VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPO #0016/01 0112235
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 112234Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0085
INFO RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EMIN KPAO SENV TSPL NS
SUBJECT: Informal gold rush in Southeastern Suriname 
 
REF: 09 PARAMARIBO 438 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Post's three Entry Level Officers recently 
organized Embassy Paramaribo's first annual "Entry Level Officer 
Interior Outreach Legacy Project," visiting east central Suriname, 
a remote, difficult-to-reach area populated primarily by Njuka 
Maroons (descendants of escaped slaves), which had not been visited 
by U.S. Embassy personnel for seven years.  Although the purpose of 
the trip was public diplomacy outreach, Emboffs observed pervasive, 
environmentally-degrading artisanal and small scale gold mining 
(ASGM) at nearly every turn in this greenstone belt region, an area 
known for its gold deposits and associated colluvial and alluvial 
mining.  While Emboffs did not witness any competitive tensions 
between the Maroons and Brazilians (the primary local 
demographics), the near complete absence of law enforcement in the 
interior and Albina greatly limits the Government of Suriname's 
capability to deter and respond to escalating tensions and 
violence, such as the violence that erupted on Christmas Eve in 
Albina (Suriname's main urban center on the eastern border with 
French Guiana and Brazil).  Gaining control of the informal mining 
sector also is very difficult, due to political considerations, 
including strong opposition by Maroon interests.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Embassy Paramaribo's three Entry Level Officers (ELOs) 
outreach on this trip focused on Dritabiki, Manlobi, 
Stoelmanseiland, and Loka Loka - all villages along the Tapanahoni 
and Marowijne rivers in this greenstone belt region.   Public 
Diplomacy is the cornerstone of U.S. engagement in Suriname and the 
number one goal in Post's most recent Mission Strategic Plan Goal. 
This program delivered Embassy outreach deep into the interior, in 
an area which had not been visited by Embassy personnel for seven 
years.  The trip consisted of courtesy calls on prominent community 
leaders, modest donations to local schools, American Movie Nights, 
and American sports and classes for youth.  The trip also fostered 
an esprit de corps among the three ELOs, who work in different 
Embassy sections. The outreach commenced in Dritabiki and was 
continued as Emboffs traveled four days by dugout canoe down the 
Tapanahoni and Marowijne rivers.  At the end, the Emboffs reached 
Albina, Suriname's northeastern city on the border with French 
Guiana, and transferred to an automobile for the return to 
Paramaribo. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) At the start of the trip, Emboffs flew to Dritabiki, the 
cultural heartland of the Njuka Maroon tribe (descendants of 
escaped slaves), via Godoholo, a neighboring village with a basic 
air strip.  Shortly after departing Paramaribo and entering the 
airspace of the greenstone belt, Emboffs realized they were 
observing an informal gold rush from the air, as they looked down 
on hundreds of tracts of land presumably mined for colluvial gold 
deposits.  Suriname's gold deposits are contained in an extensive 
Precambrian greenstone belt that encompasses 24,000 square 
kilometers in eastern Suriname.  Gold mining occurs primarily in 
Eastern Suriname and around Lake Brokopondo.  According to 
observation and secondary sources, most of the gold deposits in 
Suriname are mined from colluvial (weathered rock accumulated by 
soil creep at the base of a slope) or alluvial (detrital deposits 
of rivers) deposits. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU)  While travelling along the Tapanahoni and Marowijne 
rivers, Emboffs saw approximately 15 floating suction dredges 
excavating alluvial material.  These dredges - cookie-cutter and 
uniform in appearance - were operated by Brazilians, according to 
observation and several discussions.  The sediment is pumped into a 
large sluice box some 20 feet wide and 30 feet tall to separate the 
heavier sediment containing gold from other lighter detrital 
materials.  Mercury is added to this heavier sediment and the 
amalgamation is subsequently heated, causing the mercury, which has 
a lower boiling point than gold, to burn off - into the atmosphere 
in most cases, according to conversations and secondary sources. 
As these rivers are replete with rocks and rapids, it would be 
impossible for these dredges to have been floated up or downriver 
to their current locations - suggesting that they were transported 
in pieces and assembled on location.  Several individuals indicated 
that these dredges operate 24 hours a day and that they pay a 
royalty fee to the closest Maroon village allegedly ranging from 
10% to 20% of the total gold mined. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU)   As no suitable housing could be found in Manlobi, the 
second night's destination and a village of about 1000 individuals 
along the Tapanahoni river, Emboffs spent one night in a gold 
mining camp across the river from the village.  The camp consisted 
of a bar, restaurant, and store which sold overpriced supplies. 
 
Some 20 Brazilians, 5-10 of whom likely were commercial sex 
workers, and a few Maroons lived on site.  The site's well-trodden 
dirt path into the bush indicated that miners frequently visited 
via ATVs from their various mining camps.  Emboffs did not directly 
observe any colluvial mining. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Although Brazilians are typically associated with 
artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) by everyday 
Surinamers, Emboffs also observed sluice boxes and small-scale 
mining operations in nearly every Maroon village along the journey. 
According to several interlocutors, mercury is easily available for 
purchase in many small bodega-like stores common in the interior, 
many of which are run by newly immigrated Chinese.  In one such 
shop, Emboffs were offered an approximate 200 milliliter bottle of 
mercury.  As per several conversations, wide-spread perception, and 
secondary sources, mercury used in the process frequently pollutes 
the rivers, creeks, and atmosphere.   According to the World 
Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Guianas, approximately 5,000 KG of 
mercury is sold to miners annually in Suriname (based on a survey 
of small retailers).  According to the USGS's 2007 Minerals 
Handbook, U.S. exports of amalgams of mercury alloys with one or 
more other metals to Suriname totaled 118 metric tons in 2007. 
 
 
 
 ¶7. (SBU) Suriname's informal gold mining sector is relatively 
large.  During an October 27 courtesy call on the Ambassador, the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) team covering Suriname said they 
estimated that $500 to $600 million of the $800 to $900 million 
legally declared gold exports comes from the informal sector. 
(Note: Suriname's Minister of Natural Resources cited a similar 
figure during an introductory meeting with the Ambassador.) 
IAMGold, the sole international company operating in the gold 
sector, local Surinamese gold mining companies, and AGSM miners 
sell their gold to the four companies licensed by the Central Bank 
to export gold. 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU)  The informal sector also is not paying the royalties to 
the Government of Suriname (GOS) that are required of IAMGold and 
any other mining corporations that might wish to operate here. 
According to Article 41 of Suriname's Constitution, "natural riches 
and resources are property of the nation and shall be used to 
promote economic, social and cultural development.  The nation 
shall have the inalienable right to take complete possession of the 
natural resources in order to apply them to the needs of the 
economic, social and cultural development of Suriname."  Although 
Suriname's Ministry of Natural Resources has responsibility for 
allocating mining concessions, and does so when international 
companies are interested in operating in Suriname, most ASGM miners 
do not seek legal endorsement of their activities, according to 
conversations and secondary sources.  As such, Suriname's taxpayers 
also miss out on the benefit of whatever royalties would have been 
received. 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU)  COMMENT.  With gold prices at near-record highs, eastern 
Suriname is experiencing an informal gold rush.  As this area is 
remote and difficult to access, monitoring and oversight by the GOS 
is limited.  The use of mercury in the interior is unregulated and 
by all accounts is causing environmental damage to the area's 
creeks and rivers; the same water sources used by numerous villages 
for drinking water.  We understand that health studies regarding 
mercury poisoning are being considered, but we have not seen any 
results.  ASGM appears to be increasingly integral to the 
livelihood of many Maroon families, however, with one survey 
conducted by anthropologist Marieke Heemskerk suggesting that a 
majority of households in certain villages obtain income directly 
or indirectly from gold mining.  Given this likely economic 
dependency, and the remoteness of AGSM mining in eastern Suriname, 
tackling the environmentally-degrading use of mercury is extremely 
challenging.  The GOS depends on a coalition that includes five 
vital seats from Maroon political parties, and those interests 
reportedly resist any effort to bring the sector under control. 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) While Emboffs did not witness any competitive tensions 
between the Maroons and Brazilians, such as those that caused the 
recent ethnic violence in Albina (reftel), the absence of strong 
law enforcement in Albina and the interior limits the GOS's 
capability to deter and respond to such unrest.  Albina, situated 
on Suriname's eastern border just across the Marowijne River from 
French Guiana, is a rough border town with few border controls and 
is the key jumping off or supply point for many of Suriname's 
illegal small scale gold miners.  According to popular (but 
 
unconfirmed) speculation, one source of the escalating tensions may 
be the increase in gold prices and the possibility that certain 
Maroon leaders are demanding increased royalty fees as a result. 
END COMMENT. 
NAY