One of the priorities of the incoming Board of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) will be to oversee a programme to certify miners in the areas of maintenance and construction of mining pits.
This is according to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) which said that Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman explained yesterday that “this move aims to improve the safety of those who earn a living through mining activities.”
Speaking at the opening of a two-day session on Global Small-Scale Gold Mining as part of supporting technical training in Guyana’s extractive industries, Trotman said that the “loss of lives … in the mining sector is of major concern to the Coalition Government.”
Referencing the mine collapse which claimed the lives of 11 miners at Mowasie Creek, Mahdia sub-region shortly after the Coalition Government took office last year, Trotman said that the aim is to have the GGMC develop a mandatory training programme for those already involved, and for those entering the mining sector.
All persons, the release notes will also be certified in first aid, and as first responders before they are allowed to mine.
“In nine out of 10 places where these mining pits collapse or accidents occur, there is not any ambulance or medical facility nearby, and so just the recovery of these persons could be the difference between life and death” the Minister noted, according to GINA.
The release said that the main aim of the Ministry is to make it mandatory for these persons to be certified in the maintenance and construction of mining pits but first aid training is to ensure that “in case of an accident they are trained in the recovery of the bodies or the person and stabilizing and transporting them to either a Health Hut or Regional Hospital.
Noting that too often miners borrow from banks or institutions such as the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) and are unable to repay their debts, Trotman promised that mining operators will also be given training in the area of financial management.
“They will take an excavator and after four or five payments, they are unable to continue payments. While some of the difficulties were as a result of the downturn in mineral prices, many are as a result of poor financial management. Basic accounting, how to plan, how to put aside for depreciation, how to ensure what bills are paid first and so forth will be taught,” he explained
The certification programme is expected to be supervised by a compliance unit which is being set up to ensure miners are certified.
The unit will operate in conjunction with the Inspectorate Division and assist all the agencies within the Ministry, the release said.
“These include the Protected Areas, the Wildlife Division, and Forestry. This will be a ministerial function and they will go to check all areas”, he said.
