Latest update April 20th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 26, 2012 News
By Latoya Giles
The economic effects of the Linden protests have negatively impacted on the gold, diamond, bauxite and other mineral industries of the local economy, directly and indirectly, as mine workers, their support services and their families suffered the loss of income.
This was according to Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud. Persaud told Kaieteur News yesterday that due to the denial of access to vehicles requiring transit to Linden en route to the mining districts in Regions Seven, Eight, Nine and 10, the operators had to find alternative routes, which increased the transportation cost for mining operations.
He said that some of the miners had to resort to renting barges to move their trucks and have been using alternative routes to take fuel and food into their locations. Moreover, Persaud said that other miners were forced to air-dash their produce, and incur the high cost associated with such form of transportation.
The minister explained that in the gold mining sector, three mining districts were affected – close to 200 dredges – and about 2000 miners were forced to stop quarrying and close their operations.
For bauxite in particular, Persaud said that Bosai Minerals Group Guyana Inc. had to shut down its operations for a number of days. Consequently it suffered significant financial losses in production and the shutdown had affected approximately 600 employees.
The minister said that during this period, the company was reviewing its future investment plans which is in the vicinity of US$200M and can create another 1000 jobs. He noted that BOSAI reported US$1M in losses, as its plant had been shutdown and mining operations had been inactive for the period of unrest.
Further, the minister said that the consequences to the mining-related services sectors, the well-being of the mines workers and their families were felt by all levels of the extractive industries, particularly for Regions seven, eight, nine and 10.
“Miners and operators in the Regions of Guyana have stated that the Linden protest situation had caused some levels of their operations to be at a standstill as they are unable to transport food and fuel into mining camps” the minister said.
In addition, for the forestry sector, the minister said that almost all of the operations within the Region 10 area, which account for 46% of community forestry, large TSAs (Timber Sales Agreements), state forest permit holders and also community forest organizations, had to stop operations.
According to Persaud, they had products that could not be taken to the point of export.
“Buyers were cancelling orders, not only external buyers, but also local buyers along with a number of sawmillers, specifically along the East Bank, had to close operations.”
He opined that the unrest in Linden had not only affected many of the arteries of the town, but also many other Guyanese, socially, economically and otherwise.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
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