After four days of standoff at Tassawini/ Chinese Landing, the excavators departed the village on Monday night and attempted to enter through Kariako Village. The barge offloaded at Kariako on Tuesday.
It has been five days since miners began attempting to enter the mining areas with new excavators. After being denied entry through Tassawini/Chinese Landing, on Tuesday, the miners reportedly attempted to access the area through Kariako Village.
Kariako Toshao Collis Samuels was alerted to the situation and, together with members of the Village Council, escorted the equipment back to the barge used for its transportation. The barge subsequently returned to Tassawini/Chinese Landing.
Toshao of Tassawini/ Chinese Landing Nikita Miller was joined by residents for four days in blocking the five excavators from going into the Tassawini mines. The team slept at the location and encamped on the site day through night for four days.
The Village Council has raised concerns over the recent movement of heavy mining equipment into village lands, stating that residents observed at least nine excavators, two bulldozers, and several dredge engines being transported on multiple barges into the area.
The Council said the equipment entered without prior notice to, or permission from, the Village Council. The machinery is reportedly registered to Wayne Vieira, who holds several mining blocks that remain under dispute within the village’s titled lands.
Mining activity reportedly resumed in March 2026. The Village Council said it was later informed during an NTC meeting held in July 2026 that the mining ban had been lifted.
Despite this development, the Council is currently engaged in discussions with Vieira in an effort to establish a temporary arrangement while the village’s court matter remains pending. Council members contend that preparations for, or continuation of, mining operations during these discussions are inappropriate and risk undermining the fairness and credibility of the mediation process.
According to the Council, the GGMC mines officer stationed at Tassawini informed village representatives that he was either unable to prevent the equipment from proceeding into the disputed mining blocks. In response, residents have chosen to physically prevent the machinery from moving farther into village lands.
The Village Council maintains that there is no urgent reason for mining operations to continue before a mutually acceptable resolution is reached. It is therefore calling on the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission to require Vieira to halt his operations until mediation is completed and the village has given its consent for mining to proceed.
