ABSTRACT
If there is one thing that the Three Guianas have in common, it is their natural magnificence. The gigantic abundance and variety of the vast forests, swamps and savannahs, and the innumerable rivers and creeks criss-crossing the land, dominate their natural landscape. The Guiana Shield, one of three cratons of the South American plate from contemporary Venezuela to Amapá State in Brazil, also harbours mineral wealth, notably gold, diamonds and bauxite. Since colonial times the discovery of gold has inspired the imagination and motivated many actions. Gold may not have brought the expected paradise, but for many inhabitants of the Guianas it provides a livelihood. Today in and across the three countries gold mining is the cork that keeps the economy floating.1
