The South Rupununi District Council has rejected the draft Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for a proposed Romanex Guyana Exploration Limited gold mine at Marudi Mountain, South Rupununi, citing “grave defects,” including a lack of consultation, and it has called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny the company an environmental permit.
“We are very disappointed by the lack of respect for our rights throughout this process. Without proper consultation and without our participation, this is just another example of the failure to respect indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent and our right to our traditional lands,” SRDC chairman Nicholas Fredericks is quoted as saying in a SRDC press release.