THE Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) said, on Monday, it is preparing to file charges against several raiders who were engaged in illegal mining activities in the Marudi Mountain area of Region 9 (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo).

In a statement, it said, with support from the Guyana Police Service (GPS), it is, currently, removing the more than 14 illegal dredges and other mining equipment from the location.
GGMC said the operators of those dredges were engaged in the removal of Guyana’s minerals and evasion of payment of royalties and taxes on what they extracted.
The statement said, to date, not a single gramme 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,” the Commission said.
It explained that, in December 2012, the GGMC received a formal complaint from the legal licence holders about excessive illegal mining operations on their land and requested that action be taken, in keeping with Commission’s mandate.

Official notice
GGMC said it responded and the raiders were given official notice, as early as the February 14, 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 statement pointed out that Commissioner of the GGMC, Mr. Rickford Vieira, along with a mines manager and other officers further met with the illegal miners on the February 22 and urged the latter to desist from their activity and remove from the area.
After these steps failed, the GGMC officials, with support from the GPS, proceeded to the area to remove the illegal occupants.
GGMC said none of the raiders had permission to mine or paid any royalty to be on the land, as it was already allocated as a mining concession.
Additionally, no promise was ever made to have them allocated any portion of the lands legally held by Romanex Guyana, GGMC said, adding that Vieira observed 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.
GGMC said its officials are, normally, accompanied by the police who are the legal authority to arrest and clear illegal occupants but the GGMC is constantly engaged in active monitoring and, where necessary, removal of illegal occupants.
Vieira remarked that the unfortunate confrontation that took place during this recent activity was a first and regrettable.

Fairly regulate
He said, despite this disappointing incident, the Commission will continue to fulfill its mandate to fairly regulate and manage the natural resource wealth of Guyana, regardless of the personalities involved.
He said that the Marudi incident highlights the dangers that the officers of the GGMC face in executing their duties and pleaded for greater cooperation.
Responding to claims about the land being neglected, the GGMC said that 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 its 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 for which royalties are legally being paid.
He said 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.
He assured that the GGMC remains willing to help all those who wish to follow the legal avenues into mining.
Meanwhile, recently a video was broadcast showing miners/residents of Marudi in protest over their removal from the mining area blocking the trail when police and others went there on an enforcement exercise.
In the video a policeman could be clearly seen inflicting lashes with a piece of wood on a woman, her young son and others, who were lying on the roadway.
Up to now, the GPS has not made an official statement on the incident but Acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell was quoted, in a section of the media, stating that an investigation was active.