Linden is the second largest city in Guyana after Georgetown, and capital of the Upper Demerara-Berbice region,[2] located at 6°0′0″N 58°18′0″W / 6.00000°N 58.30000°W / 6.00000; -58.30000, altitude 48 m (160 ft).
[4] The site chosen for this preliminary venture was on the Demerara River, 105 km (65 mi) south of the capital city Georgetown.
Over the years DEMBA established not only the machinery for crushing, sorting, washing, drying, storing and loading the ore that was mined, but also housing facilities for their permanent local and foreign work force.
The end product of this industrial, social and physical infrastructure was a compact township named Mackenzie, which depended on sources external to the bauxite community for its supply of food and spare parts.
With the Government of Guyana as a major shareholder, the move of nationalizing both bauxite entities set the stage for a close-knit unit.
It further allowed for an arrangement in which financial, material and human resources could be optimally allocated within the bauxite mining and processing activities.
LINMINE was placed under the management of an Australian firm, Mining and Processing Engineers - known as MINPROC – for three years (1992–95).
[7] In 1895 Scottish engineer John Dagleish Patterson installed this very large iron wheel as prime mover for his sawmilling equipment.
[citation needed] The sawmill was dismantled but the water wheel remains as an example of how the timber industry was mechanized to exploit the rich natural resources of the area in Linden.
The Victoria Regia Water Lily can be seen there blossoming with its more than one metre diameter giant leaves floating on lakes in a lush green environment.
During this period more than two hundred properties were destroyed by fire and more than fifty people reported physical assaults, including at least seven rapes.
The riots also claimed five lives: R. Khan and P. Mirgin, Indian residents of Wismar were killed on 25 May, along with G. English, an alleged looter.
[9] On 6 July 1964 an explosion blew apart the Sun Chapman launch as it sailed up the Demerara river from Georgetown to Mackenzie.