Brazilian dredge owner fined $12m for ripping up part of Cuyuni River bank
A Brazilian dredge owner has been fined $12m for destruction of a section of the bank of the Cuyuni River.
Stabroek News was told that the registered owner of the dredge is Jadar Lopes Acevedo, a Brazilian national. The dredge identifier is SD 19041.
Sources tell Stabroek News that a miner had lodged a complaint about the Brazilian- owned dredge destroying a section of the bank of the Cuyuni River. Approximately 250 cubic meters of the buffer area was mined, sources say.
Destruction of river banks by miners and fouling of the waters in their quest for gold has been a problem for decades. With the price of gold sky high, observers say the depredations will continue. At current market prices the fine is equivalent to around 30 ounces of gold.
A release from the Ministry of Natural Resources on September 12th referred to the incident but did not name the perpetrator.
The release said that as part of a renewed strategic vision for the extractive sector, particularly mining, the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat has mandated the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to intensify monitoring and compliance in keeping with the Mining Act and Regulations.
This, the release said, follows the relatively high price for gold and the much-anticipated gold rush which leads to illegal mining and raiding of legitimate mining properties. Hence, the release said that the GGMC’s Mines Services Division had resuscitated its Prosecutorial Unit to combat the emerging trend of illegal mining.
Bharrat said that the dormancy of this unit resulted in a cavalier approach towards compliance by miners.
The success of this unit has rapidly gained attention across the various mining districts, as the Commission intensifies its efforts to combat illegal mining and preservation of safe working environment, Bharrat stated.
According to the Natural Resources Minister, the Unit is well supported by the field staff of the Division whose compliance checks are key for filing the requisite charges in instances where offences were committed. Bharrat, the release said, has also mandated the GGMC to aggressively pursue illegal mining and operations that are not in keeping with safety and environmental standards.
The release noted that at the height of the COVID19 pandemic, the Brazilian mine operator destroyed a section of the Cuyuni River, that resulted in extensive damage to the buffer area of the river. Field staff were alerted, and the resulting investigation found several offences were committed by the operator. Further, field officers and the members of the Prosecutorial Unit combined their efforts to secure the first custodial penalty imposed on a miner for illegal mining.
“The miner was found to be operating illegally on a Prospecting Licence (PL) in the North West Mining District and refused to comply with repeated orders of the Commission to desist from such activities”, the release said.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Natural Resources through the GGMC will continue to take a firm stance against illegal mining and prosecute defaulters, in keeping with the Mining Act and Regulations, for the sustainable governance of the mining sector, the release said.