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

of its original rock structure and is rusty tough clay that may contain extensive low-grade
mineralized zones and some pockets of higher grades. This saprolite layer is often
overlain by a laterite blanket which also may contain gold mineralization. The laterite
does not retain much of its original rock structure, save for a few quartz stringers. One
could argue that saprolite is „weathered primary deposit,‟ but what about laterite?
Both the laterite and saprolite layers can be mined without drilling, blasting or crushing
and are of interest to both large-scale and SSM operations if the grades and volumes are
commercially attractive. More than half of the reserves in the Rosebel mine consist of
laterite and saprolite. When the alluvial deposits become exhausted, the more capital
intensive SSM operations may shift to laterite and saprolite layers. Through this
transition they become the competitors of LSM companies. In locations where gold
mineralization zones in saprolite and laterite blankets are targeted by both large and
small-scale miners, conflicts are most likely to arise. It would be helpful if the new
mining code recognized this new challenge in regulating the sector.
The terms and concepts used in the Suriname mining code of 1986 are now out of date
and need to be refined. The range between LSM and SSM is continually shifting: new
technological developments have added operations that hardly qualify as „SSM.‟ It makes
little sense to equate a six-inch hydraulic operation or an 8-inch river dredge with
panning, manual rock crushing and small-scale sluicing, the original referents for the
term “SSM.” The “middle range” has expanded, but also the “upper end.” With the
opening of the Gross Rosebel mine in 2003, Suriname now has a mining operation that
truly qualifies as „LSM”. The mill processes about 20.000 tons of ore per day. It is clear
that new terms are needed to define the range of gold mining systems and processes that
are operating in the field today.
Figure 4.1
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