The mines commission today reiterated that it is moving to bring charges against more than 14 illegal dredges in the Marudi area of Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) which it said have been operating there illegally and hadn’t declared a single gramme of gold.
The GGMC also labelled as “regrettable” and a “first” the confrontation between the police and several persons on the Marudi trail which led to a woman and a child being beaten by a law enforcer. Video of the beating has evoked outrage and the police are presently investigating the matter. The police were accompanying a GGMC team to remove the illegal miners.
The GGMC press release follows:
“The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is preparing to file charges against several raiders[1] that were engaged in illegal mining activities in the Marudi Mountain area of region 9. The GGMC with support from the Guyana Police Service (GPS) is currently removing the more than 14 illegal dredges and other mining equipment from the area. The operators of these dredges were engaged in the removal of Guyana’s minerals and evasion of payment of royalties and taxes on the minerals extracted. To date not a single gram of gold has been declared by any of the operators and there are no records of production which is a breach of the Mining Regulations. The Commission is of the view that all the minerals removed were illegally sold. This removal is the final step after several other requests for the raiders to voluntarily remove failed.
“In December 2012 the GGMC received a formal complaint from the legal license holders about excessive illegal mining operations on their land and requested the GGMC take action, in keeping with their mandate. The GGMC responded and the raiders were given official notice, as early as the 14th of February 2013 and instructed to stop their illegal operation and remove from the land which has been licensed to Romanex Guyana Exploration Ltd under a mining licence (ML 1/2009). The Commissioner of the GGMC, Mr. Rickford Vieira, along with a Manager of Mines and other officers further met with the illegal miners on the 22nd of February and urged them to desist
from their illegal activity and to remove from the area. After these steps failed, the GGMC officials with support from the Guyana Police Service proceeded to the area to remove the illegal occupants.
“The GGMC wishes to state, categorically, that none of the raiders had permission to mine or paid any royalty to be on the land as it was already allocated to as a mining concession. Additionally no promise was ever made to have them allocated any portion of the lands legally held by Romanex Guyana. Mr. Vieira noted that this is not the first such exercise being undertaken by the GGMC, however it is the first time that it has led to a confrontation. The GGMC is normally accompanied by the Police who are the legal authority to arrest and clear illegal occupants. The GGMC is constantly engaged in active monitoring and, where necessary, removal of illegal occupants. Mr. Vieira noted that the unfortunate confrontation that took place during this recent activity was a first and regrettable. Despite this disappointing incident, the commission will continue to fulfil its mandate to fairly regulate and manage the natural resource wealth of Guyana, regardless of the personalities involved. He explained that the Marudi incident highlights the dangers that the officers of the GGMC face in executing their duties and pleaded for greater cooperation. In response to claims about the land being neglected, the GGMC said that this is fictitious, as there is an active review of the Romanex operations, as is the norm. The company is in keeping with the timeline established for development and exploitation which is the pertinent aspect of their licence. The exploration programme to establish the mineral reserve of the property prior to issuing the licence was completed.
“The Commissioner emphasised that the lack of areas to mine or the fact that another individual is already mining in a particular area does not give anyone the right to raid or remove the resources which are legally being paid for. There is a process which has to be followed and he challenged the raiders to follow the legal system and put themselves in order according to the Mining Act, Mining Regulations and associated amendments. The GGMC, he noted, remains willing to help all those who wish to follow the legal avenues into mining.”
