Alphonso Mining said it has every legal right to mine gold and diamonds on land it acquired in 2014, rejecting accusations that it invaded a quarry belonging to Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohammed’s family to conduct illegal mining.
The company also threatened legal action against those it accused of making defamatory statements on social media.
According to the claims, small miners, including Indigenous people, were mining a few weeks ago on land they did not realise belonged to the Mohameds when a task force of more than 50 armed personnel from agencies including the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force and the Ministry of Natural Resources arrested and detained them.
The claims further allege that Alphonso Mining is moving dredges and heavy equipment onto the land despite a prohibition on mining there.
Alphonso Mining rejected the claims, saying Alfro Alphonso & Sons legally acquired subsurface mining rights to gold and diamonds on the land in 2014 through a competitive public auction, paying all required fees. It said a quarry licence granted to Hadi’s World did not extinguish rights it held under a pre-existing licence, which it has maintained for 12 years.
The company said illegal mining on the land was stopped by the GGMC a few weeks ago, and that it was unaware of any action by Mohammed, who it noted has been accused of gold smuggling, to halt the activity.
It called on the GGMC and other authorities to investigate who funded the illegal mining and who bought the gold extracted.
