Ministry of Natural Resources urges miners and shop owners to respect the Marudi Mediation Agreement and relocate to areas allocated to them Several compassionate concessions and extensions have been granted.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, October 19, 2017 – The Ministry of Natural Resources continues to work with the parties to the Marudi Mediation Agreement to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes for the Romanex Guyana Exploration Limited, itinerant miners working on Marudi Mountain and South Rupununi Indigenous communities. As part of an agreed menu of measures, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) facilitated the movement of miners to a new area that will accommodate structures and shops, so as to facilitate the smooth conduct of an ongoing Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in the area, which Romanex Guyana Exploration Limited is required by law to complete before full-fledged operations can commence.
To date, the overwhelming majority of miners have moved to the new “landing” and the remaining few were given notice to follow likewise or face enforcement action. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the GGMC have every reason to believe that there will be total compliance.
The area identified had been mutually agreed upon and all commitments made by government to facilitate the move have been kept.
In April 2016, the Government of Guyana through Minister of Natural Resources Honourable Raphael G.C. Trotman M.P., intervened in a standoff between small miners from the Marudi Mountain area, representatives of indigenous communities and Romanex Guyana Exploration Limited and facilitated a historic mediation process with the help of Major-General Joe Singh. The successful mediation resulted in all parties signing the ‘Mediation of the Marudi Mountain Dispute Agreement’ that would guide future engagements to finalize a solution.
The Ministry is thankful to those who have responded positively to Government’s request to operate within the ambit of the law and takes the opportunity to assure these persons that they will be granted first priority to benefit from alternative land allocations; currently being identified to facilitate their mining activities.