Miners and Chinese Landing Residents Clash Over Mining on Indigenous Lands

The Institute for Action Against Discrimination has urged Guyana’s government and police to protect Chinese Landing residents after reports that Toshao Nikita Miller and others were assaulted and threatened during a confrontation with miners late Thursday. IFAAD said the incident highlights ongoing tensions over mining on Indigenous lands and called for an urgent, impartial investigation and accountability.

Chinese Landing Toshao Nikita Miller and several residents were reportedly beaten and threatened with gunfire by miners late Thursday during a clash over mining on the Indigenous community’s titled lands in Region One. The confrontation has renewed concerns about resident safety and the long-running dispute, which has already drawn court rulings and international human rights attention. Police are expected to investigate.

A miner, Rylon Adolphus, says Chinese Landing Toshao Nikita Miller and villagers tried to seize his excavator at gunpoint, sparking a violent clash in which his worker Ian Perry was badly cut with a cutlass. Adolphus says Miller’s brother attacked Perry during the struggle, while Miller fled with the group. Perry was airlifted to Georgetown, and police are investigating the dispute.

Illegal miners allegedly attacked residents of Chinese Landing and Tassawini after village leaders blocked heavy equipment from entering the area, firing shots, assaulting villagers and seizing an ATV and phones. Toshao Nikita Miller says the attackers, led by Rylon Adolphus, targeted her team after being turned back earlier, renewing calls for stronger state protection on Indigenous titled lands.