Lawmakers in Suriname call for investigation, stricter oversight amid new mining activity

Mining activity in Pelin Bergi, near Kwakoegron, in northern Suriname, has allegedly undergone substantial excavation, and could be using polluting chemicals like cyanide.Two members of the National Assembly, Rabindre Parmessar and Michael Marengo, sent a letter to President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons calling for an immediate investigation and temporary halt to all mining activity in the area.The lawmakers questioned the government’s ability to regulate mining impacts on the environment and public health, and said they wanted to see all permits, concessions and other documents granting the right to operate in the area. Lawmakers in Suriname are calling for a formal investigation into mining activity that allegedly uses heavily restricted chemicals like cyanide, and risks creating runoff and pollution in the surrounding ecosystem. On Sept. 19, two members of the National Assembly, Rabindre Parmessar and Michael Marengo, visited an area in Pelin Bergi, near Kwakoegron, in northern Suriname, and said they discovered “substantial” mining activity that raised legal questions about permitting. Now, the two lawmakers are calling on President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons to launch an immediate investigation and temporarily halt all mining activity in the area. “The situation on-site raises fundamental questions about the nature, duration, permitting, oversight and the fiscal and environmental controls on these activities,” the lawmakers said in a letter, reviewed by Mongabay, to the president’s office last month. It added, “[It’s] necessary to establish how activities of this scale have been able to take place over an extended period and to what extent the state’s interests and revenues have been protected in the process.” The lawmakers, who traveled with a group of local journalists and an environmental activist, observed “deep excavations” at the site and materials being transported to processing locations. There were also indications of cyanide use via heap leaching, a process in which the chemical is sprayed onto rock to dissolve gold, making it easier to collect smaller particles. The import and use of cyanide is heavily restricted in Suriname. Geerlings-Simons is trying to phase out imports and implement a registry system for the chemical, which is still widely used in areas of the country with illegal mining. The office of the president didn’t respond to Mongabay’s request for comment by the time of publication. Cyanide is also sometimes used alongside mercury, another polluting chemical that Suriname has restricted through an international treaty. Cyanide use at Pelin Bergi could pollute waterways connected to the Saramacca and Suriname rivers, the lawmakers said in their letter. The rivers are two of the largest in the country and provide freshwater for drinking, bathing and fishing, in some cases for Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. “The combination of the observed large-scale excavations, the limited accessibility of the area, the indications of the use and possible uncontrolled spread of cyanide, the questions surrounding permitting and oversight and the possible financial interest of the state means that this matter requires immediate action and cannot be treated as a routine case,” the lawmakers’ letter said. Harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja). Image by © Ingmar van der Brugge via iNaturalist. CC BY-NC 4.0. The activities are reportedly taking place within an area of interest of a joint venture between Rosebel Gold Mines (RGM), a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Co., and Staatsolie, Suriname’s national energy, oil and gas company. RGM was given exploration rights in the area but not mining rights, and the people extracting gold don’t work for the company, according to local media. The companies didn’t respond to Mongabay’s request for comment by the time of publication. Parmessar and Marengo said a government investigation should involve public prosecutors, law enforcement, environmental agencies and tax authorities, as well as specialists in hazardous chemicals. Together, the officials should conduct soil and water tests and verify the legality of mining activity. Until that happens, all extractive activity at Pelin Bergi should be temporarily halted, their letter said. At the same time, the lawmakers questioned the government’s ability to regulate natural resource extraction and protect the environment and public health. They asked the government to establish who has permits, concessions and other documents granting the right to operate in the area. “This issue does not concern Pelin Bergi alone,” they wrote. “It touches on a more fundamental interest: the question of whether the state has sufficient insight into and control over the extraction of its natural resources, the protection of people and the environment, and the revenues from those natural riches that should accrue to Suriname.” Banner image: Guiana spider monkeys/Red-faced Spider Monkeys (Ateles paniscus). Image by © marccharron via iNaturalist. CC BY-NC 4.0. See related from this reporter: Nicaragua’s gold boom is now encroaching on protected areas and Indigenous land FEEDBACK:Use this form to send a message to the author of this post. 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