Extractive industries
Mining
Local protesters block road to Letpadaung copper mine
The Sagaing Division chief minister will likely visit the controversial Letpadaung copper mine later this week after protesters prevented vehicles from leaving the compound on February 21 and demanded the mine cease operations. “We blocked five trucks carrying copper from leaving the mine,” U Pho La ...
Residents block trucks at Loei mine
People in Loei have urged government agencies to inspect the Tungkum gold mine amid reports of illegal mining, producing many tonnes of ore being despite the mine’s permission to use local forestland having expired. The Rak Ban Kerd (Love Our Hometown) community group has blocked the ...
No more coal mining licences due to harmful health effects, says union minister
The government will stop issuing new coal mining licences due to the substance’s harmful effects on health, said U Ohn Win, Union Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. He also said factories which violate regulations in the burning of coal will be shut down. ...
Nine killed in Kachin jade mine landslide
A landslide in northern Myanmar’s jade mining region has killed 9 people, a local official said on February 11, the latest fatal incident to strike the shadowy billion-dollar industry. The men were believed to be searching for jade in Kachin State when a wall of unstable ...
Slag heaps from mining operations concern Kachin residents
Kachin people have complained that mining companies are dumping waste soil recklessly and that it could trigger natural disasters. “We’ve found some companies dumped slag near tributaries of the Uru River. The waste soil could block the river during the rainy season,” said a resident of ...
Nickel market roiled by supply outlooks in Indonesia, Philippines
The nickel market has been undergoing wild swings this year, pummeled by Indonesia’s move to relax an export ban but later buoyed by expectations of a supply decrease from the Philippines. The Philippines said last Thursday that it will close mines responsible for roughly half of the ...
Sand stats ‘correct’: government
At a government-organised forum on sand exports on January 24, a Ministry of Mines and Energy official said an investigation had been carried out into huge discrepancies in data on sand export from Cambodia to Singapore but that the probe found no irregularities. UN data ...
Study finds that carbon finance is not a one-size-fits-all solution to deforestation
Halting the pace at which we’re destroying the world’s forests for agriculture, forestry, mines, and other economic development projects is crucial to combating climate change. Carbon finance, which involves creating monetary incentives for companies and countries to invest in programs to reduce carbon emissions, is ...
S'pore has strict criteria for sand imports, says Govt, as controversy over Cambodian imports brews
The Republic stopped importing sand from Cambodia after a ban took effect in November last year, said the Ministry of National Development as the issue of sand imports once again takes the spotlight. Responding to media queries, the MND also stressed that Singapore sets strict criteria ...
Villagers demand investigation into gold mines
Mandalay farmers have staged a sit-in for the past four days in protest of gold mines they claim have encroached on their land. The Wet Tae village residents are demanding the government suspend the mining activities until the conclusion of an investigation. They also called for ...
