Do not accept the investigation results of the cause of subsidence in the mineral capital

On August 2, Mr. Tran Duc Loi - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district said that the district had requested the North Central Geological Federation to report back on the subsidence in Chau Hong commune after hearing the unit's report on the results after more than 2 months of surveying and investigating the cause. "The district does not accept the survey results of the North Central Geological Federation. Those results are not convincing," said Mr. Loi.

On the morning of August 1, the People's Committee of Quy Hop district held a meeting to listen to the North Central Geological Federation report on the survey results and determine the cause of subsidence in Chau Hong commune. This meeting was chaired by Mr. Loi.

Chau Hong seen from above. Photo: TH

At the meeting, the North Central Geological Federation said that it had identified six causes leading to the situation of subsidence, house cracks, and dry wells in Chau Hong commune and neighboring areas. “The six causes they gave were all natural and objective factors such as climate change, geological layers, and complex cave activities.... It can be understood that the cause is groundwater subsidence, but they could not point out why the groundwater subsided,” said Mr. Tran Duc Loi.

According to Mr. Loi, more than a year ago, in a report sent to the Provincial People's Committee, the cause of groundwater subsidence was also pointed out by Quy Hop district. "Now, after many months of investigation and survey, the North Central Geological Federation announced that the result was groundwater subsidence, which is nothing new. We do not accept it, requiring a specific and clear assessment. It is necessary to point out the cause of groundwater subsidence, and what is the impact. So that the district can come up with a long-term and stable solution, at the same time to respond to the people and report to superiors," said the Vice Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee.

After the meeting, the leaders of Quy Hop district requested the North Central Geological Federation to develop a detailed plan and report back to the district before August 10. “We asked them to have a plan and consider whether to continue the survey or not. If not, they must report back so that the district can have another plan,” Mr. Loi added.

Previously, Quy Hop district signed a contract to hire the North Central Geological Federation to survey and investigate the cause of subsidence and dry wells in Chau Hong commune. The contract cost nearly 1 billion VND.

The North Central Geological Federation conducts exploratory drilling to find the cause. Photo: TH

Speaking to Nghe An Newspaper reporters, a leader of the North Central Geological Federation said that, at the request of the district, over the past 3 months, the unit has drilled 13 drills, and the results have not detected any unusual signs. “Secondly, during the exploration drilling process, some surrounding mineral mines were not operating, so the investigation of geological and hydrological characteristics in that area had no close relationship. No signs related to the mineral mines could be identified. Without scientific data, we dare not point out which unit directly caused the cause,” he said.

“We have also reported to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, we cannot draw conclusions because there is no data basis. We cannot draw conclusions haphazardly. We cannot point out who is the culprit,” he said, adding that to have a scientific basis to identify the cause, it would take at least a year of investigation, costing a lot of money.

Cracks at a house in Chau Hong commune. Photo: TH

Previously, as Nghe An Newspaper has reported many times, since the end of 2019, many wells in Chau Hong commune have dried up. This was followed by cracking and subsidence of houses, threatening the lives of people. To date, the commune has recorded 249 houses with unusual cracks and subsidence of ground. The initial cause was determined to be that the mining enterprise had depleted the groundwater source.

Mr. Truong Van Hoa - Chairman of Chau Hong Commune People's Committee, said that since Tan Hoang Khang Joint Stock Company stopped pumping groundwater at Thung Lun mine, from the end of May until now, no more houses have cracked or collapsed. Meanwhile, all 299 wells of the people that were previously dry have now had water again. According to the report of Chau Hong Commune People's Committee, currently there are 10 households with houses that have cracked and collapsed the most seriously, had to evacuate people and property, and have been supported by the government with a total amount of more than 283 million VND./.