On May 7, Suriname police released key findings from an autopsy into the deaths of two illegal gold miners who died during a government task force operation at a Zijin Mining concession, confirming the pair were not killed by gunfire as previously speculated.
During a public press briefing, Regional Commander Sharveen Koelfat of Central Suriname presented partial results of the autopsy report, which was finalized and delivered to law enforcement mid-briefing. The two miners died from severe head and brain trauma sustained after falling from a significant height, Koelfat confirmed. Quoting directly from the document, Koelfat noted the first victim suffered compression of the cerebellum and fractures to the left anterior and middle cranial base, all consistent with a high fall. The second victim also showed brain swelling and blunt force head trauma that traced back to the same fall event.
Koelfat added that forensic pathologists conducted a full search for bullet fragments and entry wounds, and found no evidence of projectile damage on either body. He went on to clarify key protocols that govern the task force’s work at the mining concession, countering circulating misinformation about the operation. Task force members are not permitted to remove any gold or gold-bearing rock from the site, Koelfat explained; all potential ore is left at the location, and personnel are searched by the mining company’s own security team before leaving the concession area.
He also outlined the task force’s rules of engagement for eviction operations: officers only fire their weapons in exceptional, emergency circumstances. In most cases, Koelfat noted, illegal miners immediately flee when the task force arrives, often choosing extremely dangerous escape routes to avoid detection. Common high-risk choices include scaling steep cliff faces, running across uneven, jagged rock terrain, or jumping into open water while carrying heavy backpacks loaded with stolen ore. The commander also highlighted that illegal miners regularly document their unauthorized activities on social media, sharing videos that show them firing weapons and chanting hostile slogans against police, including calls for “war on the police”.
Koelfat added that illegal miners often have advance intelligence about operations inside the concession, including controlled blasting work that uses explosives to loosen gold-bearing ore. Information on these operations spreads rapidly as far as the capital Paramaribo, drawing groups of unauthorized prospectors to the site to collect ore after blasts, despite the well-documented life-threatening risks of their activity. To date, four illegal miners have died in incidents connected to unauthorized prospecting at the concession in a short span of time, police confirmed.