Suriname Winter 2006
The workshops were more successful than we anticipated. First, we traveled with our partner Rickford Vieira of WWF-Guianas to the Benzdorp region. Brazilians are working the mines we visited with permission from the property owner, who requires the miners to use retorts to trap mercury lost from amalgam burning. The miners were welcoming and interested in Cleangold, especially since mercury has now become extremely expensive ($100/US/kg).
Rickford Vieira of WWF-Guianas with Brazilian miners at Cleangold workshop in the Benzdorp region near the border of French Guiana.
According to their translator, in Brazil these miners worked 6 days a week to earn 6 grams of gold per month ($78 US). In Suriname, they can earn 40 grams a month ($520) plus bonuses if the take is good. A nice house in Brazil costs $10,000 and that is a goal many are working toward, so they can return to their families, settle down and make a living doing something else. Anyone who thinks gold mining is an easy, get-rich-quick scheme needs to be introduced to a shovel and a rock.
Cleangold demonstration at a Brazilian woman’s mine site.
After Benzdorp, bush pilots flew us into Maroon-populated areas on the Tapanahony river, to join Rachael van der Kooye of Thera’s Publications and the team from Nehezra Ministries (co funded by UNDP/GEF) for a first phase project of mercury awareness and introduction of clean mining technologies.
David Plath of Cleangold training miners with children observing in a schoolyard in Godo Olo.
People came from miles around to get a Cleangold sluice and training, along with the facts they were seeking about mercury. One miner walked four hours to attend our final workshop. Our guides had originally charged over $2000 for boating and ATV transport but after they saw what we brought, they cut their fees to $1000.
Training workshop in the Sella Creek area.
It was incredibly moving to see the miners gathered around David learning how to use their new sluices. Many people in the region including children have mercury poisoning. The chiefs heard testimony from the experts who examined us and we received their approval and best wishes for success.
his was an area that had been worked for just a couple of days and was deemed “unprofitable.” The following photomicrograph shows what they missed by not using Cleangold.
We shoveled the tailings below their sluice boxes into Cleangold plates and once the miners saw us trapping the fine gold they had missed they became believers. None of the miners have been using retorts because they were wholly uninformed about them. Rickford from WWF is going to build retorts for the next trip to train the miners on their proper use.
Gold, amalgam and free mercury sample from an “unprofitable area” near Sella Creek. The free mercury is as small as 5 microns in diameter. Gold and amalgamated gold ranges from 20 to 200 microns at longest dimension. Nominal magnification 100X. Mercury is lost to the tailings when amalgamation is performed on the sluice box concentrates to recover the gold. Soil components react with the surface of the fine mercury droplets and prevent them from recombining easily; making fine gold recovery difficult by traditional methods.
Not that we're promoting retorts to support continued mercury use. We know the miners don't need mercury. The idea is for miners to run their tailings from spent areas through Cleangold sluices, capture the fine gold they missed (along with the lost mercury and amalgam), then retort it so they can clean up the mines and re-forest the areas.
Dugout canoes hand carved and customized by Maroon craftsmen, parked on the shore for the night on the Tapanahony river, at beautiful Godo Olo.
While the preceding idea is part of our mission, it was a miner who declared this after our first workshop, and it was thrilling to hear him make this leap so quickly. These guys get it.
Our highly skilled boatman, who, with his scout at the front, expertly navigated through perilously low rapids on the Tapanahony. Strange: the mossy river rocks aren’t slippery to step on under water (like in Oregon)!
As we were preparing to leave Godo Olo, a couple of women leaders approached us at the airstrip and asked for training on the equipment because they have no income. They're not allowed on the mine sites as it is too dangerous. They know they have fine gold in the creeks near their village, but to protect the beauty of their home they have wisely not mined it. On our next trip we will hold special workshops for them to locate hot spots they can safely mine without leaving a footprint.
We are eager to see the results when we return. Suriname is a diverse, open, beautiful, and wonderful country. I saw more butterflies there during our short visit than I’ve seen in my entire life. Birdwatchers will also be greatly rewarded to visit there.
While Dutch is the official language, there are 17 different languages spoken there. Many speak English and most speak a beautiful mix of English and Creole called Sranan Tongo, which Rachael’s husband Eric is patiently teaching us.
During our visit the exchange rate was 2.75 SRD to 1 USD. If you’re looking for an unforgettable, exotic adventure, Suriname will not disappoint.
Thanks to Rieko Shibata from UNDP for her friendship and photos. Photomicrographs by David Plath of Cleangold,LLC. Please ask for permission to copy images or text.
Grantangi! (Greatest thanks!) to World Bank’s Development Marketplace for making this project possible.
Also thanks to the board of Artminers: Bill Shafer, Dudley Hafner, and Ralph Hazleton.
Grantangi to Rickford, Michelet and WWF-Guianas. Seth Barnes, our champions Rachael and Eric from Thera’s Publications. Lothar and Armand from Suriname’s Geology and Minerals Department. Friends Marieke and Marlon. RC and Jane Plath for unflinching support. Joe Starr for web support. Brother Bruce and his friends Greg and Paul at Seko Worldwide, plus all of our friends and family around the world who are helping us in our mission (including you, Marcello)!
Thanks to Lars for his zeal, Jack for his reality checks, and David for his prepared mind.
