Planned Rupununi mine may disrupt ecosystem - impact report
-operation could produce 40,000 ozs gold per annum
Stabroek News
January 26, 2004
Romanex Guyana Interna-tional plans to commence gold mining on the Marudi Mountain concession in Southern Guyana but this could disrupt the ecosystem in the area, an impact report says.
Mining will be done on a rectangular block of state land in the Rupununi mining district on an eastern portion of the Marudi Mountain.
Romanex Guyana Interna-tional is a subsidiary of Vannessa Ventures Ltd of Vancouver, Canada.
A draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was prepared by Ground Struc-tures Engineering Consultants Ltd and submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On the basis of the impact assessment, a decision to grant clearance for the project will be made.
As part of the process, a meeting is to be held on February 6 at 10.30 am at the Aishalton Community Centre, Aishalton village to allow consultants and proponents to present the EIA and discuss any environmental issues related to the project.
Stabroek News understands that after that meeting, the next step will be to outline the terms and conditions for the environmental permit. However, this depends on whether the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) issues a mining permit.
James Stonehouse of Vanessa (Guyana) said that once mining starts, the mine plans to produce 40,000 ounces of gold per year. He told Stabroek News recently that the company plans to employ close to 100 Guyanese.
He said the company is still completing the final stages of the project-planning and exploration and some of the equipment to be used is being utilised elsewhere until needed.
According to the draft Terms of Reference (TOR), some of the anticipated impacts of the proposed project include the clearing of forested areas, excavation for ore recovery and mineral processing.
Environmental studies found that clear cutting of forested areas for the mine would fragment the area and reduce the size of the tree stands and the installation of plant facilities would form barriers to the movement of animals, including access to water bodies. The road will provide access to natural domains previously protected from outside influences.
People moving along the road may harvest commercially viable plant and animal species, and this may lead to a decrease of those species, the TOR states.
The study found too that during the operation of the mine, wildlife would move away from the affected area and this displacement would increase competition with wildlife on the periphery of the area. The findings indicate that some animals are attracted to the roads for various reasons and this may lead to accidental death.
Communities in proximity to the proposed area are Aishalton, Krowdar & Lumedpaw, Achuwib, Marunawa, Waruwaunawa, Shea and Kuiwini.
The TOR states that loss of revenue for members of those communities may result from the restriction of access to the area for hunting and fishing. But the operation hopes to create employment opportunities for residents of the area.
The draft states that dust emissions will be produced during the mining operation by vehicles using the site roads and from the overburden stockpiles on site. Continuous noise may disrupt acoustic communication between fauna and may lead to changes in behaviour.