GEORGETOWN – Calls are growing louder for the Government to intervene at one of Guyana’s most profitable gold operations, as two political organisations accuse the authorities of turning a blind eye to what they describe as “shocking exploitation” of Guyanese workers in underground tunnels at the Zijin Mining Aurora Goldfield.
Both the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) and the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party say workers are being treated like “modern-day slaves,” even as Guyana boasts record economic growth driven in part by the gold sector. They argue that the administration cannot celebrate global wealth rankings while Guyanese men labour more than 600 metres below the earth, allegedly in dangerous conditions for wages that barely scrape $700 GYD per hour.
The statements followed disturbing accounts from former underground miner Kester Valladares, who claimed he was earning $550 GYD per hour during probation and only $639 GYD after probation while working twelve-hour shifts. He claims he was dismissed immediately after raising concerns about safety. Valladares and others allege that Guyanese workers go without proper protective equipment, breathe in choking dust and toxic fumes, and ride in sealed vehicles filled with cigarette smoke. When anyone complains, Valladares, the threat is simple: “If you don’t want the smoke, come out and walk.”
What has fuelled anger further are reports that Chinese employees at the mine receive better equipment, cleaner working conditions, and even air-conditioned dining facilities, while local workers eat underground. Food transported in open trays through dusty mine roads has sometimes arrived spoiled, with workers claiming they have found worms in their meals. Many say they have developed breathing problems. Most troubling, they alleged they have not seen a single Ministry of Labour inspection underground in over a year.
This all unfolds while the mine’s profits skyrocket. Official declarations show Guyana produced 208,757 ounces of gold in the first half of 2025 alone, and 434,497 ounces in 2024, earning nearly US$1 billion. One estimate states Zijin earned about $70 billion GYD from just 136,539 ounces last year. Yet the workers removing that wealth from the earth continue to live like they are in a third-world economy.
WIN and the ALP say enough is enough. They have publicly demanded an immediate and comprehensive government investigation into wages, food conditions, health risks, housing, insurance coverage, and what they say is discrimination between Chinese and Guyanese workers. They want Valladares fully compensated, including every dollar, benefit and leave he is owed. And they want strict, unannounced monitoring underground to ensure workers are no longer exposed to danger in silence.
“These are young men from Regions Six and Ten, risking their lives while the nation’s riches are shipped away,” one advocacy statement stressed. The groups warn that exploitation cannot become part of Guyana’s economic model and insist that labour rights are not optional.
With political organisations stepping firmly into the spotlight, the Government is now under mounting pressure to show whether Guyanese workers, the ones literally pulling billions from the ground, will be protected, or simply replaced.
