Illegal gold mining threatens freshwater lake in Myanmar
Illegal gold mining is threatening Myanmar’s largest inland freshwater lake – which ethnic people in Kachin state depend on for their livelihoods – due to the increasing demand for the precious metal as the country’s economy teeters towards collapse. U Aung Ko, a 60-year-old ethnic Shan ...
Maran
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.
Hunting for particles of gold in the jungles of Southeast Asia
Walking across the world, you encounter human beings engaged in various repetitive behaviors. Raising babies. Fixing machines. Boiling tea. Planting crops. Posting videos on TikTok. Looking for gold. Our species’ pervasive quest for gold is ancient and tireless. Along my 11,000-mile trail out of Africa, I have ...
PAUL SALOPEK
Chifeng Jilong to Restart Gold Production at Sepon Mine in Laos
China’s Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining Co has said it will begin processing gold ore from its mine in Sepon, Laos, after a six-year hiatus. According to a report by Reuters, the restart of gold production at the mine is due to gold prices hitting a seven-year ...
Latsamy Phonevilay
Three Arrested in Laos for Illegally Mining Gold on Land Leased by Chinese Company
Authorities in Laos’ Luang Prabang province arrested three rural villagers for trespassing after they tried to mine gold on land granted in a concession to a Chinese company, RFA has learned. The villagers, from Phapon village in Luang Prabang’s Pak Ou district, were initially detained by ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Myanmar authorities stop 17 illegal gold mines along Ayeyarwady River
U Kyaw Myint Than, director of the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River System said the illegal gold mines were discovered in Thabeikkyin township during an inspection on the area on Monday. The general administration department, police force and the officials from the Ministry ...
Kyaw Ko Ko
