site visit revealed no mining or exploration on behalf of the company was ongoing, while the Company had earlier committed to carrying out exploration activities within the early part of 2013, however, it is evident that no work is expected to commence on the property in the near future as no mining plan has been submitted”, the statement said. The company’s licence is now under review based on a directive from the Ministry to the GGMC.
