Extractive industries
Mining
Ratanakkiri official defends disputed land
A Ministry of Interior immigration official at the centre of a long-running land dispute in a gem mining district of Ratanakkiri spoke out for the first time on 29 October, just days after 200 villagers protested what they termed their illegal eviction. The villagers from Bakeo ...
Gem miners protest in Ratanakkiri
About 200 villagers gathered in Ratanakkiri’s provincial capital of Banlung town on 26 October, calling for a resolution to a longstanding land dispute in the province’s gem-rich Bakeo district. In 2013, a man named Heng Socheat sued five village representatives from the district’s Keh Chung commune, ...
Cambodian government and industry reps hear EITI experience
A visiting Mongolian delegation comprised of government, industry and civil society active in the petroleum and mining sectors shared their experience in implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) with their Cambodian counterparts at a workshop in Phnom Penh on 28 September. The EITI is an ...
Myanmar Government urged to halt alabaster mining near religious sites
Monks and local residents have joined forces to fight an alabaster mine they say is disturbing monks’ meditation and undermining their monasteries. The campaigners are demanding that Khine Mar Toe company cease its operations beneath the Yat Kan Zin mountain range in Pat Le Inn village ...
Government puts mining licences on hold
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 22 September told villagers protesting against a planned expansion of gold-mining areas that no new mining permits will be issued during ongoing legal disputes and an assessment period. He was responding to a rally by protesters from 12 provinces who oppose the planned ...
Firm closer to applying for mining licence amid local uproar
As Udon Thani environmentalists expressed their objection to a public meeting on mining concessions being held at a military camp, Asia Pacific Potash Corporation (APPC) was one step closer to applying for the mining licence. APPC executive Woravudh Hiranyapaisansakul said the public meeting in Non Sung district ...
Vietnamese Prime Minister attends launch of giant potash mine in Laos
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Lao counterpart Thongsing Thammavong on 13 September attended the opening of a large potash mine in Laos. It will be one of Vietnam’s largest international projects. The ground breaking ceremony was held in Nongbok district in Khammouane province. Keep reading ...
Vietnamese companies to mine rock salt in Khammuan, Laos
Two Vietnamese companies have inked a deal for a joint venture rock salt mining project in Khammuan province, Laos, with an engineering, procurement and construction contract signed in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 14 August. Vietnam Chemical Group and Vietnam Lao Chemical and Rock Salt Limited Company signed ...
Myanmar activists press Chinese mining firm for answers
Local activists have again failed in their bid to get a major Chinese mining company to answer questions about its involvement in mining activities in Sagaing Region. Ko Tint Aung Soe, a representative of the Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability in Sagaing Region, told The ...
Anti-dredging activists refuse to meet with government
Activists have continued their campaign to drive out sand dredging companies from Koh Kong province’s Botum Sakor district, refusing a meeting with local authorities and instead holding a 100-strong protest outside the district hall. Keep reading ...
