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

other goods imported from Paramaribo, gold mining was the only way to sustain a
minimal standard of living in their customary settlement areas.
After 1975 gold dredging technology was introduced in the Marowijne river from
Guyana, and the interest in gold production began to revive. During the 1980s gold
production with dredges on the Marowijne and Lawa rivers increased further. The higher
gold prices had made the sub-sector interesting again.
In 1986 a new mining code was approved, which makes a distinction between „largescale‟
or „investment mining‟ – referred to as “mijnbouw”- and SSM („klein
mijnbouw‟). 12 Table 1 lists the main differences between the two systems.
Table 1 Differences between large and small scale gold mining
Parameter Mining SSM
Sequence of mine
development
Phased, moving from
reconnaissance to
exploration to exploitation
A reduction scheme: 200,000
to 40,000 to 10,000 hectares
Reconnaissance, exploration and
exploitation rights granted at the
same time
200 hectares for all phases
Size of claim
during phases
Term 2, 7 and 25 years 2 years (with option for extension)
Right of disposal Exploration and exploitation
permits may be transferred
None
Plans or feasibility Required for all phases, Not required
study including including investment budget
work schedule and work schedule
Reporting Required for all phases Required
During most of the interior war (1986-1992), the communities in South-Eastern Suriname
were isolated from the rest of the country, and gold was the only tender with which
supplies and equipment, but also arms, could be purchased in the French Department of
La Guyane. During the difficult years in the 1980s the GMD suffered significant
setbacks. Most of the interior of the country was off limits during the interior war. The
Accord for National Reconciliation and Development signed in 1992 brought an end to
the interior war. The gold fields became reasonably safe again for investors and the
second gold boom got underway. At that time, the operational resources of the GMD
were not increased sufficiently to deal with the new gold boom, involving at least 10.000
miners, if not more.
During the years that followed; devaluation of the Suriname currency and budget cuts
reduced the operating capacity of the GMD, and by 1997 the service had only two
geologists on the payroll (including the director!). The limited human resources and high
12 The code makes a distinction between „mining‟ and „SSM.‟ The conditions for conducting „mining‟
makes it more appropriate to refer to this activity as „large-scale‟ mining or „investment mining.‟
17