Extractive industries
Mining
Closed Mae Sot zinc mine to become forest
Padaeng Industry closed its zinc mine in Mae Sot last month because of the depletion of ore reserves. Managing director Francis Vanbellen said on 27 July that PDI’s mine concluded its 32 years of sustainable operations after producing its last 140,000 tonnes of zinc-silicate ore this ...
Grain drain, Laos' sand mining damaging the Mekong
Grain by grain, truckload by truckload, Laos’ section of the Mekong river is being dredged of sand to make cement—a commodity being devoured by a Chinese-led building boom in the capital. But the hollowing out of the riverbed is also damaging a vital waterway that feeds ...
Hundreds of jade mining licenses expire this month
Myanmar’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation has released a list of 310 jade mining companies in Kachin State who will be unable to renew their licenses when they expire at the end of this month. The government previously said it would not renew expired ...
China woos Myanmar, tries to massage its public image
According to the State Council Information Office of the Chinese foreign ministry, Beijing has invited more than 100 journalists, government officials and members of parliament to visit the country, as well as 100 students to study in China. In what seems likely to be a concerted and ...
Money concerns over check on mine
The probe into the origin of toxic contamination in areas near the Akara Resources gold mine may be delayed due to financial problems and difficulty in getting all partners to accept a restoration process. Four ministries – Industry, Public Health, Natural Resources and Environment, and ...
MATA calls for investigation into Shan State coal mine
A civil society alliance has asked the Shan State government to investigate a coal mine in Namsan township, after farmers claimed their land was confiscated by force without explanation. Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability has asked the state government whether the mine has been approved ...
Compensation for mining company’s ‘poisoning’ not enough: plaintiffs
People in Tak province say nothing has been done about removing cadmium contamination from their water source, while the Appeals Court on 12 July upheld the Civil Court’s earlier ruling against zinc-mining companies on the leakage of toxins into the Mae Tao River Basin. The Southern ...
Mother nature activists released
The Koh Kong Provincial Court in Cambodia decided to suspend a year and a half sentence handed down to three activists from environmental NGO Mother Nature who have been in prison since last August – longer than the legal limit for pre-trial detention. The three ...
Sagaing authorities start gold mine clampdown
Sagaing Region authorities in Myanmar are launching a crackdown on small-scale gold mines that, they say, contribute to environmental degradation. But concern is growing that larger companies, which are licensed at the level of the Union government, may be allowed to continue operating. Sagaing Region was ...
Three-month suspension of titan mine over reservoir collapse
Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has suspended the titan exploitation at Nam Suui Nhum mine for three months due to a reservoir collapse. The 3,000-cubic-metre reservoir of Tan Quang Cuong Ltd. in the Ham Thuan Nam District of Binh Thuan collapsed on June 16, ...
