Representatives of miners operating at Marudi in the Rupununi have agreed to halt hard rock excavations and only process ore they have stockpiled following a mediation exercise in Lethem over the weekend.
The miners have been mining illegally for years in the area which is controlled by Canadian mining company Romanex. Romanex has a Mining Licence for the area but its attempts to move to mining on a larger scale has not materialised though it is making fresh efforts to do so. Conflicts have arisen between Romanex, the miners, and several indigenous communities in the South Rupununi regarding the mining operations.
Following two days of talks at the Amerindian Hostel in Lethem on Saturday and yesterday, the various stakeholders including the Rupununi Miners Association, the Guyana Women Miners Organization, small miners from the Marudi mountain area, representatives from Romanex Mining Company, and leaders from the