Georgetown : Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud said that the 10th National Mining and Quarrying Conference is being held at a very strategic time, when the extractive industry is on the upward move.
He was at the time speaking to a large number of stakeholders and officials within the sector at the Guyana International Conference Center (GICC), Liliendaal where the three-day forum and exhibition is being held.
This event, which is part of the activities in commemoration of Mining Week, will give participants the opportunity to review presentations on ways in which the overall operations of the mining sector can be improved, be educated and updated on best practices and new technologies, and allow them to get a greater sense awareness of the issues that pertain to the mining sector. Presentations will be made by both local and foreign experts and interest groups.
The Minister said that, “we wanted this conference to not only be about the key academic issues, but also to deal with the practical questions,” the Minister said.
He explained that the sector is a dynamic one and as such, stakeholders have to keep abreast with the changes in order to better manage the sector with regards to both the social and environmental aspects.
Executive Director of the Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology (IAST), Dr. Suresh Narine delivered a presentation on the use of activated carbon from coconut shells as an alternative to mercury.
Mercury is banned in many countries but is still used in Guyana and most of the developing world. However, Government aims to gradually phase out its use by 2020 as it recognises the environmental and human health risks of mercury.
Dr. Narine said that while mining is a large foreign exchange earner for Guyana, it also comes at a price, and as such, since the country cannot afford to ignore its significant role in development, it must be done in a sustainable way.
Mining today, has opened new frontiers in the interior, and this in itself has highlighted the need for better land use planning and development of sustainable communities in the hinterland.
Dr. Narine explained that mercury is not an element that dissipates in the environment, but rather bio-accumulates and it is as a result of this accumulative property that leads to significant health problems.
Mercury poisoning affects the nervous and reproductive systems; damages brain functions, DNA and chromosomes and triggers allergic reactions.
“The majority of chemicals used in gold extraction are corrosive, toxic and hazardous, so therefore, when you look at your menu of options, it is important to look at options that would mitigate impacts, because we know of no method that has no impact,” the IAST Head stated.
The mercury-free method he is proposing includes the leaching of ore with very dilute solutions of cyanide; this would extract the gold from the ore.
Dr. Narine explained that coconuts are Guyana’s third largest agricultural export. Approximately 50 million coconuts were exported in 2012, this is usually done in the form of copra or coconut meat, not in the shells.
On other hand, there is no large scale operation in Guyana that utilies the shells for energy. The shells are carbonised to charcoal in a kiln, it is then sifted, and steam activated into granulated carbon.
The gold-cyanide slurry is then passed through an activated carbon-filled tank or column. The gold adsorbed on the activated carbon is recovered from the carbon by elution, typically with a hot caustic aqueous cyanide solution. This method would give miners over 90 percent recovery.
Mining Week 2013 is being held under the theme “Clean Green and Responsible; Securing the Future of Mining.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.