“Illegal sand digging at Lelydorp have been stopped”

The Ministry of Natural Resources (NH) has reportedly taken measures to restore order in the abandoned bauxite mine of Alcoa/Suralco at Lelydorp. Local residents told Times of Suriname that illegal sand diggings had turned the mine into a huge lake that was located near the sheet piling of the old mine. The ministry responded to the reports by sending a team of investigators to the mine. The team reportedly put a stop to all illegal activities. “The same thing is happening in all mining areas,” Natural Resources Minister Regillio Dodson told Times of Suriname. He pointed out that a lot of damage was done as a result of the illegal sand diggings. The illegal sand diggings started after Alcoa/Suralco stopped all of its operations in Suriname and left its mining areas unsecured. People have sparked a grab-and-go situation in all of the old mines. They aim at digging and transporting as much sand as they can before anybody even suspects what they are doing there. “People just show up with their excavators out of the blue and start digging. They know that they have three days so they work for three days before disappearing,” said Minister Dodson. The ministry has reportedly beefed up its mine inspections to prevent worse things from happening. The ministry has also received requests from entrepreneurs who want to establish a concession inside the mining areas. Only the bauxite institute can give the green light for such activities. Minister Dodson is urging everybody to notify the authorities when they see or hear that illegal activities are being conducted in old mining areas.