An updated Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) will likely have to be submitted to the Environment Protection Agency before any mining activity restarts at the Marudi Mountains in the Rupununi, says Kemraj Parsram, the agency’s Executive Director.
Gold mining activities in the Marudi Mountains have been the subject of controversy for decades. Last year, following a visit to the Marudi Mountain, Stabroek News reported on the damage to the Mazoa Mountain from mining and the pollution and changes to waterways caused by illegal and unregulated mining activities.
However, according to Michael Thomas, the Toshao of Aishalton, no mining activities are ongoing at Marudi presently.
While Golden Shield Resources, the new owner of the ‘Marudi concession,’ is currently conducting prospecting activities, there are no small miners in the area as was allowed in an agreement made last year with Canadian company Aurous and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Thomas has said.
“We will have to have an EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment] done,” Parsram said. He explained that while an ESIA was done under Romanex, times have changed and new factors to consider would be the small-scale miners who were working on the concession and the impact their activities would’ve had on the land. This means that the new company would have to provide a new or updated ESIA before a mining licence is issued.
However, he says, the decision to require an updated ESIA would be determined when the application for a mining licence is submitted.
Golden Shield has said that it is hoping to initially confirm a resource of at least one million ounces of gold before it pursues a mining licence for Marudi. An update on this would be made before the end of the year. To ensure the peace is kept at Marudi, Vickram Bharrat, the Minister of Natural Resources, told Thomas at the National Toshaos Conference yesterday that five temporary mining officers from Region Nine including one each from Aishalton and Karaudarnau will be trained and stationed at Marudi.
He promised that more consultation will be held in relation to the issue of small scale mining at Marudi.
Thomas said villages in the South Rupununi are willing to work with the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs (MoAA) and the Ministry of Natural Resources to find a solution that will ensure that mining activities in Marudi are safe and sustainable.
He noted, however, considering that Aishalton has submitted an application for land extension, which includes the Marudi area, that no mining blocks are issued until the new boundaries are established.
According to a presentation by MoAA, Aishalton is slated to receive its Absolute Grant and Demarcation for the extension in 2023.
