The recent operation carried out at Quartz Stone in Region Seven by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Geo-logy and Mines Commission (GGMC) was an enforcement activity intended to clear the area of illegal miners, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman says.
Additionally, GGMC Commissioner Newell Dennison has denied allegations that personal property of persons at the site was burnt, while saying that following the dismantling of some structures, the area was “sanitised of litter.”
“I was unaware of the enforcement operation yesterday until persons contacted me. In the normal course of operations, the GPF and GGMC are forced to clear areas of illegal mining and illegal activity. Yesterday’s operation was one such activity and in fact a wanted man is believed captured,” Trotman told Stabroek News yesterday when contacted.