Gold rush in Chiquibul National Reserve

Cho also dropped a bombshell. And like the national anthem says, nature HAS blessed us with wealth untold because according to Cho, there are now revenues being earned from the exploration of gold.  But don’t start rejoicing yet, because that gold is being mined in the Chiquibul National Reserve, an area that is prone to incursions by Guatemalan immigrants.

Andre Cho, Director of Petroleum

“The entire country has more or less been explored for minerals and the only minerals of interest that we have are some heavy metals like tin, zinc which we are still trying to assess and then we have some gold which is being mined commercially right now, but no uranium.  Currently Boiton Minerals is the only company that’s mining gold in Belize and the gold mine is located in the Chiquibul National Park.  That has been there long before the Chiquibul National Park has been designated a national park.  The roads into the Chiquibul National Park were put in by mining companies that had exploration licenses to explore for gold, tin, zinc and other heavy metals.  So Boiton has finally proven that the alluvium, the sand and gravel, that is in the creeks have enough gold to exploit and mine so he has started to mine that.  That’s the placer gold that is eroded from the mountains and washed down by rain into the sand and gravel.  It’s coming from somewhere so we have to find that source.  He has exploration licenses to try and find the source.  He does that by exploring through test pitting or trenching and he has a mining license down at the bottom on the alluvial fan to mine the gold commercially.”

Marion Ali

“So we haven’t yet begun to earn anything in revenues?”

Andre Cho

“Yeah, we have been paid royalty from his operation on the gold. I don’t have the royalty off-hand, but yes, he has started to pay royalties. The first time, we finally reached that point where he’s producing enough gold that he can pay royalty and the gold price is high right now so he’s making substantial gross revenues, then he takes out his expenditures and he pays his royalties.”

Marion Ali

“Do you have personnel from your unit there as well to monitor?”

Andre Cho

“No, personnel only go in every now and again when the inspection is due because it’s very far; it takes like a day to get in, you have to camp there for two or three days and a day to get out back.”

Marion Ali

“Doesn’t that open the door for loopholes?”

Andre Cho

“Well in relation to Boiton, no because we’ve done our own assessment of the gold that each cubic yard of sand and gravel can yield, so we know he mines so much, when they go in they inspect the area that is mined, calculate the sand and gravel that is there and then how much gold that should have been produced, check his log book that records it.  Where it opens loopholes is to the illegal people that come in and cut Xate.  I understand they also pan for gold and take out some gold but that’s where we need the assistance of the B.D.F. to patrol those areas.”

Cho says that legislation did not require amendments for the mining to take place in Chiquibul since the Forest Department granted Boiton Company a permit under the National Park Systems Act.