IN LIGHT of the Saturday’s arrest of the Brazilians who purportedly were heading to Great Falls to mine gold and diamond, an investigation has revealed that the miners’ boss was given permission to mine for gold and precious stones.

Commander of E’ Division Anthony Vanderhyden said that the men were released from custody since the police investigation revealed they were no reason to detain them further.
Regional officials, however, remained adamant that mining should not be done in the Demerara River given the environmental implications this would have on the river and residents of the area.

Municipal Councillor Lennox Gasper, on Sunday made a public statement for the renewed licensed to be presented to regional officials at the earliest, since no such document was seen and too, that the men who were taken into custody were without any work permit. Checks of their passports also showed 25th July 2018, as the date of expiry.

“I wonder why some people, company and agencies are taking Linden and Region 10 residents for fools. We don’t want no mining in our waterways, our health and the health of our people is paramount and if we have to take it to the streets to ensure that this doesn’t happen, then so let it be. No toshao, company or agency will decide our future without involving us in the process, moreover putting our health at risk, it will not be tolerated. Since in the days of the Aluminum Plant, it is now residents of Linden and Region 10 are experiencing some eco-balance in the Demerara River, allowing for persons to fish, swim and use same for domestic purposes,” Gasper said in a Facebook post.

Similar sentiments were also echoed on Saturday by Regional Chairman Renis Morian, who in speaking on behalf of the residents, threatened that if mining is to take place, the residents are ready to head to the streets, to protest this action.

“We will not permit no gold mining in Region 10, they are going to use mercury in the river, the residents are set to explode, we don’t want that to happen, we are building and we going forward, we don’t want gold mining to reverse the development we have seen,” Morian posited.

Deputy Mayor Wainwright Bethune said, “We halt everything until we can get some kind of clarity, we stand in unison that no such mining should occur in the Demerara River, given the environmental circumstances.”

Councillor Gasper also called for documentation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to show that that they would have assessed the situation and that there will be no environmental ramifications towards residents.