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Checking illegal gold mining in the Chiquibul, a national security issue: Inspector of Mines

FeaturesChecking illegal gold mining in the Chiquibul, a national security issue: Inspector of Mines

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May. 12, 2016–Belizean authorities still have no estimate of how many Guatemalans are illegally mining for gold inside the Chiquibul—but what is certain is that the trail of destruction left behind is slowly damaging Belize’s most prized forest.

      Michelle Alvarez, Inspector of Mines, asserted that “it is a national security issue that has secondary implications for all of us,” and that the most important thing to do is to stop the activities from happening in the first place, since policing the activity and having violators in the penal system comes at a direct cost to the Government of Belize.

       Alvarez told Amandala that her unit, which falls under the Ministry of Natural Resources, is so under-resourced, that they have been unable to arrest the problem.

       “We don’t have the personnel to dedicate to just this. We have no legal counsel in ministry,” Alvarez said.

       She told us that Belize can’t continue on a strict environmental path, and there needs to be a concerted effort, an “integrated forest management approach,” not just from government, but also from the NGO community and parties such as tourism stakeholders, who can build on-the-ground presence in that part of the country.

       Fines, which are only $1,000 for illegal mining of gold, are obviously no deterrent; but more than that, the last time anyone was levied a charge of that nature was back in 2014. However, the mining authorities often did not know if the Guatemalans were ultimately charged, imprisoned or released a couple days later.

       It appears that Belizean authorities have stood down on the battle to prosecute illegal gold mining, and as we understand it, those found illegally in Belize are slapped with other charges.

       Case in point is the last incident in which three men caught equipped for illegal gold exploration in Belize were slapped with drug and immigration charges, since they were found entering Belize illegally with their stash of ganja.

       Alvarez said that there is only one entity licensed to explore for gold in Belize—that is, Boiton Minerals, which had paused operations for the past two years, due to financial constraints which they faced after their overseas partner, Erin Ventures, exited. Alvarez said that since Boiton has gone back in to the Chiquibul to resume exploration, they discovered that the Guatemalans, obviously operating illegally, have been looking there for gold too! She said that it was Boiton Minerals which first reported the problems highlighted in a recent release by Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD).

       Alvarez also shares the FCD’s concerns for the environmental damage being caused by illegal gold digging by the Guatemalans.

       “Of course, it’s unregulated. There is no scientific methodology to it. They are just unearthing the veins of quartz and trying to separate out what gold they can from it. They are probably getting more than what they could get from panning at the river, because they are doing it without any sense of direction. They are damaging the environment. They are creating big holes that look like bombs have been dropped… some of them are very deep,” Alvarez said.

       “That is not any kind of methodology that we can accept or recommend. When the rains come, that will end up in waterways and create further problems downstream,” she said.

       She suggests that the police need to be given expanded jurisdiction to be able to levy charges on the Guatemalans, just as they do for guns and ammo, when they conduct illegal searches for gold inside Belize, since her unit does not have enough staff to check the problem. This is important, she explained, because there are occasions when FCD brings in the Guatemalans on a long weekend, and the Mining department does not have people in house to deal with the case.

       She said that the Forestry Department faces similar constraints in policing illegal entry into Belize’s protected areas.

       Alvarez emphasized that there needs to be a “national integrated approach” to manage the problems in the national park.

       “We need to get bodies in there,” she said, adding that the park also needs to be opened up for more activities such as education and tourism.

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