One-month halt to river claims -GGMC

A day after miners declared that they had no confidence in Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) said that a moratorium on processing of river claims will last for one month.

The government has halted the processing of applications for mining in rivers due to the GGMC being overwhelmed by reports from stakeholders of damage caused by “increasingly irresponsible mining in Guyana’s rivers and tributaries” and said that a review will be done to decide on the way forward. Persaud when questioned by Stabroek News previously on the time the review will take did not give a definite period but said that the ministry wants the review to be done in the shortest possible time but does not want a “rush job.”

Yesterday, in a statement issued through the Ministry, the GGMC said that the moratorium will last for one month and reiterated the Commission’s commitment to working with stakeholders. “The one-month hold placed on the processing of new applications for river mining claims is designed to send a strong signal of the commitment by the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC), its Board and the