The Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines called to strengthen the confrontation with the mining illegal gold mining in the Cuban municipality of Baraguá, in the province of Ciego de Avila.
During a tour of the area and an exchange with local managers, the sector minister, Vicente de La O Levy, called for “the rigor, rationality and systematicity required” to deal with the illegal extraction of this precious metal in the Avilanian territory .
In addition, it warned about other actions associated with illegal mining and the risks to the safety and health of the people involved in this activity, since they do not have adequate equipment and means, in accordance with the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
The Minister of Energy and Mines recommended “dialogue” with the citizens of Ciego de Ávila and other provinces, mainly in the eastern part of the country, who illegally exploit the gold deposit of the Baraguá municipality, known as Gaspar-El Pilar, the report added. .
In the same way, it indicated that “decisions were adopted aimed at favoring the reduction of these events”, in order to safeguard the mineral reserves for “its correct exploitation, with the objective of generating new and necessary income for the country.”
This is not the first time that the Cuban authorities have confronted the activity of poaching gold in Baraguá, recalls the agency EFE.
At the end of 2021, they applied measures against some 300 people, including residents of the place and of the provinces of Camagüey, Las Tunas and Holguín dedicated to this activity, according to what the official press published at the time.
On that occasion, four complaints were filed for the crime of “Illegal Traffic of Minerals”, one for “Improper Use of Natural Resources”, 34 citizens linked to illegal extraction received “official warnings”, 90 fines were applied for violations of decree laws and 47.4 kilograms of gold were seized.
As reported at the time, some of the detainees said that the extracted stones were taken to Camagüey, where they were sold for 1,000 Cuban pesos (equivalent to US$41.8) per gram.
Specialists have pointed out that furtive mining to extract gold has shown a growing trend since 2013. This occurs especially in places where residues from old gold deposits are concentrated in the central and eastern areas of the island, points out the Spanish media. .
Minister De La O Levy said that in the coming days a group of specialists will arrive to continue studies in this area related to the approval, by the Council of Ministers, of a mining concession for that area, in which an international economic association showed interest in participating in extractive work.
In March 2022, a note from the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) informed that Antilles Gold Ltd. had presented the Los Llanos project, through the formalization of an International Economic Association (AEI) with the company Cuban company Geominera SA
The Australian company’s proposal recommended the inclusion of three properties in the AEI: three highly prospective porphyry copper/gold deposits (Ciego de Ávila); a large VMS copper/gold deposit in Golden Hills (Las Tunas), and gold sulfide deposits in Florencia and Maclama (Camagüey-Las Tunas).
In the mining sector, the island’s portfolio of foreign investment opportunities includes 52 projects, 18 of them in Ciego de Ávila.
EFE / OnCuba
