Major General (retired) Joseph Singh has reported that mining on the left bank of the Cuyuni River is threatening the State’s integrity since Guyana’s border with Venezuela follows the left bank of the Cuyuni River from Ankoko  Island to the Akarabisi River.

Singh in photos shared with this publication indicate that the locations identified are not considered remote. “They are well traversed by aircraft pilots, river captains, members of the mining community and the regulatory agencies. “The operations in these photographs should be shut down immediately and legal sanctions taken against the perpetrators, including bearing the cost of mitigation and restoration work,” the retired Major General said.

He is calling on the authorities to take corrective action to conform with the Mining Act and Regulations and to prompt greater vigilance on the part of the regulatory and enforcement agencies.  The photos were taken on Sunday, August 30. These show vividly the problems being experienced in river mining when indiscriminate members of the mining community ‘throw caution to the wind’ and persist in breaking the law which states no mining activity can be done within 66 feet of the banks of rivers.

The breaching of the river banks allows tailings and effluent to go directly into the rivers. Tailings accrete, creating obstacles to river navigation. Singh, a conservationist, said the pools that are left in the wake of such mining activities contribute to water borne diseases as well as provide breeding ground for mosquitoes, pollute the water of downstream communities, impact negatively on aquatic life and the ecosystem, and leave unsightly scars on the degraded landscape.