Golden Guyana - First days in Guyana and the mine

Hi everyone, I’m writing this as lots of people have so many questions about what I’m doing and what it is like so I thought I’d try and collect my thoughts in one place instead of sending sporadic and rushed WhatsApps.

How are you?

Yeh, alright.

Nah, yeah I’m good! Hot and sweaty but good.

So what is it like?

a) Camp

Where to start? So I flew in from the coastal capital, Georgetown, in a small propeller plane with about 15 other people. We flew through the clouds and over the rainforest to the mine in about 40 minutes. The rainforest is incredibly humbling. Green, expansive and beautiful.

From the dirt airstrip I was driven to camp where I’m going to stay for the next 8 weeks. I was given a small room following security searching my bags for drugs and/or hard liquor. My room has a single bed and an air-conditioning unit and that’s about it really. Frustratingly I’m going to have to move room a lot as I’m staying for a longer period than most people stay at camp. I know that some of the other rooms on camp for management aren’t as austere. Camp has about 350-400 people in it – not small. There is a bar – only serving Guinness and Heineken, a basketball court, small football pitch and a cricket square. Generally people eat breakfast and dinner at camp in the Mess. Camp is clean and honestly a comfortable place to be. Most people treat it with respect.

b) the people

The workforce is almost entirely Guyanese. They all smile so much which is so lovely considering their work. They’re all softly spoken with a gentle patois. Sometimes I have to ask them to repeat sentences. When they speak to each other I understand 70% of what they say on a good day. When they speak to me, they speak more slowly so only occasionally do I misunderstand them. They are all different shapes, sizes and ethnicities – reflective of the Guyanese population. So far everyone has been welcoming, helpful and kind.

c) the mine

yeah, erm this is a hard one to describe. Simply, it is two big holes in the ground which eventually should meet to make one long one. It is the biggest pit I’ve seen but about the size that I expected. From an engineer’s point of view, it is a mess. The sidewalls are generally too steep, the haul roads are just useable, excavators aren’t matched to trucks and blast rock is poorly sized.

d) the work

So, there are 2 shifts every 24hrs. Currently I’m on day shift from 6am – 6pm. I might spend a few days on night shift in a couple of weeks. Everyone takes about 20 minutes for lunch which is cooked. The days are yet to feel that long but essentially people just work, eat and sleep (eat,sleep, rave, repeat). Due to the intensity of work, Guyanese work for 2 weeks and then get a week off. I’ve got an hour spare this morning (currently writing at 7:15) as, frustratingly, the people I’ve been working with and got comfortable with are going on break so I’ve a mini limbo period.  

I’m just trying to familiarise myself with the mine. Yesterday I spent the afternoon in a haul truck going round and round and up and down the mine. 5-year-old me would have been SO proud and excited (it had one big exhaust). To be honest 20 yo me was pretty giddy too.

 

e) the food

The food has been decent so far! Tasty and vaguely nutritious. There is always rice and often potatoes. The cuisine is a mix of South American, Indian and Caribbean - the perks of living in Guyana. There is always vegetarian, last night I had spinach shaak with a roti and some banana bread. Considering all 3 meals are cooked for me I’m not about to complain. There is tasty and spicy hot sauce however I have an inkling that the food going to get repetitive after 8 weeks but let’s see. Breakfast is the best meal – eggs, toast, pancakes, coffee and peanut butter.

I will save my other thoughts for another time.  

Finally, a picture of some gold in the distinctive quartz vein. I will upload the full resolution and unprocessed video as part of June vlog.

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