Illegal gold mining "hot" again

On January 12, Quang Nam Provincial Police said that Phuoc Gia Commune Police (Hiep Duc District) had just organized a patrol to raid illegal gold mining activities in the Nuoc Trieng area, Ha Son village, Phuoc Gia commune (bordering Tra Doc commune, Bac Tra My district).

At the scene, authorities discovered tunnels, tents, equipment and machinery used for illegal gold mining.

The commune police drove the subjects out of the area, destroying the engine, water pump, mill, water pipes and all tools and equipment used for illegal gold mining.

According to Phuoc Gia Commune Police, before organizing the raid, the unit discovered a number of strangers frequently appearing in the locality, showing many suspicious signs of illegal gold mining activities.

It is known that at the end of 2023, to hand over the area to the construction unit of the Bong Mieu gold mine closure project (Tam Lanh commune, Phu Ninh district, Quang Nam), functional units of Quang Nam Provincial Police and Phu Ninh District Police organized a raid to handle illegal gold mining activities in Tam Lanh commune, especially in the Nui Kem area.

Specifically, the Provincial Police and Phu Ninh District Police organized two working groups to inspect and handle illegal gold mining activities in two directions from Ho Gan and Thac Trang to Nui Kem area.

At the scene of the above areas, the authorities did not detect anyone illegally mining gold. However, in the gold capital of Bong Mieu, there are still many camps and machines serving illegal gold mining activities.

*Conduct destruction and demolition of equipment used for illegal gold mining.*

Lieutenant Colonel Huynh Van Cong, Deputy Head of the Economic Police Department of the Provincial Police, said that the Working Group had inspected and thoroughly searched all mine entrances in the Nui Kem area, disabling 4 engines, 1 generator, 20 camps, 7 ore soaking pits, about 1,500m of water lines, about 900m of electric wires and many other rudimentary tools.

After inspecting and cracking down on illegal gold mining activities in the Nui Kem mine area, the Working Group cleaned up the area and handed it over to Phu Ninh District Police, Tam Lanh Commune Police and the Provincial Investment and Construction Project Management Board to continue implementing the Bong Mieu gold mine closure project.

After the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment approved the project to close the gold ore mine at Bong Mieu mine, Quang Nam province assigned the Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board as the investor.

Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee requested to seal and build a wall to block the main mine entrance, demolish the illegal mine entrances; dismantle the surface construction, level the ground, collect and treat waste, treat the environment, plant trees and grass to improve the environment and monitor the environment after the mine closure is completed.

The cost to close the mine is nearly 19.5 billion VND, from the provincial budget (including the environmental rehabilitation and restoration deposit of the enterprise that has been recovered into the provincial budget). The project implementation period is from 2022 to 2024.

Source