New bill allows gold mines to stay open despite ‘shutdown’
The Nation 10 December 2016 | Pratch Rujivanarom
GOLD mines in Phichit and Loei can operate legally under the new Mineral Bill that was approved by National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Thursday, despite an earlier Cabinet decision to close all gold mines over environmental and health concerns, legal experts said.
The Mineral Bill now awaits the signature of HM the King to become a new law.
Opponents, however, say the bill will benefit the mining companies rather than protect rights of the people and it will cause increased conflict between the mines and local people across the country.
Opponents also questioned the timing of the law, which comes as the deadline for the closure of gold mines nears.
The Cabinet previously in May announced that gold mines across the country to halt operations by the end of this year after a series of protests and claims that two gold mines polluted the environment and made people living nearby sick from heavy metals and cyanide contamination.
Lertsak Khamkongsak, coordinator of the Eco-Culture Study Group, said he was concerned that under Article 105 of the bill, a metallurgy licence would no longer be a problem for the Akara mine in Phichit to continue operating beyond the mine closure deadline.
“Article 105 indicates that under the new law, mine companies with valid mining concessions can [operate] without a metallurgy licence, because the bill allows the mining concession to cover the metallurgy allowance and the mine companies do not have to apply for many licences,” Lertsak said.
“This will unlock the problem of a metallurgy licence that expired for Akara Resources, as their concession is still valid until 2028.”
Sor Rattanamanee, a lawyer from the Community Resource Centre Sor Rattanamanee Polkla, also said the new bill would benefit Tungkum’s gold mine in Loei, as the company could use the legal mechanism in the new bill to reopen the mine.
“Right now, Tungkum mine cannot operate because the company is still unable to get permission from local authorities to use land in a preserved forest for the mining operation,” Sor Rattanamanee said.
“However, if Tungkum revokes their concession and applies for a concession again to the Primary Industries and Mines Department, they can easily get all permissions that are needed to open the gold mine as a result of the one-stop service policy in the new bill.”
As well as the mining issue, Lertsak warned that the bill contained serious legal gaps that would allow mining companies to escape the current tight procedures to apply for mining concessions and open mines.
“Article 49 of this bill divides the mine into three categories according to its size. The different categories have different required procedures when applying for a mining concession.
“For the smallest mine category with a total area less than 100 rai, the mine operator can apply directly to the local agency and no Environmental Impact Assessment is required,” he said.
He warned that corrupt operators may use this to benefit their mining proposal by applying for many small mining concessions rather than one big concession covering the whole area of their mine.
Sor Rattanamanee said that from now on people would have to be more cautious, as it would be easier for mining companies to open new mines and conflicts between mines and local people may increase and intensify in the future.
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