THE Ministry of Natural Resources has requested the help of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) to assess the laboratory of the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) which was recently shifted to Queenstown.

In April, the GGB was forced to close its Brickdam, Georgetown laboratory due to high levels of mercury emissions in the compound. The laboratory was used to burn amalgam to rid the gold of mercury. Mercury is mixed with gold, forming a mercury-gold amalgam which is then heated, vapourising the mercury to obtain the gold. This process can be very dangerous and can lead to significant mercury exposure and health risks.

Since being shifted to Queenstown, the gold board has established a new process of testing which was recently assessed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The process will also be tested by PAHO, said Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, in an invited comment on Wednesday.

“I have written to PAHO head asking if an engineer can come from the U.S. to examine the new system to give advice to ensure that the lab is not only good, but the best in the world,” he said, adding that the person is expected to be here before September.

Prior to the gold board being moved, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) workers were agitated by the operations of the board. In light of this, the minister said they decided to shift it to maintain peace, stability and production.

Representatives of PAHO have since tested the compound of the GGMC and found that the area was safe. Mining with the use of mercury has been a clear and present danger, said the minister, adding that the ministry will start encouraging miners to look at alternatives.
General Manager of the GGB, Eondrene Thompson, had said in past reports that there will be a zero-tolerance policy with regard to the use of protective clothing during the gold-burning operations. This, she said, goes not only for the staff of the Guyana Gold Board, but also the clients whose gold is being burnt.

“We will move a step further in having one recommendation by the PAHO/WHO persons who were here,” Thompson said. “They recommended that we have the partition of the room made out of glass, so that the client will be able to observe the burning from afar.
“If we cannot move in time to do that, it is also recommended that they be at one location in the building, where they can view the burning via monitors,” she added.