By Matt Falloon
Stabroek News
May 6, 2001

According to several top industry sources, foreign and Guyanese, Guyana's gold mining industry has been on the verge of crisis for quite some time on both the small and large mining scales.

Several factors have reduced gold from one of the most profitable substances in Guyanese soil to an expensive and risky business, leaving even the larger claimholders working on a knife edge to produce a worthwhile profit. A lack of infrastructure for foreign investment and poor, sometimes corrupt, policing of mining areas has made foreign companies nervous. One major foreign claimholder hinted that he would be pulling his operation within a year if things did not improve.

Lack of proper regulation, raiders, illegal mining, illegal foreign nationals removing gold to their respective countries, environmental disasters, poor mining practice and, on the international front, the massive drop in the price of gold compounded by the rising cost of fuel have led to the industry falling from the bright future of the nation to an inefficient and struggling sector.

"The gold mining industry has been under siege since 1996," explains Sapkumar Hemraj, General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board. "From a high in February of that year of 440 US$ per ounce, the price of gold descended to a low in July 1999 of 252 US$ per ounce."

The price of gold now rests just below 260 US$ per ounce while the cost of fuel has almost doubled during this steady drop meaning that even the larger operations are feeling the heat. "The fall in the international gold price is largely due to demand and supply," one source explained. "There is not enough gold being produced globally to satisfy demand but because of the above the ground mobilisation of gold, the markets are flooded."

"In short," he explained, "central banks around the world have started to dump their gold reserves. People are finding other options to invest in, gold is no longer seen as one of these options."



"The situation in South Africa and Australia is different," he continued. "Their gold is selling because revenue is high but, because of the strength of the US dollar, the consuming countries [Far East/India/China] are not buying. Their local currency makes gold expensive, which is priced globally in US$."

"Guyana's revenue is not as strong as Australia or South Africa and coupled with the rising fuel price, which makes production costlier, and the spread of malaria," he concluded, "many miners are going out of business."

"People have learnt how to manage inflation better," concurs Hemraj. "There is not the perception of gold as a safe haven any more."

Beyond this, of course, there is a more abstract matter affecting consumption - gold has lost its consumer value due to the emergence of branding - a Gucci bag says more to your lover than a gold necklace. Gold does not have personality. Thus, gold is not as popular as it used to be. People like names over substance and gold needs an image makeover.

Sheik Hassan, CEO at NARIL, described further the international conditions that have made gold mining troublesome.

"When will the supply from the central banks get taken up? Only then can we return to normal." He said. "What is more, if the US dumps their gold reserves we will be in serious trouble. Do you know how much gold there is at Fort Knox?"

"We run a tight ship which is important in mining, you have to know exactly what grades you are producing and what the recovery will be," he elaborated. "But unfortunately, the future looks grim because exploration is such an expensive undertaking."

"There is no guarantee you will find gold and if you do, there is no guarantee you will find quantities enough to justify investment in mining it."

"There is just no exploration dollar available," he lamented.

"Furthermore, with the reality of the situation on the ground, it is difficult to make effective changes for the benefit of the industry. At present, for example, you have to expend large amounts of fuel to collect fuel and get it to your operations. Miners are struggling to survive, lots of employees never get paid, malaria in Kurupung is endemic, mining is a hard enough way to make a living as it is," he observed. "How do you police this industry? What steps are realistic? How many people would be out of a job with stricter policy?

"Prior to the election, the GGDMA [Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners' Association] asked the President to get a Minister solely for mining," Hassan said. "Instead he has returned the portfolio to Hinds and has stated he will be giving him more responsibility on top of that!"

Another factor blamed for the situation is the non-declaration of gold at the Gold Board, meaning that an unknown quantity of gold is escaping the grasp of the government.



"We came up with estimates of the unofficial amount of gold being produced by observing the number of dredges in use, the capacity of these dredges and the cost of running the dredge," explained Hemraj. "From this we calculated what the output ought to be, which is of course complicated by more efficient and unaccounted Brazilian activity and the lack of an adequate database."

"Of course, there was a huge discrepancy between this figure and the amount we see at the Gold Board," he concluded. "It was said recently that the Gold Board only sees 20% of the gold produced in Guyana."

If such a claim is true, serious questions need to be asked of those regulating the industry. There are those who claim that Hemraj is greatly exaggerating the lost gold phenomenon and these figures would blame the confusion on the perception of a huge black market and the fluctuation of foreign currency exchange rates over the last decade. Nonetheless, there is still clearly a problem.

The Commissioner for the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission [GGMC] (the body charged with regulating the industry), Brian Sucre, has been labelled "ineffective" by one leading foreign investor in the gold industry who complained that fraud and corruption were as rife within the GGMC as amongst miners. This investor suggested that without the "proper staff" any Commissioner will be "pretty ineffective".

"We need a strong man who is willing to make changes and hold people accountable," he stated. Other sources regard Sucre's job as impossible and undesirable.

Sucre, places himself amongst the heroes rather than the villains. He denied any high level corruption within the GGMC and declared, "I'd like the bribers to approach me, so that I can kick them out."

"You have to send signals," he said. "The word is out - don't go to that man with anything."

He acknowledged a possible problem amongst the officers on the ground but suggested that "one officer" who gets involved in corruption labels the entire GGMC as rogues, whereas, according to Sucre corruption was rarely proven.

"It is difficult to monitor our officers," he conceded. "The integrity of the Commission is in their hands. If they get involved in corrupt practice, it brings the GGMC into disrepute.

"The usual approach from a coercer would be that 'We can pay you more than they can.' Of course, our officers have to live in the interior with the miners. Friendships grow and the miners are cunning," Sucre explained. "The moment you are on their wrong side they will start bribing you.

"The GGMC is very quick to dismiss officers if proved, but not until then," he stated. "We are a government organisation and we must have due process; a man is innocent until proven guilty."



"We have found the press to be insensitive to these issues and as such we try to keep it internal because any allegations have an effect on the morale of our staff," he continued, "but there are leaks."

The main problem for the GGMC, according to Sucre, is that any complaints people have with the industry are levelled at the Commission. "We get blamed for the failings of the industry," he complained. "But this industry is unfortunately very difficult to monitor, unlike something like bauxite."

The non-use of local communities to help police the activities of miners in the hinterland has increased suspicions of corruption.

One leading industry figure recommended the "empowerment and education of the hinterland communities, because law enforcement is useless without eyes and ears of the community." Such measures have not been implemented as yet.

Prime Minister Sam Hinds, who holds responsibility for the mining portfolio, is swift to acknowledge this challenge. "Chief, everything is a challenge to do. If I have a $100 to spend on policing, I'll spend the $100 and I'll look to spend it in the most efficient way," he stated.

"I am not going to accept the position where you tell me I need $1000," he remarked. "If you bring $900 to add to my $100, then I will spend $1000 on policing. Currently my resources only allow me $100. I've got to put money in other places."

The production of jewellery in Guyana has been another cause for regulatory concern. Hemraj estimated that 98% of the 36,000 ounces which are used annually in jewellery fabrication "do not come from official sources."

"The whole sector is largely illegal in source," he revealed, asserting that the quality of much of the jewellery is, therefore, dubious.

"I can count on the fingers of one hand the official businesses in the jewellery trade and who use Gold Board gold," Hemraj declared.

"Furthermore," he stated, "there are 350 goldsmiths registered at present but I would say at least twice that are unofficially operating."

Sucre confirmed, "there is exploitation of jewellery. The amount of gold exported and the gold jewellers buy from the Gold Board does not match up."

Add to this allegations of money laundering, the largely unregulated influx of foreign miners, environmental issues and numerous Amerindian complaints, and the gold industry in Guyana is not just suffering from the global situation; it is clearly plagued by a number of internal issues.

"The main problem in the industry is to make it economic," Hinds confirms. "The price of gold is low, we have to work to improve the cost of operations while at the same time reducing the negative impacts to the environment."

"We have to organise our operations and make up for lost time. We must improve communications and trails, combine different people from different sectors to keep improving the access in order to lower the cost of getting processed materials and people in and out of the interior."

"Also things to do with lifestyle and discipline in mining areas, I think, are the next big things because things like malaria and STDs, HIV/Aids, those type of things tell very much on the operations."

He is confident that health issues can be dealt with swiftly and effectively. "These are easier to deal with because it is known what to do and we can organise programmess to do that."

As far as improving the efficiency of operations, Hinds referred to a recent programme implemented with the express intention of "improving the recovery of sluice boxes."

"We are demonstrating that people are improving sluice-boxing so that is one area of technical improvement," he continued. "And we are working on areas to handle the slurries that come out - to reduce the impact on the water."

The Prime Minister reiterated the importance of the industry in Guyana stating that "much of what we use in our daily lives comes from mining, it is impossible to live without mining."

"We must accept there will always be mining and find a way to do it that is sustainable and economical - that is the focus of the government and the GGMC." (Back to Top)

How many Brazilian miners are in Guyana?



The influx of Brazilian (and other South American) miners is beginning to cause concern amongst the mining community. They are accused of careless and unregulated mining practices and also of taking gold out of the country. On the flipside, they are accredited in some corners with boosting a flagging industry and introducing more efficient means of production.

A recent protocol was introduced by the GGMC in agreement with the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) to regulate the number of foreign miners employed by claimholders and to regulate the number of foreign investors in the industry. It is hoped that such measures would help to relieve the perceived tension between different nationalities in the industry as well as improve practice on the ground.

The involvement of Brazilians in Guyana's gold industry is nothing new. According to GGMC Com-missioner, Brian Sucre, the "Brazilian influence began increasing 10 years ago following a crackdown in Brazil and Venezuela on the Brazilian garimpeiros which moved them into the Guianas. A lot of the mining then was illegal," he confirmed.

General Secretary of the GGDMA, Edward Shields, said that many of the displaced garimpeiros went into Suriname initially.

Suriname still has problems controlling the activities of its garimpeiro immigrants and recently stated that it is no longer accepting new work permit applications of Brazilian miners if they do not have a residence permit.

According to Shields, once the Brazilians discovered that the mined out areas in Guyana still contained gold, the influx began in earnest.

"Of course," he remarked, "Brazilians have been mining here for nearly 40 years, but the influx of late has been increasing."

Numbers

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Randolph Williams, acknowledged that there is a problem with unregistered Brazilians in Guyana but could offer no exact figures as to the extent of the problem. Indeed, he admitted that there was no mechanism in place at present to tabulate an estimate.

"Now the press is interested," he remarked, "perhaps something will be done. At present we only have figures for officially registered foreign nationals."

Sapkumar Hemraj, General Manager of the Gold Board confirmed this official ignorance.

"The problem with Brazilian miners is an ongoing development," he stated. "The extent of the infiltration is extremely sketchy."

The best that Region 8 Chairman, Ewart Clarke, could estimate was that "there is a number of Brazilians in Region 8 mostly involved in mining. A number of these, perhaps a little over half, are legally in Guyana."

"A number of them," he continued," are in the country illegally and they have an organised society working with each other.

"Any illegal mining practice should be dealt with by GGMC," he remarked. "Unfortunately, it seems, they are not very in touch with what is going on on the ground."

Sub-culture

The unorthodox methods and habits of the Brazilian miners are key factors in a burgeoning phenomenom that is changing the face of the gold industry and the Guyanese hinterland way of life.

Hemraj describes a "subculture" that is developing in the interior whereby "Brazilians have developed a confidence in each other and are suspicious of Guyanese. Brazilians then would marry Guyanese, particularly Amerindians, to gain access to mining rights. This keeps their operations entirely Brazilian."

Another way in which Brazilian miners have infiltrated the mining sector is by leasing land from a Guyanese claim-holder.

"A Guyanese land owner," explained Hemraj, "would lease land to Brazilians to work it and then would sell the gold to the Gold Board, retaining a percentage of the profit."

Brazilian miners are favoured by such claim-holders because their mining techniques are said to be more advanced and also, as Shields suggested, "all immigrant workers are renowned for working harder."

"Effectively, Brazilians call the shots," a leading environmentalist told Stabroek News. "They are sleeping partners. The Guyanese own the land where the gold is but do not have the technology to mine it effectively.

"This has encouraged the Brazilians into creating themselves a one-stop shop for mining in Guyana," the environmentalist claimed. "They have nothing to go back for and are very hardened men."

The hard and closed behaviour of the Brazilian miners is something that is echoed throughout the industry.

Sucre agreed, "Yes, the Brazilians have formed themselves into a society. They argue on behalf of themselves and are now settled in their business here. There is a definite effort to comply and to abide by mining rules - paying workers in cash not with gold, and declaring all their produce.

"However, they are here to profit in the long run and this can lead to anomalies."

An industry source concurred, "The revenues collated do not amount to justify the volume of gold harvested. This leads to allegations of fraud and it is questionable as to how the country benefits."

Benefit

However, there are those who maintain that Guyana has benefited from the influx of Brazilian miners. One major gain has been the improvement of mining technique as a direct result of the expertise of the Brazilians. Their more sophisticated equipment has improved yields and therefore Gold Board income.

Furthermore, according to Hemraj, "Brazilians will not tend to approach populous areas, they would venture to upgrade old areas."

"Kurupung is a perfect example. It was a dead mining area to Guyanese miners but it has now been resuscitated by Brazilians with their superior technology.

"If anything the Brazilians keep production going longer due to more efficient techniques and they are revitalising 'dead areas.'

"Their influx and success is balancing the Guyanese who are going out of business."

A leading industry source whose company is involved in leasing claims and equipment to miners, including a significant number of Brazilians, agrees with Hemraj.

"If the Brazilians were driven out," he stated, "there would be a collapse in the industry. The Guyanese people are intent on moving north, we have Brazilians replacing them, coming in and working hard.

"They are not invading, in fact they are contributing to the country and maintaining the industry somewhat.

"Drive out the Brazilians and the infrastructures that have developed here to sustain them will collapse. This will directly affect the Guyanese."

He suggested welcoming the influx of foreign expertise rather than creating a scare on the coastland over something that is, according to him, supporting a flagging industry.

"Yes, the industry is struggling but we are about to put nails in the coffin if we complain about the Brazilian presence."

Mercury

The environmental downside of the equation was elaborated on by Sucre.

"The Brazilians brought in their own systems. For example, the use of mercury in the sluice box. This can have terrible consequences for the miners and the environment."

It is alleged that most Brazilians use mercury in the separation stage as well as the amalgamation stage of the goldmining operation. This overuse can increase the possibility of contracting mercury poisoning and also means that large amounts of mercury are possibly escaping into the land and river systems.

"Brazilian miners are here on the short term," he continued. "They do not take care of environment."

This is a view widely shared, that the foreign miners see Guyana as a pot of gold and have no concern over the welfare of the land. Many environmentalists complain that foreign mining operations merely rape the land.

"The way they operate," Sucre expands, "is to work hard and live in cruel, living conditions.

"Their mining method is careless," he complained. "They just follow the gold shouts and nasty up all the rivers".

Loopholes were quickly discovered in the regulatory framework which allowed more foreign miners to infiltrate the industry and to avoid regulation.

"Anyone who comes into Guyana to work claims," explained Sucre, "has to be sponsored.

"Once this was discovered it became a business and many Brazilians began working under this scheme.

"However, if the Brazilians are not making money with one claimholder he ups and leaves to another and makes an arrangement with them whilst still officially attached to the other claimholder."

"We can't really keep track of this," Sucre complained. "The GGMC must be informed.

"You see, when the Brazil-ian's work permit runs out he returns to the original guy and sorts it with him. He was legally in the country but not legally in mining," he said.

"It obviously called for tightening up again. We implemented having people registered in the field, but because the Brazilians move so rapidly from shout to shout, controlling the system is very difficult."

"Legally," he explained, "the GGMC's authority only goes so far as to ensure that a man has a legal right to mine. If we discover an illegal miner, he tends to just go somewhere else."

Porous borders

Another of the major flaws in the industry are the numerous opportunities for fraud. As previously explained, Hemraj estimates that fraud is costing the government hundreds of millions of dollars.

"There is a healthy border trade," he said. "Brazilians will tend to take gold across the border as much as they would sell it to us."

Sucre confirms this problem. "We are trying to ensure that the Brazilians comply with all the laws, but there is still a situation where Brazilians pay their workers in gold rather than cash. Brazilians are also smuggling gold out of the country; there is widespread non-declaration and fraudulent claims."

The main cause of this largely unpoliced smuggling and border trade is the notoriously porous borders between Guyana, Brazil and Venezuela.

Another source stated that, "The concerns are that the Ministry of Home Affairs is reacting to requests for work permits without seeing the people. Are they miners or camp followers who are here to marry and to establish shops and so on?

"As far as the smuggling of gold and the policing of the border is concerned, I am not satisfied that the Ministry takes the job seriouisly."

Randolph Williams expressed concern in the matter. "It would be of concern to any country. The borders of Guyana are not rigid but there are not the resources available to properly monitor it.

"We can only monitor the border at key points of entry," he admitted. "We are keen to control movement across all borders."

It is clear that broadscale monitoring is required to deter the smuggling of gold across these borders but it is claimed by several prominent industry and environmental figures that, as one source put it, "Guyana is loathe to have any issue with Brazil." That is, it is perceived that controlling the flow of Brazilians across the border to reduce smuggling, illegal mining and environmental damage would be seen as an affront to the Brazillian government.

"Foreign Affairs do not want to kick out Brazilians whilst there are illegal Guyanese in Brazil," said one senior official.

Living frontiers?

It seems there is a wider issue at stake beyond the regularisation of the mining sector. Many figures referred to the idea of Brazil's 'living frontiers' - a non-aggressive spread of the Brazillian people across neighbouring borders.

Brazilian Ambassador to Guyana Claudio Lyra denies any such theory, appealing to a scrutinisation of border politics worldwide in order to understand the issue.

"It is essential that border characteristics are understood. Border politics are uncertain across the globe," Lyra explained. "Borders are artificial lines that exist outside of the reality on the ground.

"Where people have deep ingrained relationships and cultures across the border," he elaborated, "there is bound to be some bleed."

He denied that Guyana is intimidated by its larger neighbour and therefore ill-inclined to raise the issue.

"We are willing to work in collaboration with the Guyanese government as and when they so wish, but we have no aggressive foreign policy whereby we want to take over Guyana," he said.

"The miners and traders that cross the border do so for economic reasons, not for political reasons."

"Brazil shares a lot of Guyana's problems in mining in the Amazon," he went on. "Unregulated, illegal mining is a problem that the Brazillian government has been trying to curb for many years."

"We have spent over US $1 billion on a new surveillance programme using satellites and the air force to monitor and locate illegal activities in the Amazon and along the borders," he remarked.

"In order to address the problems of illegal mining and smuggling, we must be in a position to effectively monitor it, then prioritise funds accordingly.

"Like Guyana, Brazil only has limuited resources, funds are not readily available," the Ambassador revealed. "Indeed, policing the whole problem is an almost impossible task.

"However, this will enable us to concentrate on the largest problems.

"We are willing to share the information we collate with the Guyanese government and we have always placed ourselves in a position to help Guyana stopping the problem from intensifying."

No flag

As far as the Brazilian miners are concerned, however, it appears as though Brazil is firm.

"These people are under no flag," he explained. "Under Brazilian law, no Brazilian can be prevented from leaving the country or from re-entering the country.

"On the other hand, for those within Guyana's borders, there is a duty of the Brazilian government to protect and keep them from abuse.

"However, on the question of helping Guyana to solve the problem of illegal miners," Lyra stated. "It is an internal matter, a matter for the Guyanese government. It is not within our jurisdiction and we have a taken a firm stand in not interfering in our neighbouring countries' internal affairs.

"The Brazilian government has no policy of stimulating the miners to go abroad," he reiterated.

On the question of the proposed Georgetown-Lethem road facilitating Brazilian entry into this country, the Ambassador remarked:

"The road will help to intensify the economic links and allow the intensifying of human contact, trade and cultural exchange.

"That is one of the main reasons we are planning the road rather than economic benefit, although there will undoubtedly be a growth in that sector as well as a further influx of Brazilians and Guyanese."

Will this not inevitably aggravate the problems of smuggling and illegal activity?

"The road will be monitored and policed at the border," reassured the Ambassador. "This should help stem the tide of illegal activity.

"It is an important part of our foreign policy to get the populations to engage in cultural exchange to lead to greater understanding between the two peoples."

Multi-national approach

On the larger scale, the Ambassador revealed that Brazil is looking for a multilateral, multinational approach to addressing some of the continent-wide problems, a view supported by many in Guyana.

This would see the problems of smuggling, illegal mining, forestry, rustling and drug trafficking being addressed in co-operation with one another.

A government source agreed that this was the only way illegal mining activities and migration would be reduced.

"Guyana does not have the resources to police the situation," he stated. "We need a collaborative effort, perhaps incorporated beyond mining, alongside a quick reaction communication system to deal with these problems."

For now, it seems, Brazilians and other South American nationals continue to mine both regulated and unregulated in an unknown number.

Mahdia: mining and survival



The mining town of Mahdia, situated alongside the Potaro River and beneath the mighty Pakaraimas in Region 8, is proof of the development gold mining can bring to the interior.

What is perceived as the 'Wild West' by many on the coast is in fact a peaceful settlement, if a little beyond the law. The law goes out of the window the moment you get into the mini-bus and head out along the road into the interior. On a daily basis, drivers risk their necks to ferry residents, miners, and goods at high speed through this bush. The six-hour journey can be gruelling, cramped and loud - but it's also cheap and an opportunity to see land which you would otherwise never see.

Mahdia itself consists of a number of circular streets and several small basic suburbs, including the Amerindian section, Campbelltown. There are several restaurants, bars and shops to cater for the local population and the miners who either reside in the area or who use Mahdia as a stop-over in between trips into the backdam. Small, moth-filled backroom cinemas show Anaconda and X-Files alongside Traffic.

The town starts to bustle to life just after dawn as miners stir to stock up on fuel for their dredges, and food, cigarettes and rum for the few days they will spend labouring in the intense humidity of the interior to shake a few pennyweight of gold out of the land. There are few miners who can claim to have avoided malaria or something worse, and there are few who can claim to be making any great money out of the ordeal.

Most of the miners whom Stabroek News spoke to complained that because of the nature of the game, one week can produce a worthwhile living and the next you can have nothing. "It's the way of the land," explained one.

The mining life is a tough one, there is no doubt. Alcoholism is rife at Mahdia, some miners stagger around the town at all hours tempting anyone and anybody into taking a drink. This goes across all races; from the officials to the diamond miners back from Kaieteur, rum is an essential part of survival.

"This keeps me from malaria," exclaimed one individual. "This and luck."

This is where the lawlessness enters the consciousness of the place. For although Mahdia was incredibly warm and the people open and vibrant, the lack of any presence of order was clear. There was no over-riding sense of danger in the town, but tales of prostitute murders and gunshots in the diamond hills reveal that mining is a desperate way to make a living. Most of the diamond miners in the hills (Eagle Mountain, Toucan Mountain) around Mahdia carry firearms for protection.

One of the goldminers I interviewed in action said that he was looking forward to going into the hills to mine diamonds next year, but first off he would have to get a gun to protect himself from bandits and other miners. Among many others, he told of the frequent raider operations on the unused Omai land in the backdam, the danger there was in approaching them and the bribes they paid out to certain officials.

Then there was word of the sophisticated Colombian operation upstream and the three Brazilians staying at a hotel who had been here for six years, and had done very well by all accounts, but could barely speak a word of English.

Accounts that these people would be threatening were completely untrue, they were hospitable and open for what discussion we could fathom from each other. They were heading up to the shout at Kurupung, complaining that Mahdia was no longer the gold haven it once was. The Brazilian way, they indicated, was to follow the shout rather than the law.

They played bif-baf on the balcony, wagering large sums of money for each hand. When one guy ran out of cash he simply strolled up to the Gold Board office and came back with a thick handful of $1000 bills. Gold still pays for some.

There are those miners who manage their affairs prudently and make a decent living, then there are those who are bent on drinking and whoring their earnings away.

At night, the place gets a little hazy, drinks flow, tempers flare, conversations get emotional and the karaoke gets out of hand. The only thing unusual is the wide cross of people in one place - Germans, Amerindians, Portuguese, Trinidadians, St Lucians, Brazilians, Colombians, Afro- and Indo-Guyanese. All with one thing in common - mining.

It seems that once the mining life is yours it is hard to go back home. Many of the older miners had not returned to their homes in years.

"I ain't in no hurry!" grinned Spencer Terrence, sitting in the early morning beside the small cenotaph in the centre of town.

All the rumours were true, people of all nations mining in a lawless town, pits of destruction lying behind every operation, unlicensed firearms, out-of-date permits and alcoholics of all backgrounds walking the streets. On the other hand, there was none of the Georgetown's tensions, other than those emanating from the need to survive what is widely considered to be the toughest job in the world.



Mining is not helping Amerindians - Fredericks



"The effect of mining on the Amerindian people is of no concern to the government of Guyana," says Guyana Organisation of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP) elder, Fred Fredericks, in the wooden, breezy HQ of The United Force, Georgetown. Whilst the city is tense with violence and discord, Fredericks describes a less obtrusive battle in the interior communities, where the Amerindian traditional way of life is changing under the pressures of an emerging mining-driven economy.

"Outside we know what is happening and we should be consulted," he insists.

"Mining has had an awful effect," he complains. "Our lifestyle has changed from hunters, fishermen and farmers to a dependence on mining for sustenance. Noise pollution has jeopardised our hunting grounds and worse, our rivers are constantly polluted. Fish float dead in the waters. Malaria and typhoid are rampant. Amerindians now spend the whole day long panning for gold, mothers panning with kids by their sides, they burn it and go to the shops and spend it. This is fundamentally changing our culture."

There are those, the Prime Minister and many Amerindians included, who feel that the traditional Amerindian lifestyle must continue to adapt to the modern world, and mining has given them a way to do this. Fredericks acknowledges this also, but complains that mining is not the ideal precursor to development, especially as mining activities are notorious for the detrimental effect on the environment and the social problems that tend to follow - alcoholism, prostitution and crime. Beyond this, Fredericks foresees another pitfall in the future.

"The problem will come when the gold dries up in a certain region and the miners leave. My people will be left hanging. What then? Do they go back to the old ways?

"Returning to our old values is becoming increasingly more difficult. We are becoming dependent on handouts. The government go in and see the poor and give them this and that but we know better than this. That does not help us long-term. They do it for a political reason, we give them that and they vote for us. I told some communities this and they nearly stoned me. SIMAP are not helping you, I said, but they did not want to hear that."

"There are things we can learn from the West," he concedes. "We are a backward people. Nothing can be done today without computers and we, as Amerindians, can use these technologies to improve our farming techniques and communications.

"But, we are Amerindians, things like language and song should be preserved. We can't express ourselves properly in English."

It is now the case that many Amerindian men have become involved in mining, leaving the Amerindian women to fend for the children and tend the duties left open by the missing men. This has created an unnecessary strain on the women and in the meantime, the men have picked up some of their mining colleagues' bad habits.

"The argument for development has now been forced on us by mining. People were comfortable before but now it is a different culture. It is changing for the worse."

"At least the larger companies, like Omai, compensate the country is some way," he said. "But the small miners, especially the Brazilians, don't care about the country nor the people. They pulled down a whole burial ground at Tumatumari, so you can see our heritage is of no concern to them. How does this benefit Guyana?"

Councillors threatened

According to Kid James, Programme Assistant at the Amerindian Peoples' Association (APA) the regions most affected by mining are Regions 1,7 and 8.

"Region 1 tends to be mined by small-scale land dredges," explained James. "These mostly operate in and around Amerindian communities who unfortunately do not have land titles.

"The tendency of the porkknockers is to not respect any rules of the communities and in that region some 20 individuals have refused to move.

"The police have little presence in the area and the porkknockers do what they want. They have threatened two councillors, use marijauna and other drugs, the water is turbid all year round from the side products of using land dredges," he complained.

"We have written several letters to the previous Minister for Amerindian Affairs, the GGMC and the regional representatives but there has been little response."

Rape

One problem that follows mining around Amerindian communities is the seduction and/or rape of Amerindian girls.

"Gang rapes have been reported in Region 1, the miners get the girls drunk and then rape them," James lamented.

It is clear that this is the tip of the problem, where according to Waramadong (Region 7) representative Amrita Thomas, many rape cases are unreported or girls are bribed or threatened into silence or worse, prostitution.

"One girl who worked in a shop in Kambaru was approached by a miner. She asked what he needed and the man handed her a penny weight of gold and told her to keep it," Thomas said. "The man then dragged her out of the shop and carried her away. He then attempted to rape her, the girl screamed but no one came to her aid. He capitulated, demanding back his money and she gave it back.

"The matter was reported to the village council but the father of the girl, being a friend of the miner, covered up the incident."

Such abuses to basic human rights are ugly side products of a mining culture whose poor regulation is not always just an administrative one.

"If the population knew of these atrocities, I'm sure the other citizens would support us," Thomas said. "And that goes for the environmental and social damage that mining is causing."

Social concerns

James reiterated the social concern caused by Amerindian men taking to mining as their main activity.

"Mining has made local goods expensive and with the local cassava shortage, the men are encouraged into mining," he confirmed. "The problem with this is not only the pressure on the womenfolk to farm and rear the children but also the fact that most Amerindian miners are exploited and paid half of their Guyanese or Brazilian counterparts' wages... Or not at all."

Although the social and environmental problems of mining tend to be the same in most mining areas, each region has its specific difficulties.

In Region 7, for example, most of the mining is on the Mazaruni river and done upstream which means that any wastage from the mining process is carried downstream, polluting the fishing waters of the communities along the river.

"In Region 7, one captain complained," said James, "but nothing was done. He took measures into his own hands and destroyed some of the mining equipment. He was arrested and subsequently released after an appeal was made.

"In the upper Mazaruni area there are several dredges that dredge 24 hours a day, destroying much of the river bank and up to 40/50 yards in land," James remarked. "Coupled with this illegal practice, there is loud music all night and of course the problem of human waste.

"In the dry season, the creeks which we depend on for water dry up and the men have to paddle for miles to find clean sources of water. There are also no fish in the Upper Mazaruni," he explained.

"Over the last 10 years the stocks have gradually depleted and now they have to go way up to the source of the Mazaruni to fish."

Like Fredericks, James complains of a perceived indifference and perhaps ignorance by the authorities in addressing the problem.

"Too many permits are being issued, if the industry was cleaner there would be no need for so many permits."

"The GGDMA met with the Prime Minister after Mr Hinds had closed all operations on the Upper Mazaruni earlier this year, and it was decided that the EPA and the GGMC will monitor the operations.

"But these people do not have the capacity to monitor and when all the fuss dies down operations return to normal. As far as the EPA are concerned, when their representatives visited the Upper Mazaruni area they wanted to know where the dirty water was.

"It was right in front of them. This shows inherent ignorance of the interior," James said. "The coastlanders may be used to the Demerara but our river is meant to be clear.

"Besides this the police and the GGMC officers on the ground are accused of and widely known to be taking regular bribes.

"We don't believe this is adequate protection for the communities, the captains themselves want to police the areas."

"There is a definite need for all to meet and discuss the issue but the GGDMA do not appear to be willing to make concessions," James stated.

But how is it that so many miners seem able to mine on or close to Amerindian lands, whether titled or not? The problem seems to be that some captains are led into signing agreements with mining firms without seeking any guidance in the matter.

"The only real solution to this problem is to give full recognition of the lands to the Amerindian peoples," James said. "And furthermore, to let these people police their land.

"Beyond that we must voice our concerns and the government will have to educate themselves about the Amerindian culture in order to be in a position to properly govern us."

This is a feeling shared by Captain Anderson Hastings of Kako (Region 7).

"Let us be equal," he said. "The only way to solve this problem is to have strong representation where we are treated equally as humans."