Issano is a village of Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region 7), Guyana. It is located along the Mazaruni River, and is a hub for mining.
In 2012, the population was 220.[2] Issano is a mostly Amerindian community. It has a primary school (Saint Martin's[3]), health centre[4] and airstrip (ICAO: SYIS[5]).[6] The main overland roadway is the Issano road, which runs 75 miles (121 km) from the Bartica/Potaro road and extends approximately 52 miles (84 km) to the Issano landing.[7]
Geologically, Issano lies on the Barama-Mazaruni Supergroup, a formation composed of greenstone belts, which are rich with metals, and gold is abundant along these edges.[8] The 14 Mile Issano Landing Area was licensed to be mined as an open-pit operation by Troy Resources, but residents' demand to stay in the area prompted Troy to adjust their license to a different area. By 2015, the area had already been occupied for thirty years.[9][10]
Issano has high rates of malaria, due to more people moving to the hinterlands for mining and vectors created from water collecting in holes dug for mining purposes.[11]
In 1968 Guyanese artist and archeologist Denis Williams built a homestead in Issano, where he made his first archeological excavation in Guyana, finding Amerindian artifacts.[12]
