Illegal mining severely polluting E'bo, Omai Rivers - Govt. engineers flown in to assess damage

Illegal mining severely polluting E'bo,
Omai Rivers - Govt. engineers flown in to
assess damage
Kaieteur News, 8 January 2008


Several government engineers have been dispatched to the Omai area to
investigate reports of widespread pollution of the Omai and Essequibo
Rivers by illegal miners.

Four employees of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) were
flown to the area yesterday.

Hundreds of miners, operating illegally in Quartz Hill and along the
Omai River, are causing headaches for government, with one man being
shot last week during clashes with security personnel of the Omai
Mining Company.

One mining official yesterday confirmed that efforts are being made to
remove the many illegal shops which have been springing up in the
Quartz Hill area. These shops will be removed to the approved
commercial area at Kumaka Landing. The illegal shops are said to be
contributing greatly to the gun incidents and prostitution in the area,
Kaieteur News was told.

Omai Mining Company officials also confirmed last week that four
individuals out of a raiding party of nine have been arrested after
person(s) destroyed a surveillance camera and broke into the company's
refinery.

Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn last week confirmed the incident
and hinted at strict measures to regularize, within two weeks, both the
Omai situation and another set of incidents at Mahdia, where equipment
were seized in mid-December.

According to reports reaching Kaieteur News, on December 30, at around
02:30 hrs, nine men entered an Omai concession, where they removed a
key surveillance camera from the Mill and broke two padlocks from the
refinery door.

Security officials, after realizing that the camera was not working,
went to the refinery, where they discovered the door open.

The security officials reportedly ordered the intruders out of the
refinery, and four men complied. However, one man, whose name was given
as Garfield Wintz, aged 37, of Graham Street, Plaisance, remained
inside and, according to reports, refused to heed instructions to leave
the building.

Wintz was reportedly shot in the shoulder after he allegedly pushed a
security guard to the floor and made attempts to pick something up from
the floor.

Four men reportedly escaped.

The shooting came in the midst of the raiding of the Omai concession by
illegal miners, who have recently been allocated land in the Quartz
Hill area, across the Omai River, several months ago. While waiting on
official permission to start mining in Quartz Hill, several miners
descended on the area and started operations.

The situation became even more lawless when the miners crossed the
river and went into the Omai concession and dug huge craters and caused
other environmental damage.

Some 150 persons have already been arrested, and according to Omai
officials, some of them were caught two or more times on the
concession. Despite being handed over to the police, they kept
returning to the Omai mining site.

According to one management official, it is a constant running battle
with the illegal miners, some of whom are caught with guns.

While the company has no wish to injure anyone, Sunday's shooting will
serve to emphasize the fact that Omai remains resolute to protect its
workers and property, the official said.

Minister Benn had criticized the situation and disclosed that, on a
number of occasions, drugs were discovered with some “elements,”who
have guns and are involved in illegal activities. The minister believes
that the incidents are systematic efforts by some persons not to adhere
to law and order.

Already, the government, in recognition of the development of the area,
has allowed shops and other key facilities, especially in the Kumaka
Landing area, to make life easier for the mining community.

Efforts by the illegal miners would put all this to waste, Benn
stressed.

While some miners were trying hard to toe the line, it was clear there
were some bad eggs in between. The minister sounded a clear warning
that the raiding of Omai concessions would not be tolerated, since
valuable power equipment along with the dangerous cyanide chemical used
in the gold production process were on the site.

While Omai is no longer in operation, Benn pointed out, the company is
in the process of environmental care and maintenance, and any illegal
activity may impede this process.