A MINING pit in Rock Creek, Mining District Three, Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) caved in on Saturday last, and 33-year-old Keon Wilson of Two Friends, Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD) perished in that mishap.The pit caved in while Wilson was working on the jetting tailings as a jetman employed on a land dredge owned by Eventon Daly, also of Ann’s Grove, ECD. Daly had been issued a cease-work order by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) for unsafe mining practices, but he did not heed the order. His dredge was unregistered and deemed unsafe for working in accordance with regulation 214 of the mining regulations.

Guyana Chronicle understands that George Alphonso is the owner of the property, and Daly had obtained a mining privilege from the GGMC on June 21, 2016 for a period of 12 months.

According to statements made by other workers on the land dredge and seen by Guyana Chronicle, jetting was taking place on both sides of the pit when the accident occurred. “The pit wall cracked, broke away and covered Wilson,” said 45-year-old Sean Dey, the other jetman who was in the mining pit at the time of the accident.

In his statement to GGMC officers, Dey said, “I quickly called Ragnauth Lallie to bring the jet over to jet Keon Wilson out of the sand. We then proceeded to jet the sand covering Keon Wilson, and found him buried under approximately two feet of sand.”

ALREADY GONE
When Wilson was reached by his colleagues, he was “unconscious and bleeding through his nose”. According to jetman Dey, an effort was made to resuscitate Wilson by “pumping his chest”, but that was unsuccessful.

After failing to revive Wilson, Dey accompanied his employer, Daly, to the Puruni Mining Station, where a report was made. He recounted that it had taken approximately one hour for him and his colleagues to “jet” Wilson out.

Another miner, Royden Roberts, recounted that “there was no time to warn the deceased” when he realised what was taking place. Roberts works as a “marrack man” for Daly. “I had to run from the marrack hole to save myself,” he said.

Over the past two years, mining pit cave-in accidents have resulted in the deaths of many miners. The latest mining accident resulted in the death of a Russian Geologist, “Oleg”, at Annamuri Backdam in Mazaruni, Region Seven. This geologist and another worker were taking samples in a freshly-dug trench when one of the walls collapsed and covered them. Oleg died on the spot while the other worker was injured.

CRYING SHAME
In an invited comment on Sunday, Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, described Saturday’s mining accident as a “crying shame”. She said miners ought to operate in a safe environment.

The minister, who was once a miner, told Guyana Chronicle that it is inexcusable for owners of dredges to forsake safety in the interest of gold production.

“Without these workers you won’t get the gold! Safety is important! It is disheartening to hear of another loss of life in the mining industry! We at the Ministry of Natural Resources and the GGMC have been stressing the importance of safety!” Minister Broomes lamented as she told Guyana Chronicle that while she has only a preliminary report on the accident, a thorough investigation will be done.

“I extend my heartfelt condolence to the family of the deceased… It is truly a sad time,” she said.

In May 2015, a mining pit accident claimed the lives of 11 miners; and many others have died under similar circumstances across regions Seven and Eight. Since taking office, President David Granger has promised that every mining accident would be investigated, and has warned defaulting mining operators that they would be placed before the courts if found to be in breach of safety standards.

“The lives of the men and women in this industry are more precious than the minerals they mine,” President Granger has said.