Government is seeking advice on whether it can legally suspend the licences of mining companies prospecting for bauxite and limestone deposits in the Cockpit Country.

This latest development follows another minor victory for advocates against mining in the area yesterday when Government announced it would discontinue prospecting for the mineral deposits until it received the findings of a study aimed at establishing the boundaries of the Cockpit Country. The study is yet to be commissioned.

Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Land, Donovan Stanberry, said Government had asked the entities to cease prospecting activities until a true definition of the Cockpit's boundaries were established.

Further prospecting

"What is important is that mining has ceased," he said, declining to say whether the move would guarantee that there would be no further prospecting by any of the entities until the decision was reached.

"Well we are not issuing any more prospecting licence to anybody else. The people who are involved, we have had discussions with them," he added.

Meanwhile, environmentalists have openly welcomed the latest move by the Government.

"We are very happy about the results of the meeting," spokesperson for the Cockpit Country Stakeholders Group, Diana McCaulay, said.

"We congratulate the Minister on his response to this matter," added Hugh Dixon, executive director of the Trelawny Environmental Agency .

"We urge Minister Clarke to be the person history remembers for his action to protect the Cockpit Country from mining."