4 mining deaths so far in 2026

Four individuals have lost their lives thus far this year while working in the mining sector, but the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has rolled out a series of initiatives to curb these fatalities and improve operational safety at mining sites.

This is according to the safety inspector at the GGMC’s Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Unit, Irvie London.

“The figure last year was 12,” he stated when asked for the mining fatalities recording for 2025, while adding that for this year, “there are four so far.”

London told this publication that these figures are a significant reduction from previous years.

During the period 2000 to 2010, between 15 and 18 fatalities were being recorded in the mining sector annually. Only in May 2015 did the largest mine fatality occur in the history of Guyana when 11 miners were killed in a single incident after a mining pit caved in at Mowsie/Pepper Creek, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

But according to London, who has responsibility for mine safety, the Commission has been working with miners and other stakeholders to enhance safety in their operations – something that is reaping fruitful results.

“GGMC has embarked on a stringent educational awareness campaign since 2023, where we visit mining districts and we engage miners on a one-on-one basis. We sit with them, we spend time at their camp and we hear their concerns,” he noted.

In fact, the GGMC has introduced something, the Technical Assistance to Miners (TAMS) initiative – a programme whereby the Commission provides information and technical support to miners with respect to benching, sloping, pit condition, pit clearance, tree clearance on the pit crest, and mining environmentally sustainably and safely.

“So GGMC is doing a lot, and we are receiving significant welcome feedback from the miners because something like this has never happened before,” London stated.

Moreover, the safety inspector added that GGMC has also been working on improving the health and wellbeing of miners, collaborating with key partners such as the Ministry of Labour’s OSH Department and the Ministry of Health’s malaria division.

“We go out to the various mining districts, not only to do compliance but to ensure that we are following the regulations with respect to mining. We go there; we meet miners, having one-on-ones with them. We provide information through brochures, and we also provide nettings,” he said.

The GGMC’s safety inspector spoke with this publication on Thursday at the OSH Village and Job Fair hosted by the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning as part of the Occupational Safety and Health observances.

Only earlier this week, Labour Minister Keoma Griffith revealed during the OSH Symposium that while strides have been made to curb workplace fatalities, some 13 lives were lost and 60 persons injured on job sites between January and April of this year.

“This increase is unacceptable and underscores the urgent need for stricter compliance and health and safety protocols. We must therefore confront this conundrum head-on, and it demands from us a decisive paradigm shift, one that moves us beyond reactive compliance to a culture of proactive prevention, accountability, and zero tolerance for unsafe practices,” the minister emphasised on Tuesday.