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Surgold, acting as managing partner of Suriname Gold Project, has entered into a
formal Cooperation Agreement with the Pamaka, through their traditional authority,
to provide a general set of development benefits, and to monitor environmental
impacts for the life-of-mine and beyond closure.
The Suriname Gold Project has a 500,000 hectare “Area of Interest” within which
the Merian project is located, and has aspirations to extend beyond the Merian
mine and develop other mining projects in the Guyana Shield. 9
A feasibility study for the development of the nearby Sabajo deposit is underway.
The Sabajo Right of Exploration is located within the project’s Area of Interest and
has been an active informal mining area for some time. Newmont told the Panel
that it is in the process of understanding whether Sabajo is located on Maroon
customary land.
In the process of finalizing the report, Newmont advised the Panel that disputes
over claims to customary land had begun to emerge in the project’s Area of Interest.
This report presents the Panel’s observations following discussions with the company, a
rapid review of available documentation, and engagement with a limited sample of
stakeholders related to the Merian mine. It is not a comprehensive human rights or social
performance assessment of the company’s approach to FPIC in Suriname. The Panel’s report
was produced on a basis of consensus amongst the Panel members. The Panel had editorial
control over the report during this process.
The report describes the Panel and its process (Section 2), provides relevant background
information (Section 3), outlines the mine’s approach to community engagement (Section
4), and presents Panel observations on the operationalization of FPIC elements at Merian
(Section 5). Panel recommendations for Newmont (Section 6) and the industry more broadly
(Section 7) are offered before concluding (Section 8).
2
The Panel
The Panel is chaired by Stephen D’Esposito, President of RESOLVE. As an independent, nonprofit organization, RESOLVE specializes in conflict resolution and consensus building. In
consultation with Newmont, RESOLVE appointed three Panel members on the basis of their
diverse perspectives, and their individual expertise and capacity.
9
The Area of Interest was established in November 2013, with the signing of the Mineral
Agreement. Newmont has a “right of first refusal” for conducting exploration in this area.
3