Women go through the forest to collect scrap on Pu Phen peak
(Baonghean.vn) - On the gold tunnel at the top of Pu Phen in the mountainous district of Tuong Duong (Nghe An), there are people in the area who often come and go to do a very special thing, which is to pick up items left behind by gold thieves to carry down the mountain to sell.
 |
Pu Phen Peak is located at an altitude of nearly 1,000m, bordering the three communes of Yen Hoa, Yen Na, and Yen Tinh in Tuong Duong district. Pu Phen has long been famous as one of the “gold navels” of this area. |
 |
| Many years ago, gold miners from all over came here to set up camps to mine. When they left or were chased away by the authorities, they left behind piles of rubble, machinery, and tools. Many items were left lying around, but many were also smashed and buried underground by the authorities during raids. These items are now picked up by the locals and sold. |
 |
| It takes more than 2 hours of climbing to reach Pu Phen. In the photo, 2 local women are excited to pick up a large iron object from the old camp of illegal gold miners. |
 |
| Many tools and equipment were left behind at Pu Phen peak, including iron and steel. During their clandestine activities, many tools and equipment made of iron and steel were also buried underground or hidden in large bushes by the gold miners to avoid inspection by the authorities. When they were chased away, the gold miners did not have time to take these items with them. |
 |
| Some iron items are bulky, forcing iron pickers to spend hours sawing them off and bringing them home to sell. Ms. VT H, a resident of Pa Ty village, Yen Tinh commune, said that for more than 2 years now, during the off-season, she and some people in the village have been coming here to pick up iron to sell. There have been many times when they fell due to the steep and slippery roads. |
 |
| “Normally, each person can carry 50 to 70 kg. However, due to the extremely difficult road conditions, we can only carry about 30 to 40 kg,” Ms. H added. Currently, the price of scrap iron in the area is 65,000 VND/yen. |
 |
However, this job also has many potential risks. Not only the rugged terrain, the gold pits tens, hundreds of meters deep left by illegal gold mining groups on the mountain are also one of the extremely dangerous hidden dangers for the iron pickers here. |
 |
| Many of the items left behind were too large to fit in the baskets. They had to tie them up and carry them directly on their backs. |
 |
| "If the load is light, it only takes about 2 hours, but sometimes the load is heavy and it takes more than 3 to 4 hours to get home" - a woman who collects iron said. |
