Illegal mining has been a major problem in the interior for many decades as a consequence of the high price of gold on the international market coupled with a negligent approach on the part of the authorities to the enforcement of the regulations. At certain points mining has also provided an option for the coastland unemployed, such as former bauxite workers, and some of these no doubt engaged in illegal operations when they could not secure concessions.
When previously in office the PPP/C government was particularly remiss, and did not invest in the necessary resources to ensure compliance with the mining law and regulations. The previous administration was not much better, and the temptation is to assume that in the days when gold constituted our highest foreign exchange earner, governments lacked the incentive to take a more robust approach to illegal operations.
With the prospect of the revenue from oil substantially overtaking that of every other commodity we produce, there are tentative signals that the current government might be starting to take its responsibilities in the mining sector a little more seriously. In September a release from the Ministry of Natural Resources said that Minister Vickram Bharrat had mandated the GGMC to boost monitoring and compliance in consonance with the Mining Act and Regulations. It went on to say that it was to this end that the Commission’s Mines Services Division had resuscitated its Prosecutorial Unit, the dormancy of which had resulted in a cavalier approach to compliance on the part of miners.
The Minister was reported as giving the assurance that the Unit was fully supported by the field staff who had responsibility for compliance checks, and whose findings were critical to the instituting of charges. It was also stated that Mr Bharrat had directed the GGMC to aggressively pursue illegal mining, and well as those operations which were not in line with safety and environmental standards.
Where mining is concerned especially, citizens are only too well aware that assurances are one thing and reality quite another. In this particular instance, however, the release followed the fining of a Brazilian dredge owner for destroying part of the bank of the Cuyuni River, and the first custodial penalty for engaging in illegal mining. He had mined approximately 250 cubic metres of the buffer area along the river bank, it was reported.
The custodial penalty should give the mining community pause for thought, although the fine will probably not unnerve them unduly. While to the ears of the average person it sounds like a hefty sum, $12 million for a miner is the equivalent of 30 ounces of gold at current market prices.
It is the high price of gold on the world market which has caused illegal miners to target even protected areas such as Iwokrama and the New River Triangle this year, both of which have been the location for such operations before. While these attempts were interrupted, they are unlikely to be the last we will see. The most recent case of illegal mining which has come to public notice, however, has involved the titled lands of the village of Micobie in Region Eight.
Here dredge operators had been served with an order by the GGMC and told to remove all mining equipment from Micobie and the lower Potaro River by last Monday. This was after land rights’ and environmental complaints had been relayed by the Village Council. Stabroek News was told by Micobie’s Deputy Toshao Vanessa Domingo that the General Manager had refused to sign the removal order, saying that this would have to be done by the owner. It was not a good sign.
The excavators were indeed moved from Micobie’s land but were taken no further than the opposite river bank. As for the hydraulic dredges, they were parked in the river close to the community, and while they were not in operation, they were under the care of a watchman.
Toshao Cleveland Henry’s not unreasonable view was that it might not be long before miners recommenced working in the area, while his Deputy pointed to the failure on the part of operators to make any attempt to refill the land, which the GGMC had required them to do.
She said there had been major erosion on the right bank of the Potaro River.
If the GGMC is to be taken seriously in the mining industry, the Minister must ensure that its orders are implemented, as in this case, and if not, that penalties are applied. Furthermore, the Commission will require a sufficiently large number of field officers if it is to effectively monitor all the mining districts, many of which are not that accessible. There is no point in issuing cease orders and removals to only a small sample of miners in breach of the law because there are insufficient officers to cover the whole of the interior. A few examples of the law taking its course will hardly function as a deterrent, whatever propaganda purposes it might serve.
If any impact is to be made on illegal mining, implementation of the regulations will have to be rigorous, consistent and comprehensive. The question is, does the government have the intent, the stamina and the fortitude to stand up to powerful gold-mining interests, from some of whom it may even receive party funding, and deal with illegal mining systematically? Apart from any other consideration, if it wants to cultivate an environmentally sensitive image, then mining has to be controlled. It cannot pursue two incompatible ends at the same time.
