– says Government should provide more technical, financial support to miners

THE Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) have called on its miners to be more responsible when using mercury in their operations.

In light Government’s call for miners to reduce the use of mercury in their operations, the GGDMA has said that the association and its members will continue to be committed to the ‘Minamata Convention’ but, Government should also look at providing technical and financial assistance as suggested in the convention.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.

“We continue to call upon our local gold miners to use mercury responsibly: using gloves, respirators, retorts, and by refraining from putting mercury in the mining pit. We encourage miners to seek advice from the relevant GGMC technical staff on the safe use of mercury,” the GGDMA said.

The GGDMA in a press statement said it is keenly aware of the challenges in finding solutions to the mercury problem which faces the local gold mining sector.

“We are also aware of the studies that show that villagers in a remote part of Southern Rupununi had elevated levels of mercury in their bodies even though there is absolutely no mining in or close to their village,” said the association.

GGDMA however believes that the Government was convinced about the challenges of mercury after the accidental release of mercury from the operations of the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) in the compound of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
“We recognise that government in its wisdom sought overseas technical assistance and provided the necessary finance to help solve the problem caused by the use of poor and /or malfunctioning equipment and systems by the affected state agencies,” said the association, adding that Government has not yet published a credible National Action Plan for mercury use in small scale gold mining in Guyana.

In addition, GGDMA also called on Government to provide financial assistance to the small-scale gold mining sector.

While that is needed, the association said it is still committed to working with the Ministry of Natural Resources and other stakeholders to find feasible solutions to the challenge presented by the use of mercury in small scale gold mining.

There have been increasing efforts to eliminate the use of mercury in mining and to ensure that it is managed properly when used.

According to reports, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has increased the monitoring of gold dealers to ensure that the regulations are followed closely.

Recent reports have indicated that there are suspicions that Guyanese may be smuggling mercury to Suriname, a country which has banned the use of the chemical.

Although the information is anecdotal, the situation will be carefully monitored, said Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman in an invited comment.

“When I look at the figures, I am amazed at the volume of mercury that has been imported into Guyana recently and given the amount of gold we are getting, this mercury cannot all be used in Guyana,” said the minister, adding that he has a suspicion that it might be going elsewhere.

Trotman had recently refused the importation of 30,000 kg of mercury into Guyana from Mexico as the Government continued to make strides towards the reduction of the toxic metal’s use in gold mining.