The irrational cutting and the legal and illegal operation of gold have mutilated the vegetal layer

• Rafael Cheers

1) Water jumps around the Loefling Park

And secondly, the legal and illegal operation of gold in all the river basin of the Caroní river, mutilating the vegetal layer.

The cutting of the forests without control, has destroyed thousand of kilometers squared of forest, as coarse example with the disappearance of the forest of San Camilo between Apure and Táchira by an absurd cutting and with the approval of the authorities.

At the present time he is common and current to see arrive at great Upata gando them loaded with rolas weekly from wood, some of them just by two rolas of given wood his great diameter, with destiny often to the Daisy Island for his export.

If it is asked to him a gandolero for the origin of the wood with all tranquillity it says that it comes from Brazil, but until the dogs in Upata they know that it is lie because they come from our amazonian forest, but the Mafias of the wood are so powerful that they deceive and they buy you bring back to consciousness, continuing therefore the deforestation in all the river basin of the Caroní river, which in the future not very distant will contribute to diminish the volume of our river.

As far as gold, the problem is still greater with the legal and illegal operation of this one appraised mineral not only in the mines of the Pebble but in all the river basin of the Stop and Under Caroní, including the National Park Canaima.

A little history

Already for 1,770 the Catalan Capucin missionaries, obtained gold of aluvionales sands of the Caroní river, these sands were sifted and amalgamated in crucibles with mercury, using falsified methods very because they used coils to reclaim evaporated mercury.

In archaeological excavations in the neighborhoods of where Purest Conception of the Caroní was the Mission, were the furnaces and crucibles where the sifted sands were the river and inclusively were discovered great sand deposits already treated (To see in this same blog the Capucin Missions Catalanas, Guayana 1686-1817. Source: MarioSanoja and Iraida Vargas. Archaeological history of Guayana, Caracas, 2.001)

But the true “fever of gold” in Guayana arises in 1.841 when it begins the operation of the mines of the Pebble and its neighborhoods.

Thus, foreign companies attracted by the news arrive, such as the Americans: Tigra, Macupia, Macapay and Panama. English the Potosí and New Gold Field of Venezuela.

The merchandise, equipment and machineries for the mines were unloaded in Port Tables today San Felix of where oxen yuntas of or mule and arreos of donkeys were transported to their destiny in the mining south in cars thrown by.

This one operation of gold was watered like powder by all Venezuela and neighboring countries, a human river began to arrive at the zone attracted by the “fever of gold” and thus the illegal operation in the forests of Guayana began.

The gold prospectors, known as “garimpeiros” little by little they invaded the river basin of the Low and High Caroní, many of them moved with mechanized equipment and hoses with water spurts to high pressure to destroy the vegetal layer in search of the mineral coveted one.

For a reason or purpose informative, to obtain 1 kilo of gold it is needed to remove of 2 to 3 tons of earth and to use 4 kilos of mercury, of which 3 evaporate in the atmosphere and 1 kilo goes to waters of the river, as it is possible to be observed not only is contaminated the environment with evaporated mercury but also it is contaminated waters and the fish of the river.

Memory an anecdote related back in year 1,994, by a miner and expert Italian explorer of the auriferous potential of the Caroní river and proprietor of a raft that operated in White Beach, said the following thing:

“If they authorized to dredge to me with my raft I before milk of the river in his opening the Nautical Club of Ordaz Port, have the security that with the first 15 days of production between gold and diamonds, it would be enough to cancel the External Debt of Venezuela”.

More in one go I have remembered this one anecdote of our Italian and exploratory friend, nowadays millionaire.

Personal experience

I am going to them to relate a personal experience that I lived in 1.990 in the site known like Payapal about 30 km the Gilded one, forest inside.

Being adviser of the Group Coppco Atlas we went to do to the miners a demonstration to him of the use of a hammer of percussion activated by a small motor of built-in gasoline.

At the “racket” of Payapal it is arrived to him by a trail abierta in the forest at about 50 minutes of the highway.

When arriving at the site the vision from the same is impressive, we were before a deforested area of about 2,000 or more meters of diameter, without vegetation and flood of hollows by all their extension.

There they were near 50 miners with water equipment to high pressure, mills to crush the material and diverse mining equipment, that one place seemed a lunar landscape. In that site never it would return to grow a tree, was a true desert due to the magnitude of damages to the vegetal layer.

That day was Saturday and I was present at the purchase of gold, arrived a buyer with a full briefcase from tickets, a balance and a guard backs. On an empty drum he placed the balance and the miners formed a tail.

The buyer in cash weighed and paid each ounce of gold, did not ask to names nor number of certificate, nobody knew as the buyer were called, if he were Brazilian or trinitario. It weighed, it paid and one went away.

Equal spectacle I was present at the same day in kilometer 88 but before a much greater number of miners.

One comments that this still happens, only that the buyers mobilize in helicopters, because it is the unique form to visit all a infinity of “rackets” similar to “Payapal “, dispersed in all the river basin of the Stop and Under Caroní, destroying all the vegetal layer.

In helicopters also food takes, fuel and equipment to all the river basin, because he is unique the average one to arrive at the mining campings.

Still we are in time to save the future of great volume of our Caroní river, would be enough that the National Executive issued a Decree prohibiting the takeoff and flight of helicopters by all the river basin of the river, because is unique the mass media of the illegal miners who when not having food, equipment, fuel, buyers, etc; we would at least end the 80 percent of this one ecocidio.

Destiny of gold?

In relation to the destiny of produced gold I allow myself to make a question. For example, the Central bank informed that the gold production in Venezuela during the 2,004 was of 24,000 kilos of gold without taking into account the green and blue ways (earth and air) that is 2,000 kilos per month.

When the robbery of the “mail of gold “in the state Bolivar the 6 of April of 1,878, that I urge on of mules took towards City Bolivar the production of gold of the mining company the Pebble founded on 1.870 by guayaneses industralists and the monthly average of production was of 9,000 ounces (252 kg) (to see by Internet “the robbery of the mail of gold 1,878”).

Also if we thought that for 1,850 at least 6 important companies in the Pebble existed, the minimum production average would be in the order of 250 kg monthly, each for a total of 1,500 kg per month.

Taking a time that goes from 1,845 to 1,935 with the death of General Go'mez, they are 90 years which they were sending towards the United States or Europe from Port Tables today San Felix, 1,500 kg of gold monthly during 1,080 months, for a great total of 1,620 tons metric of gold (1.620.000 kg).

My question is: It received the Venezuelan State some tax by these gold exports during so many years? or Simply we were swindled or expoliados with impunity by those foreign companies?

And as well as it left gold by Port Tables, also left mineral iron to U.S.A. from Manoas in the Delta the Orinoco from 1901 to 1913, without no control of the State and also it left petroleum in the first decades the 1900.

But lamentably and it is sad to recognize it, to a large extent the fault is ours, of the Venezuelans.

Devastated 10 thousand kilometers

For those people who interest to them to know thorough more of this one ecocidio I recommend to see to them in Google by Internet: “Science and Technology, To save the forest”.

It is an article of the Lic. Lucia Pozzani of who I am going to transcribe some paragraphs to consider them of interest.

“10,000 km2s already have been devastated in the Caroní Stop due to the mining activity, in addition 13,000 km2s have been given in concession by the C.V.G for a great total of 23,000 km2s that represent 51% of the high river basin “

“Most serious of everything it is that also there are concessions in the National Park Canaima as is the case of the Gold Field “.