Extractive industries
Minerals and mineral products
Omkoi villagers file lawsuit to revoke coal mine EIA
50 residents of Kaboedin village, Omkoi district, Chiang Mai, filed a lawsuit with the Chiang Mai Administrative Court on Monday (4 April) to revoke an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a coal mine project sited near their community. On Monday morning, community members marched from the ...
Prachatai
Ministry gives green light to gold mining operation
The government has authorised a local company to mine gold ore on a 18.28 square-kilometre site over a period of 20 years. An agreement on the project was signed by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Mrs Khamchan Vongsenboun and the company. The company will invest ...
Times Reporters
Gold mining in Preah Vihear brings few riches, plenty of pain to community
Twenty years ago, the streams that run through the remote village of Totim in Preah Vihear’s Rovieng district, sparkled with gold. Those flecks drew poor farmers to the Romdeng community, looking to sift for gold and improve their livelihood. Before long, it also brought a ...
Mining companies hunt for buried treasure on indigenous Cambodian land
Deep in the forests of northeast Cambodia, bamboo shoots criss-crossed rays of sunlight as 26-year-old Tang Kalann passed by open and covered pits near the Tang Se community, comprising four indigenous Jarai villages where he lives. For years, the mining firm Angkor Resources Corp., formerly Angkor ...
JACK BROOK
Illegal gold mines operate unchecked in Myanmar’s Kachin state since coup
Illegal gold mine operations have run unchecked in the capital of Myanmar’s Kachin state since the military seized power 10 months ago, raising concerns for villagers who spent years protesting a massive Chinese-backed dam project in the early 2000s. Local sources along the Irrawaddy River in ...
Reported by Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
China-backed gold mine in Laos pollutes local river, killing fish
A gold mine run by a Chinese company in southern Laos is releasing waste into a river in Sekong province, killing fish and fouling water used by villagers for drinking and bathing, Lao sources say. The Lao Kaleum Gold Mining Project began operations last year and ...
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Finance firms plan to close coal plants in Asia
Some of the world’s biggest financial institutions are working on a plan to speed the closure of coal-fired power plants in Asia, the BBC has been told. The initiative was developed by UK insurer Prudential, is being driven by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and includes ...
Can the EU's climate change plan work in Southeast Asia?
After the European Union became a “strategic partner” of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc in December 2020, both blocs pledged to make climate change policy a key area of cooperation. The EU, already the largest provider of development assistance to the ASEAN region, has committed ...
David Hutt
Coal will power Cambodia in the wrong direction
Across Southeast Asia, governments continue to view coal as a reliable and inexpensive energy source, despite the rapidly falling costs of renewable power and the growing number of companies making vocal commitments to meeting all their demand with it. These companies are clear about what ...
Peter Ford
How a Beloved Gemstone Became a Symbol of Environmental Tragedy in Myanmar
The jade gemstones that generate billions of dollars a year in Myanmar — the world’s biggest exporter of the stone — are beloved in China, where they can sell for more than gold. But they are a symbol of tragedy and suffering for the people who ...
EMILY FISHBEIN AND AUNG MYAT LAMUNG; Additional reporting by Jaw Tu Hkawng.