The controversial Omai gold mine which was
shut down in August last
year after a cyanide spill
(Down to Earth, Vol 4, No 9)
is to be reopened shortly,
after a commission appointed by the Guyana government declared it safe. However, the recommendation
comes alongwith a rider
that improved environmental protection safeguards
must be installed at the mine.
The Canadian-owned
mine was closed after three
million cubic metres of
cyanide-tainted water spilled
from a defective dam into
rivers. While the use of
cyanide as a means of
extracting gold has fueled
criticism, company officials
maintain that the chemical
was the most economic
and also environmentally
accepted means of gold
extraction. They further add
that they did not have any
alternative other than discharging cyanide into the
Essequibo, the largest river in
Guyana. The environment
protection measures will
now ensure cyanide degradation before it is released into
the Essequibo.
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