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

costs of operating in the interior reduced the field operational capacity of the service to
occasional trips funded by companies or foreign agencies.
Maroons who acquired some gold mining expertise during the interior conflict mortgaged
houses in town to buy gold mining equipment. Persons living in the coastal area were
also eager to profit from the new gold mining opportunities and invested in the subsector.
After the interior war, the pace of miners from Brazil moving into the interior of
Suriname picked up considerably. Maroons were eager to sub-contract to Brazilian who
worked long hours, were often experienced and skilled in mining, and were willing to
take on risky jobs such as diving. As river deposits became exhausted during and after the
interior war, gold production moved on land using the hydraulic mining techniques of the
Brazilians. This approach became the most common ore extraction method. Miners also
started transporting excavators to the interior on two canoes, tied to each other with poles,
a technique developed during the interior war. ATV‟s were introduced which greatly
expanded the operational range of miners.
The 1986 code did not anticipate the introduction of large missile river dredges and 6
inch hydraulic systems with heavy equipment now in use on land that could process over
10.000 tons of ore per year. These techniques are no longer simple. As the high alluvial
grades are mined out and operations begin to rely on second- and third reworking of mine
sites, volumes of ore processed must be increased to break-even or turn a profit. The
volumes of waste produced by hydraulic mining is considerably larger than the volume of
tailings produced by partially mechanized SSM using 2 inch or 3 inch pumps and the
small sluice boxes that were common up to 1986. When placer deposits in creeks and
valleys are mined out, moreover, the powerful hydraulic units can be used to mine
weathered and soft rock profiles (laterite and saprolite). In Guyana and French Guyana
hydraulic miners have worked down to depths up to 50 meters or more. During the past
decade this has become an increasing trend.
In the meantime the government saw little benefit from the SSM sector and was eager to
attract foreign investors to develop LSM enterprises. The LSM sector would be much
easier to oversee, and the government was convinced that large-scale projects were the
only way to secure direct benefits for the State. In 1994 the exploration firm Golden Star
concluded a mineral agreement with the government. Parliament approved an enabling
act authorizing the Minister of Natural Resources to sign the agreement. Under the
agreement Golden Star acquired the exploration rights to the 17,000 hectare Gros
Rosebel concession in the Brokopondo District from the State owned mining company
Grassalco. Golden Star also began to lease concessions in other parts of the country.
Canadian exploration companies Canarc and Blue Ribbon were also active in Suriname
during the mid-1990s.
These exploration companies also leased properties from Suriname owners; speculation
and “concession grabbing” became widespread. Persons with no experience or expertise
in gold mining managed to acquire prospective lands and tried to lease these properties to
foreign exploration companies. A holder of an exploration right who succeeded in leasing
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