The ban on mercury exports from the United States from January 1 this year is unlikely to have an impact on the country’s gold mining industry “for some time yet” according to Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Administrative Coordinator Colin Sparman.
While the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has already announced that the industry is seeking alternatives to the use of mercury as an amalgam for gold in the country’s mining sector, Sparman told Stabroek Business he expects the use of mercury in the goldfields here “will be there for some time” and the ban on exports by the US is unlikely to affect supplies reaching miners here. “There are other sources from which mercury can be acquired with relative ease,” Sparman said.
While the issue as to whether international pressures for the cessation of the use of mercury in the gold mining sector has given rise to questions as to whether its use in the industry here may attract unfavourable international attention, the government, conscious of the importance of the role of gold in the economy and the consequential lobby of the mining community, has made it clear that it has no intention of banning the use of mercury.
No comments:
Post a Comment