– says small miners would be affected

THE National Mining Syndicate is objecting to any proposal that would see the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) only purchasing smelted gold in light of recent concerns that the burning of ‘sponge’ gold for the extraction of mercury at the GGB’s laboratory is a serious health hazard.

The GGB’s lab is housed in the compound of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, and recent tests done on a total of 130 GGMC staff showed that 60 persons had higher than the normal level of mercury present in their system.
Subsequent to consultation with the Chairman and General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman issued a cease order, directing that the burning of raw gold at the GGB’s laboratory at Upper Brickdam stop with effect from April 24, 2018.

During a recent meeting with Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, and representatives from syndicates across the country at the Life Centre on Brickdam, President of the National Mining Syndicate, Cherryl Williams, said any decision to deny the purchase of sponge gold could negatively impact small miners.
Smelting is a chemical process in which the raw gold is separated from the mercury when heat is applied. Smelted gold, as such, is purified and free from mercury as against sponge gold, which contains mercury. According to Williams, many small miners engage in the sale of sponge gold because they are incapable of smelting gold, which is usually a high tech, high cost technique.

“We were never educated on what is sponge gold, what is smelted gold; we were never educated on wet or dry gold,” the President of the National Mining Syndicate told Guyana Chronicle subsequent to the meeting.
“Smelted gold is not in the interest of small miners,” she added.
The proposal to stop the purchase of sponge gold by the Guyana Gold Board was reportedly floated by a representative of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) during a GGMC Board of Directors meeting.
GGDMA President Terrence Adams, though no longer sitting on GGMC’s Board, admitted that the recommendation was made. However, he said there is a bigger issue as he alluded to a statement issued by the association late last week.
In that statement, GGDMA said it has no issue with the use of mercury, however, its misuse or mismanagement can become hazardous.
GGDMA used the opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to the Minamata Convention on Mercury while reiterating calls for the government to step forward with strong technical assistance to small and medium scale miners, to ensure sustainable development principles are applied to the gold and diamond mining sector.

“The Association once again highlights the need for the government to identify improved mercury free gold recovery technologies and techniques which can lead to achievement of the objectives of the Minamata Convention on Mercury,” GGDMA said in a statement.
It said as a responsible entity in the mining sector, it fully endorses the objective and purposes of the Convention and fully supports the measures in Article 7 and in Annex “C” of the said Convention. The GGDMA recognizes, however, that the Convention specifically requires that “each party that has artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing, subject to this article within its territory shall take steps to reduce, and where feasible, eliminate the use of mercury and mercury compounds in, and the emissions and releases to the environment of mercury from such mining and processing.”

GGDMA said strong political will is needed to determine the economic and technical feasibility of eliminating mercury use in gold mining in Guyana, while adding that best practices have to be sought based on what is efficient, appropriate, adoptable, and most cost effective for the geographical and geological environments in which small and medium scale miners operate.

“The GGDMA respectfully suggest that the government should approve of the GGMC being allocated G$2.0 billion in 2018 for the acquisition of quality equipment and the conducting of test work for the determination of the feasibility of eliminating the use of mercury in mining and processing in Guyana,” the association said.
Meanwhile, Minister Broomes, during the meeting with the National Mining Syndicate, told those present that the issues affecting workers within the GGMC compound with respect to mercury is being directly handled by Minister Trotman.
Minister Broomes, like Williams, stated that many small miners lack the knowledge and skills, even resources needed to smelt gold. Given the seriousness of the concerns raised by the national syndicate, Minister Broomes committed to raising them with Minister Trotman.

Additionally, the minister expressed satisfaction that the National Syndicate, which is made up of a significant number of small miners, now sits on the GGMC Board of Directors.
“I am happy also that the Syndicate has received officially a position from Government to sit on the board of the GGMC. So now at the board level there is a true representation of the sector. You don’t only have the GGDMA or the Guyana Women Miners Organisation, but you have the voice of the small miners.”

While 60 GGMC workers have more than the normal level of mercury in their bodies, an air quality monitoring study conducted by Kaizen Environmental Services (Guyana) Limited has found that the mercury (Hg) levels within the compound of the GGMC is in keeping with the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (US OHSA) standards.