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

NW-SE greenstone belt between the Goliath Hills and the Lawa River, but the E-W
extension is also becoming increasingly important.
Apparently there is a small greenstone formation in West Suriname along the Matapi
Creek and possibly a larger greenstone belt that has a north-south orientation extending
from the Wilhelmina Mountain Range along the Eilerts de Haan and Kayser Mountains
towards the Sipaliwini savanna. An attempt was made by Brazilian miners to mining gold
in the Kutari River west of the Sipaliwini savanna, but the authorities intervened and the
miners left the area.
At the outset, it is useful to recognize the distinction between two basic types of gold
deposits and the kind of mining associated with these deposits.
Primary or lode (vein 8 ) deposits that are primarily exploited by medium- and
large-scale hard rock mining enterprises
Secondary or alluvial (placer 9 ) deposits mostly mined by SSM enterprises or
individuals.
Most of the operations in the Suriname gold mining history worked alluvial deposits,
though gold bearing quarts veins were mined at several locations along the railroad
between kilometers 93 and 133, including the Headley-Reef deposit at km 124.3 (now
beneath the hydro-lake), De Jong Noord, Gros Placer and Mayo Placer (now all part of
the Rosebel Mine). Crushers and ball-mills were used to process the ore.
In the interior of Suriname today, the patterns of placer mining are related to the stream
order in drainage basins. Hydraulic units usually work their way “upstream” in a drainage
basin towards the watershed until they cannot go any further due to the size of rocks and
other barriers in the terrain. Because a significant share of the gold particles is lost in the
tailings, a second and third go-around is often feasible. The drainage basins form natural
demarcations of the zones within which the alluvial mining takes place with hydraulic
units on land and with dredges in the river. In the Chapter VII we will suggest to use
drainage basins as a starting point for zoning of mining areas.
8 Most gold hard rock deposits are formed by a variation of the hydrothermal process, a process that
concentrates metals. It can only be mined profitably where circulating hot acidic fluids have dissolved it
from its source rocks and precipitated it elsewhere in highly concentrated form. If boiling occurs when the
fluids approach the surface, or if there is a reduction in temperature and acidity, the gold is dropped from
solution, often enveloped by masses of white silicon dioxide, known as quarts.
9 Minerals transported downhill from weathered outcrops of primary mineralization zones into stream beds,
river valleys or alluvial plains. Water-borne heavy materials such as gold, platinum, and tine are sorted out
during transport by their density and durability, becoming concentrated as placer deposits wherever flowing
water slows down, for example, in potholes in the stream bed, inside meander bends, downstream from
constrictions in the channel or at the confluence of two or more streams.
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