More than half of the road network within the interior is virtually impassable, according to Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) senior mining engineer Michael Howard.
During a presentation at the 8th Annual Mining and Quarrying Conference continuing at the Pegasus Hotel, Kingston, Howard said the roads within the network were constructed between the 50s and70s and most of the roads are in a deteriorating state. He explained that weather is among the contributing factors, noting that it has put construction and maintenance work on interior roads on hold for various periods of time.
The conference was told that the GGMC and the Public Works Ministry are working together to repair and maintain the road network.
Linking construction/ maintenance work with production, Howard revealed that between January 2006 and July 2009, some $1.8B of revenues gained from the mining sector was expended on road construction and maintenance.
He said a significant part of the revenue total mentioned was expended in the Mazaruni area, followed by the Potaro area and the North West District.
His presentation, “A study of the decision -making process for the construction and maintenance of hinterland roads in Guyana,” noted that the interior roads of Guyana contribute significantly towards the social and economical development of the country’s economy. He said the road network is divided into several categories, namely economic roads, development roads as well as social and integration roads. He said the latter while not garnering much economic benefits, cannot be justified merely on their economic grounds.
According to Howard, the total length of the road network in Guyana’s interior covers some 3995km (2004 study), with 56 % of this figure representing feeder roads. He explained that the importance of the interior road network hinges on the fact that they are a cheap method of transportation for the users. Howard said that roads maintained by the GGMC and the Public Works Ministry are the Georgetown-Linden-Lethem Road, the Port Kaituma-Mathews Ridge Road, the Mathews Ridge-Baramita Road, the Mahdia-Lethem Road, the Itabali-Puruni River Road as well as the UNAMCO Road in Region 10. In addition, Howard stated that there are other roads in various parts of the country which the GGMC is currently upgrading.
‘The sustainability train’
The conference is being held under the theme, “Improving methods, satisfying stakeholders and securing prosperity from the sector.”
Joseph Bakker of Metallica Commodities Corporation, in his presentation, “Small scale miners, hard rock mining, finances and the future,” said that the mining process practiced within the local industry has evolved over the years. He explained that the framework that traditionally focused on geological reconnaissance, exploration, feasibility studies, planning, mining development and production and mining exhaustion, now includes environmental protection and reclamation.
Bakker said that a sustainable mining industry requires environmental protection to play an integral role within each aspect of the process. Further, he added that the time has come for the small scale miners within the industry to “get on the sustainability train,” noting that small scale miners usually compress various aspects of the mining process he spelt out, into one. He said that this should not be the case as the process requires each aspect of mining to be examined individually. Bakker further stated that future activities within the sector would require miners to work collaboratively, stating that small scale miners should work along with a consultant to maintain standards within the process. He listed what he referred to as a few critical factors, which would bring success to the small scale miner, including a willingness to share risk and reward, trust and competence, commitment to sustainability (this aspect bringing profits to the miner), as well as, highly skilled facilitators.
Noting that these factors all centre on finance, Bakker explained that within the mining process one has to plough his/her profits into the process to achieve success.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who was present at Tuesday afternoon’s session, said at this point the administration will lead the way where sustainability is concerned. But he noted that mining companies must work towards sustaining themselves. He said too that a miner who is “making money” and leaves the mining site in a bad state is not contributing positively to the sector, since finance would have to be obtained from a source to re-vegetate the site left behind by the miner.
The mining and quarrying conference runs from August 24 to August 29 as part of Mining Week activities and will see presentations from other stakeholders involved in the sector.
Workshops are scheduled to get underway at the GGMC’s headquarters on Brickdam tomorrow, while activities will culminate with the Annual Pork Knockers Day event, which is scheduled for the mining community of Bartica in Region Seven on Saturday.
