Following a meeting with President Donald Ramotar on Thursday, miners yesterday won assurances from the mines commission on two key recent demands: no bans on river mining or on the use of mercury.
Miners had ratcheted up the pressure on the government over these issues by declaring a vote of no-confidence in Minister of Natural Resources and Mining Robert Persaud and had vowed to step up action.
Their aggressive stance had followed a June announcement by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) that effective June 1, 2012 no application for river claims would be processed. Following an outcry by miners, the government later said that the prohibition of river claims was to last only one month to allow a review
