Fed-up of waiting for official word from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) regarding halted gold mining operations in Campbelltown, Region Eight, the Village Council has written to the body and informed that all mining activities will be restarted with or without official approval.
The decision to restart mining operations was made by residents and the Village Council at a meeting last Wednesday.
Mining operations in the community were halted on October 20, 2020 by the GGMC after an inspection revealed that mining operations there were unsafe. This resulted in some residents petitioning for the removal of the Toshao and other members of the Village Council, while accusing them of only allowing family members and foreigners to mine in the area.
Toshao (Ag) Samantha Edwards-John told Stabroek News that although the investigation into the village council was completed and the verdict delivered, the village has yet to get an official word from the GGMC regarding the restarting of mining activities in Campbelltown.
She noted that the village council submitted a safety plan in November last year and although the commissioner approved the plan some time ago, they were still restricted from restarting mining activities.
Edwards-John noted that when they were given a copy of the investigation report, she sent a copy to the GGMC Commissioner more than 15 days ago but he denied receiving anything.
However, since he had already approved the safety plan, she said, residents and the council have decided that they will restart mining operations.
Even before that decision was made, she said, persons had already restarted mining activities without the permission of the council. She added that they took the initiative to implement the plan and were adhering to it.
The acting-Toshao noted that having made the decision, the council stopped the activities that had restarted in order to have an excavator clear the land before mining operations can restart in full swing.
“Thursday I went in the mining area and asked them to stop mining so that the land can be prepared so no one is working right now because we decided that we will go through without word form GGMC and we are not waiting anymore. We submitted a letter to them informing them that we will be going ahead with the plan,” she said before adding that residents depend heavily on gold mining activities as a source of income and it has been almost three months since they were not working.
