The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has confirmed with Guyana Standard that a Cease Work Order (CWO) was issued in March 2023, and remains in effect, for what it considered to be unsafe operations at a Tassawini Mine Project at Chinese Landing, spanning some 3,400 acres (1,380 hectares).
[The clarification follows a report by the Washington Post this week that residents of Chinese Landing are fighting in court to regain full control over ancestral land where gold miners once were invited in to boost community development.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/17/guyana-amerindians-miners-gold-land/4ed3b016-f4bf-11ed-918d-012572d64930_story.html “”)
The report notes that in 1998, former village leaders of Chinese Landing had signed an agreement with businessman Wayne Vieira that awarded him the right to mine in Tassawini after he obtained the required permits from GGMC.
The deal between the businessman and the village was that he would employ 20% to 50% of unskilled laborers from the village and award it 1% commission on all gold mined. After mining commenced, villagers were not satisfied that the terms of the deal were being fully met, as such, it was scrapped in 2004.
In 2006, the Amerindian Act was amended to include language saying that permission is needed from an indigenous community before small and mid-scale mining can take place on their land. As a result of this, GGMC issued Vieira a cease work order for his mid-scale operation.
Vieira however filed a lawsuit in response that went all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice which ruled in 2017 that the Amerindian Act did not give any authority to the mining agency to stop work on the mining permits.
The pace of mining increased after the ruling. In 2021, the village filed its own lawsuit arguing that the government never should have had the authority to issue mining permits for any of its titled land.
While that case is ongoing, GGMC has assured that no works are being allowed as it has issued a CWO that remains in full force intact.
GGMC officials have confirmed that following Vieira’s win at the CCJ, he had submitted a letter dated March 14, 2018 requesting a five-year renewal of his mining permits. This was done.
Following that period, GGMC confirmed that a Defect Order (DO) was issued to Wayne Vieira on November 5, 2021 by GGMC, in accordance with Regulation 121, as the mine was deemed unsafe by the engineer, primarily due to inadequate pit slope angles and a lack of benches for safe mining. The Order allowed the operator to perform remedial work to the satisfaction of the commission.
On March 15, 2023, GGMC said a failure occurred on the working face of Vieira’s main Mining Pit. GGMC said, “Evidence suggested that works continued at the unsafe site that led to the pit wall failure. Fortunately, no harm came to life or limb following the incident.” The commission said it subsequently issued a complete CWO to Vieira which outlined that all works must be halted at the mine site, which includes the processing of stripped overburden. That CWO remains enforced.
GGMC also noted that during the period 2021-2023 there has been continuous monitoring of the mining area with various teams that included the Environmental Protection Agency, the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Ministry of Natural Resources and its Compliance Department. In addition, it said meetings were facilitated in Georgetown with the Toshao and Village Council for Chinese Landing.
This news agency understands that Vieira was also required to submit a Mine Plan which was done in April 2023 and remains under review.
