Carlos Andres Monsalve

Luis Almeda denounces unwarranted retardations in the meetings. Photo CAM

This situation has seriously harmed the economy of the population of the Manteco, that depends in a 60% of the extraction of gold, more than eight thousand workers have been seen in the necessity to ramble by the mining population in the delay of the permissions, to look for other opportunities of works or to emigrate to the zone of Santa Elena de Uairén.

Luis Almeda, spokesman of the mining front of Pedro Cova; Londoño shelter, president of the Supamo-Parapapoy cooperative; Representing Abel Flowers of the cooperative Old Mine; Coromoto Rivas president of the cooperative Candlemas de Oro and Marilín Rendón spokeswoman of Miner the Carpíos, spoke in the name of all the auriferous workers and indicated that they have been deceived again by the national Government with the delivery of permissions.

“The Mibam is the responsible being to emit the authorization for the Supamo-Parapapoy sector. It worries us that this institution has not defined an immediate plan of action to reactivate the small miners of the Manteco”, declared.

Sterile meetings
Almeda informed that in the first meeting it designated a technical commission integrated by the Mibam, civil servants of the Ministry of the Atmosphere and spokesmen of the mining sector of the Manteco, that would analyze the environmental impact in five areas for the mining operation of the municipalities To cheep, Sifontes and the Pebble. During the second meeting they occurred to know the forms extraction of gold, rejected by the miners of the zone.

“In that discussion a point raising the 22 of July 2005 was retaken, that Bolivar contemplates to the elimination of the alluvium mining in the state and the vein operation is allowed only, that by all means accompanied by a series of restrictions framed within the policies of the national Government who wants to use with the small mining”, assured.

Nevertheless the representative of the mining front maintains that the population of the Manteco, by tradition always has realised the alluvium operation.

“We asked for the authorities that reconsider that measurement, that allows us to continue the workings of mining of immediate form, with the control of the State to make a healthy mining with the atmosphere”, it limited.

Slow process
The mining leader Luis Almeda applauds the intentions of the Mibam to develop a viable mining, but criticism that the process has gone very slow, because in ten years they have not received answers to the exigencies of the miners.

“We know of the good intentions of the State, but they are not sufficient. They must come accompanied from answers”, finalized.