Fatoe Switie Mountains ( nl, Fatoe Switiegebergte) is a mountain range in the

Sipaliwini District Sipaliwini is the largest district of Suriname, located in the south. Sipaliwini is the only district that does not have a regional capital, as it is directly administered by the national government in Paramaribo. History Sipaliwini was created ...

of Suriname. The highest peak is about 375 metres. In 1902, Governor

Cornelis Lely Cornelis Lely (; 23 September 1854 – 22 January 1929) was a Dutch politician of the Liberal Union (LU) and civil engineer. He oversaw the passage of an act of parliament authorising construction of the Zuiderzee Works, a huge project – desi ...

of Suriname decided that the

Lawa Railway The Lawa Railway (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Lawaspoorweg'' or later ''Landsspoorweg'') was a single-track metre gauge railway in Suriname. It was built during the gold rush in the early 20th century, from the harbour town Paramaribo to Dam at the ...

would be built by the government. The railway line would transport gold from the foot of the Fatoe Switie Mountains to

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...

. The proposed railway line was only half completed from Paramaribo due to disappointing gold finds. As of 1998,

Golden Star Resources Golden Star Resources Ltd was a Canadian company that owned and operated the Wassa gold mine in Ghana. The company formerly owned and operated the Bogoso-Prestea gold mine, also in Ghana, from 1999 to 2020. Headquartered in London, but with a re ...

has a base at Fatoe Switie for their gold mining operations which is located about from

Benzdorp Benzdorp is a village in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. It is named after the English consul and bullion dealer H.J.W. Benz. Geography The village lies in the jungle of the Tapanahony, Tapanahony resort, near the Lawa River (South America ...

References

Mountain ranges of Suriname {{Suriname-geo-stub