Gold miners flee to Suriname.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's efforts to rid French Guiana of illegal gold miners has forced the precious metal hunters into neighboring Suriname, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said, reports AFP (May 21, 2008). "Most of the French Guianese miners come to Suriname because of our open borders and because of our weak legislation," said WWF-Suriname Gold Mining Pollution Abatement Officer, Nathalie Emanuels, during a Guyana gold-mining conference. Bertrand Goguillon of WWF-French Guiana explained that French Guiana refused to authorize new exploration and exploitation before a new management plan for the gold-sector is put in place at year-end. Existing gold-miners would, however, be allowed to continue their operations. In February, the French president said that at least 1,000 elite French troops would be deployed to that overseas department to rid the jungle of illegal gold miners, many of them from Brazil. Official statistics show that the amount of illegal gold mined annually is about 10 tons, three tons more than what is officially declared to French Guianese authorities.