By Avalon Barclay

THE ACTING Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Mr. Newell Dennison, has said he believes that the recent mining pit accident that claimed the life of Keon Wilson at Rock Stone Creek resulted from a land dredge owned by Eventon Daly of Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD) operating although it was unregistered and unlicensed.Speaking at the first hearing of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) established by President David Granger to investigate Wilson’s death, Dennison said he was informed of the tragedy in a call from Senior Mines Engineer Michael Howard. According to the report he received, Mines Officers Steve Burnett and Lennox Wilson had in late September inspected the area where the accident occurred and had observed that no mining was taking place there. However, they had told him there was in the vicinity a camp housing seven miners.

Wilson had been employed as a General Manager on Daly’s dredge, but at the time of his death he was acting as a ‘jetman’.

Asked by Commissioner Gary Best whether, based on the observation of the officers, it could have been deduced that mining operations were going to take place there, Dennison replied, “Burnett and Wilson knew not that mining was going to take place, since seven men (were) not enough to carry out mining operations.”

Additionally, the mines officers were informed during their investigations that mining had not taken place there for two months. The six-inch land dredge owned by Daly was not registered, and had been unlicensed by GGMC. Accordingly, it had been issued a “cease work order” for unsafe mining practices, in accordance with Regulation 214 of the mining regulations, which states that “a mines officer has the power to order work to cease if in his/her opinion the said work was being done in a manner that endangers life and limb”.

Daly, however, did not heed the cease work order, and had continued his mining operations; but he was issued another cease work order by the GGMC immediately after Wilson’s death.

Guyana Chronicle understands that George Alphonso is the owner of the property being mined, but Daly had obtained a mining privilege from the GGMC on 21st June, 2016 for a period of 12 months.

Dennison also said that Wilson could not be deemed a worker, as his name was not endorsed at the back of the privilege issued by GGMC. As such, Wilson was expected to pay 10 per cent of his gold to Daly, since he was considered the tributor (a miner who was paid a percentage of the value of whatever ore he mined).

Additionally, owner of the property, George Alphonso, had granted Daly permission to operate on his claim, but there was no evidence that Wilson had been so permitted.

Commissioner Best, in his assessment of the situation, dubbed it an “act of negligence”. He said GGMC ought to have had documentation of all unregistered and unlicensed dredges circulated to all outlying offices, so that mining officers could enforce the law.

Dennison said in response to Best’s claims that miners are often charged, fined, and have their equipment seized for operating unlicensed dredges; but none of those options was used in this case.

“The general manager is responsible (for making) sure that the site is of good standard to work on, while the mining officers and engineers will carry out extensive checks to verify that construction of the mining pits is well in order,” Dennison offered. In this case, he said, it was the responsibility of the tier one mines officers, who are considered the ‘life blood of enforcement’, to have inspected the mining area to ensure that it meets the criteria for safe mining practices.

Dennison stressed that following the September inspection of the area, when it was discovered that there was no mining taking place there, the officers did not verify that the location was safe for mining.

In response, Commissioner Best said the next step should have been for all unlawful operations to have been seized. It was, however, explained that when persons are found with unregistered dredges, they are given time to register the dredge before it is seized.

It was explained that it is not an unusual occurrence for a general manager to perform the duty of a jetman, which Wilson had been doing at the time of his death. Dennison said a jetman controls the hose in the hydraulic process, so that the flow of water can break down soil particles, thereby allowing mining to take place. He said, too, that there is no law in place preventing a general manager from also acting as a jetman.

In wrapping up Friday’s hearing, Commissioner Best called for the two mines officers and the mining engineer to be present at the next sitting to give their versions of the story when the CoI resumes. The CoI has been adjourned to Monday, October 24, 2016.