Georgetown: The Guyana Government through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is exploring ways to improve current mining practices with more efficient and environmentally safe technology.
According to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud, this commitment prior to the screening of a film titled “Amazon Gold”, which highlighted the impact of mercury in gold mining. The event was organised by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
WWF Country Manager Patrick Williams, Sarah DuPont of Amazon Gold and Dr Luis Fernandez, a specialist on the impact of mercury in gold mining also participated.
Minister Persaud called for greater collaboration between South American and Amazon countries in sharing experiences and technologies for suitable and environmentally safe mining practices.
He pointed out that the government has an aggressive stakeholder approach programme in keeping with the new international convention to control mercury emissions which was signed in Japan – the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The agreement is an international response to the reality that mercury pollution is a global problem that no country can address unilaterally.
He emphasised that the government recognises the environmental and human health risks of mercury use and pollution and supports the implementation of a global legally binding instrument on mercury that will prohibit its production, export and use through a planned approach.
Guyana’s mining sector is developing rapidly and is poised to develop even further with hydrocarbon exploration, resumption of manganese mining, increased production of bauxite and gold and the opening of new exploration for new minerals and elements such as uranium and elements of rare earth.
Additionally, the government through the education and natural resources and environment ministries has reviewed the evidence on the factors for growth, and as such, recognises strongly the role of improved education in technical training in the mining sector. This will be done through the Guyana Mining School and Training Centre Inc (GMSTCI) through a grant agreement between the WWF and the GGMC to develop a curriculum of the mining school.
As such, the ministry is encouraging many miners to use mercury free technology through the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA). Already, a series of demonstrations were conducted using mercury free technology, which has shown that a higher efficiency rate can be achieved.
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