SMALL-SCALE gold miners operating in and around the Marudi Mountain area in Region 9 (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) are calling on the government to take urgent action to regularise their operations.The reason they’ve resorted to this course of action, they say, is because they face being evicted by a large Canadian mining operation.

The miners made their request through the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) during a lively and well attended meeting with GWMO officials at Marudi last Saturday.

SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN
They’ve also affixed their signatures to a campaign organised by the GWMO, seeking permission to set up a settlement near Marudi in furtherance of their desire to live and raise their families there as residents.

The miners at Marudi admit that their operations were illegal, since the relevant authorities have not granted them requisite mining permits, but they portrayed their case as assistance on humanitarian grounds, since employment hardly exists in the area and they have been forced to resort to small-scale mining to “feed and raise their families.”

“If we are evicted, where do we go? This is our country, and we have a right to live and work here. Guyanese should, and must, be given preference over foreigners,” they reasoned, adding:
“Instead of fighting us down, the authorities should regularise our operations, so we can operate legally and make our contribution.
“We are quite willing to obey all the rules and regulations and to meet all the legal requirements.”
They’ve also pointed out that their activities, though admittedly illegal, contribute to the well-being of the economy of Region 9, since they were providing direct employment for workers and indirect employment for input suppliers such as shopkeepers, transportation operators, and even sellers of fuel, which are needed in the area.
As one resident pointed out, “If they chase us out of Marudi, all of these people will lose incomes, with all the bad consequences that [would] come of that.”

PLAY BY THE RULES
The miners also stress that they have every intention of satisfying the requirements of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), this being to sell all the gold they produce to the Guyana Gold Board, and to contribute by this means to the overall well-being of the economy of this country.
“The GGMC is welcome to set up a sub-office right here at Marudi, and benefit from all the cooperation we are willing to give them,” they said.
“We are Guyanese! We are poor people! We are surviving at Marudi! Why should anyone want to evict us from making a living in preference for a foreign company?” they repeatedly asked.
They say they are looking for a sympathetic approach by the government, so they could be relieved of the constant threat of eviction, and be relieved of harassment by the regulatory agency, the GGMC.

The land on which they are operating, albeit illegally, had been granted to a Canadian company which has not been active in the area for the longest while.

President of the GWMO Urica Primus, said the GWMO is sympathetic to the plight of the miners, and will be assisting them in arriving at a favourable resolution.