Works Ministry Approved Mining at Santa Cruz Quarry before Explosion

The detonation of explosives at a quarry in a residential area of Santa Elena Town last December resulted in the loss of life of seventy-year-old Ronald Sutherland, general manager of Tiger Aggregates.  Aside from the many residents whose homes were damaged by the missiles from the blast, there is also the issue of who is responsible for the illegal undertaking. We say illegal because C.E.O. in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Sharon Ramclam-Young, has told News Five that a fine will be imposed for illegal mining under the Mines and Minerals Act, Chapter Two-Twenty-Six of the Substantive Laws of Belize. But according to Chief Engineer Lennox Bradley, the contractors requested the use of the pit, which the ministry has been responsible for since the late 1980’s.  That exploratory request was approved and Tiger Aggregates Limited, which has over thirty years of experience in blasting, was subcontracted for the job. Bradley says it is not the first time that blasting was done in a residential area.

Lennox Bradley

Lennox Bradley, Chief Engineer, Ministry of Works

“This is not the first time that blasting has occurred in a residential area. It is unfortunately what has happened, but it is not the first time that blasting was done in a residential area. We have done blasting in the Belmopan area here without an incident.  We supported the contractor’s request to carry out exploratory investigations at that pit to see if the materials are compliant with the specifications in the contract. The ministry granted that approval to carry out exploratory investigations of the material. They, in turn, subcontracted the exploratory investigation to a firm, Tiger Aggregates Limited, because the material is hard and blasting was required. The contractor was supposed to obtain all necessary permits to carry out the blasting, but the Ministry of Works did give permission for them to source material from that location.”