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CYANIDE CONTAMINATION IN WENAMU RIVER, UPPER MAZARUNI DISTRICT, GUYANA REPORT 17/2/00 Two weeks ago, people living along the Cuyuni River in Guyana reported that they were suffering skin rashes and other ailments after using river water for drinking and bathing. A Guyana Defence Force patrol sent to investigate discovered that a miner, Wilmot Chan, was using sodium cyanide to leach gold from the surrounding matrix. Drums of the chemical were stored on the site, which is located on the Wenamu River, a tributary of the Cuyuni. Guiana Shield Media Project (G)SMP understands that Mr. Chan was experimenting with a Venezuelan technique for gold extraction (the mining area is located near the Venezuelan border). Soil and water samples taken by Guyana Defence Force personnel revealed cyanide concentrations of 0.006 ppm, which represents three times the WHO-specified maximum concentration. According to Prime Minister Sam Hinds, who holds the portfolio for mining in Guyana, Mr. Chan had approached him with a description of the technique, urging that it be tried in Guyana. The technique involves a crude structure of twenty-three oil drums welded together to form a leaching tank, in which the gold ore is treated with the cyanide solution. Mr. Chan never received permission to operate a dredge involving cyanide extraction. The exact nature of the event remains unclear. It is claimed by Mr. Chan that he was in the process of testing the technique. However, the concentrations of cyanide found in the soil and water samples suggest that a more substantial release of the chemical occurred. GSMP is currently investigating this event and will post reports as they come in. GUIANA SHIELD MEDIA PROJECT Ray
Kril: International Co-ordinator
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