SITUATION ANALYSIS OF THE SMALL-SCALE GOLD ... - WWF

7.1 Summary of the findings
Chapter VII
DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Between 75 and 150 million US Dollars worth in gold is produced by small-scale miners
in Suriname each year. Most of the mining is extra-legal. Even on mining areas covered
by a permit most of the mining is extra-legal: parts of exploration permits are being
leased to miners for exploitation. The Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto noted that
70% of the world population lives outside of the law. In the SSGM sector in Suriname
this number is probably over 90%. Several key issues stand out in the sub-sector:
No fully developed integrated SSM policy
No zoning of mining regions, making planning and regulatory control difficult
Out of date legislation that does not reflect the current realities in the gold mines
Weak institutional structure with limited representation in the field
A negligible government take from the sub-sector
Extra-legal operations throughout the interior and massive environmental
destruction that results from unsound ore extraction and processing techniques.
Health, security and social threats emerging in unstructured mining regions and
zones
In the preceding chapters the causes of these problems have been analyzed and discussed
at length. We have reviewed the history of gold mining in Suriname, analyzed the social
dimension of the sub-sector, discussed the economics of SSM and reviewed the role of
the private sector and State in the sub-sector. The many problems that were identified all
revolve around one basic question: how can we transform the extra-legal polluting
resources of the informal miners to a legal and sustainable source of employment and
income? How can the State, the private sector, civil society and the miners themselves
help the sub-sector break out of the negative circles of cause and effect that have been
identified in the foregoing chapters?
7.2 The World Bank Model
In the World Bank Roundtable on Artisanal Mining in 1995 Richard Noetstaller pointed
out that “both informal miners and governments are caught in negative circles of cause
and effect.”
With regard to the miners, he pointed out that “the use of inadequate mining and
processing techniques and equipment leads to a low productivity of operations and low
recovery of valuable minerals which in turn results in low revenues and the inability to
accumulate funds for investment. The lack of funds to improve methods and acquire
appropriate equipment traps artisanal miners in crude, inefficient mining and processing,
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