Savanna Update
Between my broker and my own research, I have dug up some interesting information and a few rumours.
Brokopondo Permit:
The company has gathered many samples and are in the process of plotting and mapping before moving forward.The rumour is that this anomaly is a lot bigger then they originally believed.
Lawa Permit:
Watts Griffith is the name of the engineering firm that went to Suriname a few weeks ago. They are in the process of writing a report and making specific recommendations on how to best extract the alluvial gold from the surface. I understand that they may need to modify their existing equipment to deal with the the extreme amounts of clay in the concentrates. They will most likely advise management the best way
to explore the bedrock as well.
Porkknockers (local miners):
The company no longer allows them to use mercury to extract gold on the Lawa permit. They may have to re-educate the local miners on the Brokoponda permit as well by using alternative methods. The process of physically handling mercury with their own hands every day is extremely dangerous to their health.
Cambior/Golden Star (Gross Rosebel):
This 2.5 million ounce property may be in jeopardy, due to the fact that some of this gold runs through the village where the locals live. It could cost between 10 and 20 million dollars to relocate the villagers, however, they do not want to move. They were moved once before during WW2 and are not interested in doing it again. Savanna does not have this problem, as their concessions are far away from where the locals live.
If Savanna can continue to safely explore their permits and gather valuable data from the local miners, and educate them to the dangers of using contaminants around their rivers, it should work out well for everyone involved.
It sounds like the Canadian company, the government, and the locals are cooperating together quite well. This is definitely not the case in all areas of Latin America, let alone the rest of the mining world.
Hope this helps,
W |
