An inception workshop with major-stakeholders began on Tuesday to develop a National Action Plan (NAP) for reduction of the use and emissions of mercury in the Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector
The workshop is part of a US$500,000 project, funded through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and is being implemented by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean Region (BCRC-Caribbean).
The workshop saw representation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), and the Bureau of Statistics. Representatives of the small and medium-scale mining bodies, including the National Mining Syndicate, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association, and the Guyana Women Miners Organisation were also invited.
The development of Guyana’s NAP is a requirement as the country moves to satisfy its obligations under Article 7 of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which requires parties with ASGM to take steps to reduce the use and emissions of mercury.
The key steps of the NAP include establishing a coordinating body, the execution of a national ASGM overview, the setting of goals and objectives, the development of an implementation strategy, the formulation of an evaluation strategy, the endorsement of the plan by the government, and, finally, submission of the endorsed plan. After the plan is submitted, it must be updated every three years.
The project takes a holistic approach and thus includes socio-economic, legal, and public health elements, the components of which are being developed by local consultants.
The endorsed plan is required to be submitted by December 2020, and the final project reporting is required by October 2021. The project is expected to be completed by November 2021.
Jewel Batchasingh, acting Director of BCRC Caribbean, said that the project will be executed in collaboration with other projects taking place, which include the El Dorado Project, which is aimed at eliminating mercury-based mining.
Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, giving remarks at opening of the workshop on Tuesday, noted that ASGM is projected to contribute 6.1% to Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020.
Mariscia Charles, Policy Analyst with the Natural Resources Ministry and National Supervisor of NAP Guyana, added that gold mining has accounted for 65% of total country exports in 2017, and that in 2018, gold production from ASGM accounted for 59% of total troy ounces of gold declared for that year.
Trotman further noted that ASGM operations, which he said is the main source of employment and revenue for hinterland communities and indigenous populations, accounts for direct employment in the amount of 18,000 direct jobs, and indirect employment in the amount of 30,000. Charles added that in the last quarter of 2018, the mining and quarrying sector accounted for 3.9% of all employment in Guyana.
These figures and the ASGM reality in Guyana, Trotman suggested, lead to a determination that there is a more than significant ASGM in Guyana and, therefore, there is a need to take steps to satisfy its obligations under the convention.
Charles said that notification was given of this reality in July 2016, and Guyana’s Minamata Initial Assessment was done in 2017. Malgorzata Stylo, UNEP Program-me Management Officer, explained that after Guyana indicated its preparedness to establish its NAP, an initial assessment project was done to identify and assess the main sources of mercury usage in Guyana, and it was determined that ASMG is the major driver of mercury use in the country.
Charles added that gold mining is the main driver of mercury imports in Guyana, and the primary source of anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury compounds to the environment.
She also pointed out that Guyana’s Minamata Initial Assessment revealed that mercury emissions to air and releases to water and land from gold mining activities correspond to 94% of total annual emissions and releases nationally, or 27,134 kg of mercury per year.
Effects
According to Stylo, one-third of persons involved in ASGM are women and children, who are very vulnerable to the effects of mercury emissions. Women who are pregnant are at risk because mercury pollution can affect their foetuses and cause complications, she explained.
Stylo said that despite the serious effects of mercury use, there is little awareness of these effects by the persons they are most likely to afflict.
She told the gathering that mercury can cause direct harm through inhalation of fumes when mercury is burned. She added that inhalation of these fumes over a period of time causes serious damage, while indirect damage occurs as mercury seeps into the soil and waterways, polluting fish and vegetation, and eventually persons who consume these foods.
Charles, who noted that research conducted has detected mercury in urine and hair samples of persons in indigenous and mining communities, and even in miners who reside outside of these communities, added that mercury has been proven to cause damage to the central nervous system, the thyroid, kidneys, lungs, immune system, eyes, skin, and gums. Mercury poisoning can also cause irreversible memory loss, and language impairment.
On Tuesday the workshop focused on extraction, governance, workforce, gender roles, value chain, and legal framework issues. On Wednesday, the representatives were to focus on health and safety, and socio-economic and other considerations.
On Thursday, participants were expected to take part in practical field training, which included observations of mercury suppliers, gold and jewellery shops, and government offices at the Puruni Landing. Further field training was to be conducted yesterday.
Consultation with small and medium-scale miners is also a component of the project.
Both the past government and the current administration have tried to encourage ASGM operators to reduce the use of mercury but their efforts have largely been unsuccessful. The current administration is optimistic that the current approach will be yield more favourable results.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury was adopted in October 2013, and entered into force on August 16, 2017, with one hundred and eleven (113) countries, including Guyana, as parties to date. So far, three countries have started the development of a NAP, and one, Madagascar, has submitted its plan. Mongolia and Peru have finalised their plans and are waiting on endorsement.
