2023-11-22 03:49:45
The thirst for gold has claimed new victims in Suriname. An accident Monday in a cavity of an illegally borrowed gold mine, about a hundred kilometers south of Paramaribo, left 14 dead, local authorities announced Tuesday, while searches continue.
Defense Minister Krishna Mathoera said 14 bodies were taken to the morgue in Suriname’s capital, while two minors were rescued, with one being hospitalized. According to residents, 20 to 30 miners worked in this cavity that they had dug themselves.
Help coming in particular from Guyana
A group of miners entered an illegal cavity at the Rosebel Gold mines, a concession operated by a subsidiary of the Chinese company Zijin Mining, in the Brokopondo district, 120 kilometers south of Paramaribo. Rescue teams, some from Guyana, are still hard at work finding possible survivors.
Rosebel Gold Mines regretted these deaths in a press release and recalled having asked, just last month, the authorities to evict illegal miners from the site. “We have repeatedly emphasized the dangers of illegal gold mining,” the company said, assuring that “several efforts were made at the beginning of the year to remedy this dangerous situation.”
Accidents of this type occur regularly in illegal mines. In Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana and Venezuela, many gold miners operate clandestinely in precarious security conditions.
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