The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has urged that the government allocate $2 billion to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) for the acquisition of quality equipment and to conduct test work to determine the feasibility of eliminating the use of mercury in mining and processing in Guyana.
“The GGDMA looks forward for strong collaboration with the GGMC as we work towards achievement of the objective and purposes of the [Minamata] Convention and the recovery in gold mining using economic and technically feasible mercury free systems,” the GGDMA said in a statement issued last Thursday.
The statement was issued in wake of the concerns expressed by GGMC workers over the high mercury levels in their blood due to emissions from the now relocated Guyana Gold Board laboratory at Brickdam.
