Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds, Tuesday responded to an editorial and article on mining which appeared in the February 2 edition of the Stabroek News, which he said contained inaccuracies against the government and Omai Gold Mines Limited (OGML).
The article “Hinds defends proposed mining reforms” and the editorial “Miners Protest,” asserted that the government “let OGML off” with respect to the Omai spill, while on the issue of reclamation of OMAI site, OGML was allowed to “walk away from the scarred landscape.”
In a letter to the editor of the newspaper, Mr. Hinds said the rejection of these inaccuracies “pulls many of the legs” from under the newspaper’s position that the government has been lax on mining matters.
Referring to the Omai spill, Mr. Hinds said the government did not ‘let OGML off’ but received an appraisal of the effects of the spill from the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) and acted accordingly on their recommendations.
Also referring to the reclamation of the OMAI site, Mr. Hinds said OGML was not allowed to “walk away from the scarred landscape,” but was mining with reclamation in mind.
“OGML was steadfastly proceeding with the original “Back to Nature” closure plan when, as SN (Stabroek News) and others should recall, there were calls from civil society for turning the exhausted mine into some form of New National Services centre, or for it to be put to some other issue. Government then engaged OGML in 2006 to modify the “Back to Nature” approach so that identified infrastructure might be maintained according to an “After Use” approach,” the Prime Minister said.
The main road from the turn off into the Linden-Lethem road, the crossing barge and landing, the aerodrome, the main road through the location, the administrative building and some other buildings at the mill-site, were all locations which the Prime Minister said were the identified infrastructure that was retained and eventually taken over by the GGMC in early 2009 at the Government’s insistence.
Mr. Hinds said everything else had been returned to nature, and left in a sustainable natural situation.
“The Fennel and Went pits remain, as well as the clear-water lake, a portion of the tailings pond had been set up as a wetland/swamp not untypical of the area. OGML’s final audit report shows the expenditure of US$7.2M. In direct reclamation activities versus a budget of US$5M,” the Prime Minister said.
He is of the view that the newspaper “shifted its feet” on the mining issue based on its unbalanced, biased reporting on small and medium-scale mining, over the last five years. (GINA)