Check and handle illegal gold mining in Que Phong
(Baonghean) - On July 17 and 18, 2013, Nghe An Newspaper published a two-part series of articles: "What is the solution to illegal gold mining in Cam Muon (Que Phong)?" Implementing the direction of the Provincial People's Committee in Official Dispatch No. 8727/UBND-VX dated December 5, 2013 on responding to the content reflected by Nghe An Newspaper; based on the results of inspection and synthesis of reports of Que Phong District People's Committee and other sectors, on December 9, 2013, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment issued Official Dispatch No. 4331/STNMT-KS on the situation of inspection and handling of illegal gold mining activities in Que Phong District in the past time. The content is as follows:
Through inspection by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the report of the People's Committee of Que Phong district, it is shown that the illegal gold mining in Que Phong district is mainly concentrated in some areas of the Quang River (from the intersection of the Quang River and Khe Quyet to Ru Mo (Mong village), the Khe Hang Nho hill area (Huoc May village), in Cam Muon commune; some locations along Ton stream and Quang River, in Quang Phong commune. In the past time, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has presided over and coordinated with relevant agencies to advise the Provincial People's Committee to issue decisions and directives clearly defining the responsibilities and authorities of the district and commune People's Committees in the management and protection of unexploited minerals.
In addition, to handle the illegal gold mining situation in Que Phong district, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 1585/UBND-TN dated March 19, 2013 assigning the Provincial Police to preside over and coordinate with the Que Phong District People's Committee to urgently push back and strictly handle illegal gold mining in Que Phong district; Official Dispatch No. 2327/UBND-TN dated April 11, 2013 assigning the Chairman of the Que Phong District People's Committee to inspect and handle the illegal gold mining situation in the district; Notice No. 260/TB-UBND dated June 7, 2013 on the conclusion of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee on measures to rectify illegal mining activities in the province, in which specific tasks were assigned to the sectors and the People's Committees of the districts to effectively direct the inspection and handling of illegal mining activities in the area.
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| Panoramic view of Huoi Hang mountain (Cam Muon commune - Que Phong) before May 30, 2013, before the raid. Photo: Dao Tuan. |
Test and processing results:
- From January 21 to 24, 2013, the Interdisciplinary Inspection Team under Decision No. 11/QD-UBND of the Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee inspected and handled the illegal gold mining situation in Cam Muon and Quang Phong communes.
- From March 4 to 5, 2013, the interdisciplinary inspection team led by the provincial police conducted a sweep and expelled the illegal gold mining site in Huoc May village, Cam Muon commune, Que Phong district. Results: mobilized the people and expelled more than 300 people from the gold mining area; demolished and destroyed 60 camps; discovered and disabled 25 generators, 5 grinders, various types of drills, 5 drums and 52 plastic cans of diesel oil (estimated at about 2,500 liters of oil); destroyed 2,000 meters of water pipes used by the subjects to bring water from streams in the area for daily life and gold mining, panning, etc.
- From April 25 to 26, 2013, the interdisciplinary inspection team led by the leader of Que Phong District People's Committee inspected and handled the illegal gold mining situation in Tan stream, Cam Muon commune and Ton stream, Quang Phong commune. Results: demolished and destroyed 6 camps, 200 liters of oil, destroyed 16 generators, grinders of all kinds, 3 rock drills, 500 m of water pipes...
- From June 29 to July 2, 2013, the interdisciplinary inspection team led by the leader of Que Phong District People's Committee handled the illegal gold mining situation at Khe Huoi Hang hill, Cam Muon commune. Results: mobilized people and drove 200 people out of the gold mining area; demolished and destroyed 51 camps, 21 water tanks for gold mining, more than 2,000 m2 of tarpaulin; discovered and disabled 4 Dong Phong generators, 7 stone crushers, 1 drill, 1 generator, burned and destroyed 100 liters of diesel oil; destroyed more than 2,000 m of various water pipes used by the subjects to bring water from streams in the area for daily life and gold mining; Using 432 kg of industrial explosives and 450 electric detonators, they blew up 52 deep and dangerous pits, the rest collapsed due to the rain and the remaining shallow pits were not dangerous,...
- Regarding the responsibility of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, it has actively coordinated with local authorities and Nghe An Provincial Police to grasp the situation, participate in inspecting and handling illegal gold mining activities in Cam Muon and Quang Phong communes; advise the Provincial People's Committee to promptly issue documents directing the implementation of state management of minerals under its authority.
- The Interdisciplinary Inspection Team under Decision No. 163/QD-UBND.NC dated January 14, 2013 of the Provincial People's Committee Chairman (with the Provincial Police as the head of the team, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment as the deputy head) regularly follows the area, grasps and promptly and effectively handles the hotspots where illegal mining activities often take place in the province, especially in remote areas. After the inspections and handlings, the Inspection Team proceeds to hand over the clean area to the local authorities to carry out management work according to the provisions of law. After the above raids, the Que Phong District People's Committee has directed and assigned tasks to the District Police, the Cam Muon Commune People's Committee and the Quang Phong Commune People's Committee to arrange permanent forces to set up posts at sub-area 144 (Huoi Hang) and some other locations to prevent illegal gold mining activities.
Therefore, up to now, the illegal gold mining situation in Cam Muon and Quang Phong communes, Que Phong district has basically been controlled, however, a few areas still have the potential risk of recurrence. In addition to the above solutions, to contribute to completely resolving the gold mining situation in Huoc May village, Cam Muon commune under the direction of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has coordinated with relevant agencies to inspect and advise the Provincial People's Committee to report to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to assign localities to manage and grant mineral operation licenses according to the provisions of the 2010 Mineral Law (currently, the Central agencies are considering and resolving).
Some key solutions in the coming time:
- According to the provisions of the 2010 Law on Minerals, the decisions and directives of the Provincial People's Committee on strengthening state management of mineral activities in Nghe An province, the management and protection of unlicensed minerals are primarily the responsibility and authority of the District People's Committee and the Commune People's Committee. Therefore, the Provincial People's Committee requests the People's Committee of Que Phong district, the People's Committee of Cam Muon commune, and the People's Committee of Quang Phong commune to continue to effectively perform the tasks in the above documents.
- Continue to maintain the Interdisciplinary Inspection Team according to Decision No. 163/QD-UBND.NC dated January 14, 2013 of the Provincial People's Committee Chairman (with the Provincial Police as the head of the team, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment as the deputy head of the team) to strengthen the fight against and handle illegal mineral exploitation activities in the province. Select enterprises with mining experience and financial capacity to carry out licensing work according to the provisions of law (after being approved by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment).
- The Department of Natural Resources and Environment will proactively and effectively coordinate with relevant agencies to continue directing the inspection and handling of illegal mineral exploitation in the province; advise the Provincial People's Committee to promptly issue documents directing and urging the handling of mineral exploitation activities according to its authority.
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
