Konawaruk small miners tired of raiding lands
Small miners of North Fork Backdam, Konawaruk, surround Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes on Friday, as they inform her of their plight
Small miners of North Fork Backdam, Konawaruk, surround Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes on Friday, as they inform her of their plight

…want legal claims to operate

By Ariana Gordon

SMALL miners operating in the North Fork Backdam at Konawaruk in Region 8 (Potaro/Siparuni) are pleading with Government to provide them lands to mine.Saying they are tired of raiding lands in order to provide for themselves and families, the miners complained that their equipment, which includes pumps and engines, have been seized by mines officers attached to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and by law enforcement officers because they were found working on lands belonging to Tesouro Resources (Mining).

Maintaining that they had received permission to work on the land from the security officials working with the mining company, the small miners explained that the security representatives of the mining company had approached and encouraged them to work on “worked out mines”.

“The Mines Officers came with police from Georgetown and seized our engines and pumps… Minister, next week is school… I have no engine, no pump, no dredge… I am here contemplating my next move… Do I have to go in the bush and look for an arrow and bow, or buy a gun or something? I don’t have no money in which I could get back this engine and pump…all I am left with is just my two hands and battel,” remarked Kurt Rodney.

Rodney maintains that representatives of the mining company had given small miners in North Fork Backdam the permission to mine on the lands, and had also collected gold and money from the small miners.

“Representatives of the company come and show everybody where to work…took gold upfront and were to collect additional gold from the miners… Is them tell everybody to work… Why you feel people move in… People feel so nice,” another miner stated.

A mined-out areas at North Fork Backdam, Konawaruk, Region 8
A mined-out areas at North Fork Backdam, Konawaruk, Region 8

Braving the scorching midday sun to stand at the Konawaruk airstrip to meet Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, the small miners said they were never told to stop working on the lands.

“Nobody ain’t come and notify we that we have to move…there was no warning, nothing…they just come and take away we things dem,” another angry miner stated.

Like Rodney, Lucile Thomas of Tumatumari, Region 8, told Guyana Chronicle that she often feels like she is living in a war zone. “This is not Guyana, this is the Middle East — Afghanistan or one of them places; because every minute of the day you see people coming with guns like anybody thieving… Nobody ain’t thieving!”
Thomas said that on a number of occasions she was threatened, and her property was also seized by the GGMC and police. “I tell them I come here to fish and hunt. Whenever I ready to go home, I gonna go… They coming here and picking up we things… Nobody does watchman them when the planes coming in and taking out the gold.”

The angry woman said mining is the primary source of income for her family, and she is hopeful that consideration and provisions can be put in place to ensure that small miners like herself can work honestly.

The concerns raised by the miners stunned Minister Broomes, who said she did not know of the seizing operation by the GGMC.

“The concerns that you’ve raised, I will investigate them…I have no knowledge that GGMC were in here seizing things,” she said as she noted that while the small miners are operating for the most part illegally, the laws of the land must be applied fairly.

Minister Broomes was even more surprised to learn that the miners had been granted permission to mine the land by the security of the mining company, and had paid money to work, but were forced off the lands which they were mining.

“I am calling for a level playing field. I do not agree with illegal mining. I know you have a genuine problem and we have to find a solution to the problem,” she said, noting that “when there is a conflict, I will take the side of the regulation or law.”

The minister vowed to have the issues discussed with the acting Commissioner of the GGMC, Newell Dennison, on Monday; and she invited the miners to a stakeholders’ meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

HEARTBREAK
In an invited comment, Minister Broomes said it breaks her heart to see miners suffering. She explained that the problems facing miners have been ongoing for decades, but she is hopeful there would soon be equality across the proverbial board in the mining industry.

Minister Broomes had visited the area earlier this year, and had promised to speak with Tesouro Mining. “The area is a place where the company would not go back and work, but the lil crumbs off of the table is what you are asking for. I went back — I didn’t take your petition lightly — I went to the Commissioner Acting GGMC and I asked him to call the company in. I am going to tell you quite frankly (that) the company said ‘no way, I don’t want them around’.”

She made it clear that neither she nor the GGMC can force the mining company to allow small miners to work on the worked out mines.
“We need to look at how we deal with land…look at the mining permits so that we can come back to the table and re-examine the amount of land that you finish working, and what are you going to do with it now?” the minister declared.

“The miners complained that big companies like Tesouro Mining work the lands, and when complete, they leave large ponds of water and lots of slush, which are all unfriendly to the environment. This whole place is a disaster, is sheer pools and big ponds just left there,” she said as she noted that there is no land reclamation.

Frustrated, Kurt Rodney makes a point during a small miners meeting on Friday at North Fork Backdam, Konawaruk, Region 8
Frustrated, Kurt Rodney makes a point during a small miners meeting on Friday at North Fork Backdam, Konawaruk, Region 8

On this issue, the minister said large companies should be penalized for irresponsible use of the land. She noted that sanctions should not only fall on small miners, but also medium and large scale miners. “Everybody across the board should be regulated,” Minister Broomes stressed.

Miner Garfield Wint took the opportunity to encourage his colleagues to unionize themselves by forming a small miners’ association. He is of the opinion that without an official body representing small miners, it will become increasingly difficult for “struggling small miners” to have their concerns addressed.

“We have no representative…we are like a wingless bird flying in the air. The large miners association caters for the medium scale miners; we cannot go and complain to the miners’ association concerning ‘no land’ issue,” he said.

“After forming the union, then we could approach the Government as a body to form a committee; land reform committee, where all these blocks which these big tycoons got for all these years… They are doing nothing with it,” he added.

Wint told the Guyana Chronicle that without land reform, small miners will continue to suffer. He labelled medium and large scale miners as “greedy” because they refuse to have small miners work on the mined out areas.

“Please talk to the President, Mr Granger. We begging he to talk to these companies. In his political campaign, he talked about refined product…it is the same thing…we don’t need this company to dash away the back sand and grass grow up on it… We need to get the finest amount of gold we can get out of it, and these same lil gold will come back to the economy,” Wint explained.

Wint, a miner for over two decades, said small miners are struggling, and many are without money and food to maintain their families. “We are in a terrible position just because of the greed for this mineral,” he declared.

 

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