Miners who tore up Mahdia road to be charged - GGMC - some dredges seized

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56526149


Miners who tore up Mahdia road to be charged - GGMC
-some dredges seized
By Heppilena Ferguson
Stabroek News
Tuesday, August 7th 2007

William Woolford

The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) intends to file charges
against miners who damaged the strip of road between Mahdia and North
Fork in Region 8 during dredging activities.

The commission also warned that those found guilty could face a
temporary ban from operating in the industry.

Several stretches of the road have been destroyed by gold and
diamond-seeking miners who also damaged pipelines which supplied
potable water to surrounding communities, causing serious suffering to
some 1,200 families.

The Region 8 (Potaro/ Siparuni) administration reported that the miners
also polluted the nearby traditional water supplies, making it murky
and a health risk to residents.

The commission has since seized a number of dredges which were found on
the road and according to acting Commissioner William Woolford, "does
not intend to hand back the equipment seized unless instructed to do so
by the court."

"We think we know who they are and we are pursuing them since this
latest event has brought more information to us," he said.

Woolford in an interview with this newspaper yesterday said he was not
sure exactly when the damage to the road began, but noted that the
miners were warned about the illegal activity in the past.

He said that he visited the area early in March this year along with
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Regional Chairman Senor Bell and the
Mahdia police.

He added at that time major damage was already done to the road but the
miners were spoken to and instructions were issued for them to put a
halt to this activity.

After the visit Woolford said the commission continued to monitor the
situation to ensure that there was compliance and on March 12 mining
officers detained a dredge found working in the area.

According to him, it was not until June 20th that the commission
received word that there was a resurgence of the illegal dredging
activity, which he later found was being done mostly at nights.

"So after we realized that they started again we sent in the police and
one of our engineers to get them to stop and to move them out of the
area … This was on June 23", he stated.

The GGMC commissioner told Stabroek News too that a presence was
maintained in the area which consisted of ranks of the Tactical
Services Unit (TSU) and things were stable up to this point.

But when the time was up for the ranks to leave, GGMC officers visited
the area, mostly during the day and then it was found that the miners
were dredging the area at nights only, he explained.

In July, he said the TSU went back into the area and stayed on until
July 13 during which they demolished a number of illegal camps and
sluice boxes.

"Every time we moved out of the area they restarted their operations
and continued to do damage to the road, because the area was making a
lot of gold and so they were persistent," Woolford said

Just over a month ago the commission contracted a road contractor to
see how best the road could be repaired. This, he said, was hampered by
the heavy rainfall.

However, the GGMC has undertaken to ensure there is a proper road to
allow for the movement of vehicles and works should begin when the dry
season starts, Woolford said.

The miners had even built a bypass road after they started to destroy
the main road, Woolford explained, noting that parts of this road would
be maintained since it is located on higher ground.

On the issue of funding for their proposed intervention, Woolford said
this would be covered by fines imposed on the miners engaged in the
illegal dredging and the possible sale of the seized equipment.

Woolford has said that such action however is not characteristic of the
mining industry, since according to him most of the miners comply with
the regulations.

Woolford told this newspaper that efforts were continuing to ensure
that miners discontinue the illegal dredging, but cautioned that it was
not a simple matter, in light of the fact that miners were fully aware
that it was impossible for mining officers to maintain a
round-the-clock presence on the road.

The commission has a permanent presence in Mahdia and officers are
expected to ensure the upkeep of the law in those areas where mining is
done.

At the weekend Prime Minister Hinds, who has ministerial responsibility
for mining; Transport Minister Robeson Benn, who formerly headed the
GGMC; GGMC officials and representatives of the Guyana Gold and Diamond
Miners Association (GGDMA) met several Region 10 (Upper Demerara/-Upper
Berbice) miners, a visit the Government Information Agency (GINA) said,
was prompted by the need to remind miners of their obligations.

In light of the Region 8 incidents, GINA quoted Hinds as saying that
this was likely to result in restrictions being put into effect.

To this end, the GINA statement pointed out too that Hinds noted that
the destruction had projected small and medium scale miners in a bad
light and he urged them to adopt more proactive approaches that would
propel the sector instead of tarnishing it.

The GINA statement said too that the miners were also enlightened about
the recent concerns over mercury which was found in some parts of the
North West District in Region One (Barima/Waini) caused by careless
disposal.

Miners were also educated about aspects of the mining regulations, the
negative impact which mercury and turbidity could have on health and
environmental safety and the measures which could be taken to control
the release of harmful residues into the atmosphere.

GINA said the prime minister also highlighted the issue of illegal
substances in mining camps, pointing out that government had no
tolerance for that activity.