–illegal small miners squabble with authorities over gold-rich area

By Alva Solomon
TENSION is high in the mining community of Mahdia, as small miners, without documented rights to a parcel of land in the Tiger Creek area, squabble with the authorities over the gold-rich landmass.

The miners are referred to as “raiders”, and the area in question is located outside the administrative capital of the region, some 10 to 15 minutes by road from Central Mahdia, near Tiger Creek, a body of water which gave the name to the area. There, the Emmanuel family, led by its patriarch Winston Emmanuel, called “Lawa,” had been mining for years; while another family, the “Pollious”, also hold rights to parcels of land adjacent to the Emmanuels.

The death of Elijah Pollious sometime ago resulted in his parcel of land being handed down to an offspring. Both families, having St Lucian roots, have been mining at Mahdia for decades.

According to miners in the area, the two families operate mining equipment on two mining “claims,” parcels of land measuring 1500 feet in length by 800 feet in width, lie adjacent to each other on the hillside near Tiger Creek. These parcels of land lie within “blocks,” the larger extent of the entire land. Another miner moved to the area years later to occupy a block adjacent to the two families.

In May last year, gold was reportedly discovered in the claim to which the Emmanuel family alleges it has documented rights. However, the Polliouses informed that their boundaries extend into the Emmanuels’ lands and the newcomer to the area informed both parties that he has all rights to the land, leading to heated accusations from all sides.

The issue led to papers being drawn up in the courts, in which the latest party took the two other parties to court via injunction. That matter is in progress. However, last December, tensions boiled over when the entity which filed the injunction was accused of mining at nights in the disputed area.

However, those parties were in for a surprise, as a fourth party entered the issue: the “raiders.”
According to reports out of Tiger Creek, within the second half of last year, when gold was discovered at the area in question, Winston Emmanuel gave permission to several small, battel-miners, called “pork-knockers” or “punters” and “raiders,” to mine in the tailings pond close to his mining operation.

INFLUX
This resulted in an influx of pork-knockers, from all parts of Mahdia and outside of the mining community, flooding the area daily.

A miner told this newspaper at Tiger Creek on Monday that, two weeks ago, one of the two families involved confronted the third party over allegations that it was mining in the disputed area despite the matter being before the courts. The confrontation took place on the small, muddy road which leads to Tiger Creek. It was alleged that two police officers who were seated in a vehicle owned by one of the parties involved observed the confrontation and acted only when two men from each side, one of whom was armed, “shaped up to fight.”

According to the miner, the matter has reached a stage where a solution seems distant; and while the matter remains a court issue, the raiders continue to “punt” or raid the area 24/7, despite verbal notices being given them by the mines officers stationed at Mahdia to remove from the site.

Last Sunday evening, during a meeting at the Mahdia Primary School, the issue of mining at Tiger Creek, specifically the “Lawa” issue, was raised several times as Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and junior minister Simona Broomes met with residents to discuss a range of issues, including mining.

ALLEGEDLY BEATEN
One miner informed the meeting that he was beaten about the body by police ranks while operating “near Lawa them”. He was referring to the gold-rich site.

Others vented allegations of similar confrontation with the police. However, on visiting the site on Monday, persons on the ground explained the reasons for the police actions.

On Monday morning, acting Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Newell Dennison, led a team to the area to observe first-hand the situation on the ground. Dennison met with persons from the two Mahdia families as well as the third party who had filed the court papers. He was, however, severe on the fourth party, the “raiders,” who were in the pits with spades, shovels and buckets among other hand-held equipment, searching the area for the precious metal.

The men continued their activities unfazed, even as Dennison and other officials of the GGMC discussed the situation with the parties involved.

The men in the pit were repeatedly warned by Dennison to remove from the area, and while some readily complied, others reluctantly walked away, making several remarks, including the loss of incomes, families to feed, and no jobs in sight. Others sat in camps which they had erected close to the disputed site.

The Emmanuels told this newspaper they were hard hit by the issue. Susan Emmanuel said the “raiders” had set-up several make-shift camps near the gold-rich landmass, and would raid the area even in her family’s presence.

She said her family has invested heavily in the area, and make payments to employees to remain and overlook the camps in one of several losses the family had counted thus far. She said the tension is of concern to her and her relatives, since persons appeared menacing while “raiding” the pits.

Another miner at Tiger Creek told the Guyana Chronicle that the police, in the company of the mines officers, were called in to the area on several occasions to remove the “raiders” from the pits.

GUNSHOTS
It has been alleged that on one occasion the raiders fired gunshots into the air, forcing police ranks to retreat from the area. The police later retaliated by physically confronting the men in the pits.

Yesterday, speaking from Tiger Creek, Susan Emmanuel told this newspaper that the “raiders” continue to operate in the pits despite the warnings issued by the authorities during Monday’s visit. She said that GGMC officials had given her family three days to fill the mining pits with mud, including one which the “raiders” targeted. She noted that while GGMC staff left the area at midday on Monday, the men revisited the site later in the afternoon and continued their actions. It was noted that even though the mining pits were filled with mud, the raiders were scraping the walls of one of the pits, an action which they were warned about.

GGMC officials told this newspaper that, in addition to mining illegally at the pits, the men were also risking their lives while working below the gradient or slope of the pit. Large cracks existed on one of the walls of a pit, and according to an official, if the crack becomes loose, it could cover the men within minutes if it were to cave in.

There have been incidents of pits caving in at Tiger Creek, and on Monday, miners told this newspaper that there were many near-miss incidents in which miners managed to free themselves from crumbling walls while working the pits. Last September, miner Sherwyn Smith was buried alive while working at Tiger Creek. His body was extracted from the pit some 18 hours later.

Mining has been the central economic activity at Mahdia for numerous years. Many businesses, coastlanders and residents in and near Mahdia depend on the activity to sustain themselves. Last year’s gold find at Tiger Creek had resulted in increased tensions within the community — a telling sign that gold is central to its development.