The cause of the "acidic" water in the mine of Ha An Tin Company Ltd. has not yet been determined.
Inspecting the mine of Ha An Tin Company, a working group led by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment determined that "acid-contaminated" water continued to flow out, but could not determine the cause.
“Acidic” water still spills out
The unusual situation of "acid-contaminated" water spilling out from the mine of Ha An Tin Company Limited was reported by Nghe An Newspaper on October 24, 2024 through an article.“Ha An Tin Company's mine still has “acid-contaminated” water spilling into the environment???”.
Previously, on September 30, 2024, when discovering an unusual water overflow from pit No. 1 to the outside, Thiec Ha An Company Limited informed the People's Committee of Quy Hop district through Report No. 42/BC-THA. The People's Committee of Quy Hop district then organized a working group to inspect and determined that at the location of the pit door No. 1 (coordinates x = 2146006, y = 534956), there was a water source flowing from the pit door to the outside with a large flow. The water source was opaque white, when using litmus paper to check, it showed that the water had a high acid content (PH <3). The working group went deep into the pit to inspect but could not detect the source of the water, nor could they determine whether it was related to mineral exploitation and processing activities or not?
The People's Committee of Quy Hop district then organized a surprise inspection at the mining tunnels of Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Company Limited (above the mine of Ha An Tin Company Limited), but still could not detect the cause.
Determining that this is an unusual phenomenon, if the cause is not found to be handled, and if it flows into the environment, it will risk causing environmental pollution, greatly affecting people's health (this water source is the input water source of Quy Hop Town Water Plant), so Quy Hop District People's Committee reported and recommended that the Provincial People's Committee direct relevant departments, branches and sectors to inspect and clearly identify the cause of the above unusual situation, and take measures to completely handle it.
On October 16, 2024, in Document No. 6090/UBND-NN, the Provincial People's Committee commented: "Assign the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to preside over and coordinate with the People's Committee of Quy Hop district and relevant agencies to urgently inspect, clearly identify the cause and take measures to ensure that environmental pollution does not occur, affecting people's health...".
At 9:30 a.m. on November 12, 2024, a working group chaired by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment inspected the underground mine area of Thiec Ha An Company Limited in the Suoi Bac tin mine area, Chau Hong commune and Chau Thanh commune, Quy Hop district.
At the time of inspection, Ha An Tin Company Limited was suspending mining and ore processing activities. The mine area only had a few workers managing the mine, protecting and operating the wastewater treatment system from pit No. 1. Checking the location of pit No. 1's entrance, there was a source of opaque white water flowing from the pit entrance to the outside. The working group entered the pit to inspect, but still could not detect the cause of the unusual water source.
Local concerns
Together with the delegation of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, inspecting the situation of "acid-contaminated" water still overflowing but not finding the cause, representatives of the leaders of Quy Hop district and related localities were very worried.
Vice Chairman of Chau Thanh Commune People's Committee - Luong The My commented to the working group: "Wastewater from pit No. 1 has only been preliminarily treated through settling tanks and discharged directly into the caster cave to the surface water source serving the daily life and cultivation of the people. Therefore, it is recommended that Thiec Ha An Company Limited implement additional measures to treat wastewater to meet standards before discharging according to regulations".
Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quy Hop district - Mr. Cao The Bao informed that in the field of land, Thiec Ha An Company Limited was fined and proposed to be fined twice by Quy Hop district with a total amount of nearly 500 million VND. After complying with the fine, the company leased land and reclaimed land in areas not within the leased area; for areas outside the leased land area, the District People's Committee is completing the documents for further handling. However, in the field of environment, the District People's Committee does not have specialized expertise, so after inspection, it recorded and reported to the Provincial People's Committee and higher-level agencies about the incident. The working group is requested to evaluate and have a specific handling plan for the unusual water phenomenon in tunnel No. 1 of Thiec Ha An Company Limited.
According to Mr. Quan Vi Giang - Vice Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee, in the face of environmental incidents, the District People's Committee has promptly coordinated with relevant units to inspect, report and make recommendations to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Provincial People's Committee. Therefore, it is recommended that the Department of Natural Resources and Environment thoroughly and resolutely handle the pollution problem at the tin mine of Ha An Tin Company Limited, otherwise there will be many risks that will affect local people, especially water resources.
On the side of Thiec Ha An Company Limited, Director Nguyen Thi Hai An reported that the company stopped mining operations at Suoi Bac tin mine from January 30, 2024 to complete procedures according to the provisions of law. Faced with the phenomenon of abnormal water in pit No. 1, the company has used measures to neutralize, settle wastewater, and monitor wastewater quality to meet the prescribed pH. However, due to the large amount of wastewater, the Company is facing many difficulties in treatment, especially the area for arranging settling ponds to treat abnormal wastewater in pit No. 1 and the area for storing sludge after sedimentation. Thereby, Director Nguyen Thi Hai An requested the competent authority to "create conditions for the company to rent land to have a place to arrange settling ponds to serve water treatment work in accordance with regulations".
Recommendation to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Based on the results of the actual inspection and the opinions of the representatives of the participating units, the working group unanimously assessed: "In the Suoi Bac tin ore area in Chau Hong and Chau Thanh communes, Quy Hop district, there are many potential risks of environmental incidents if the mining units in the area do not have a thorough solution"; "The phenomenon of abnormal water arising at tunnel No. 1, Suoi Bac tin mine of Thiec Ha An Company Limited is correct as reported. Through the actual inspection, although Thiec Ha An Company Limited is not operating, it still generates opaque white wastewater. The company has pumped and added lime to reduce pH and settle the sediment before discharging the wastewater".
At the same time, the working group determined that mineral exploitation is the cause of environmental pollution, and the primary responsibility belongs to Ha An Tin Company Limited. Therefore, the company is required to proactively contract with a specialized and qualified unit according to the provisions of law to survey, evaluate, find the cause and propose solutions to handle the amount of wastewater generated, ensuring that wastewater is treated to meet standards before discharge.
With the People's Committee of Quy Hop district, the People's Committees of Chau Thanh and Chau Hong communes, the Working Group requested to supervise the implementation of measures by Thiec Ha An Company Limited to handle unusual water sources at pit No. 1; monitor surface water sources in streams and streams in the district to promptly warn people if there are any abnormalities. In addition, urge and supervise the overcoming of shortcomings in the implementation of laws on natural resources and environment and recommendations of inspection teams according to Decision No. 901/QD-BTNMT dated April 5, 2024 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Decision No. 03/QDKT-CAH(HS) dated May 7, 2024 of the Quy Hop District Police for Thiec Ha An Company Limited and Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company.
On November 29, 2024, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment issued Document No. 8590/STNMT-BVMT to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Here, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment mentioned that the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Document No. 7151/UBND-NN dated August 21, 2024, requesting the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to establish an interdisciplinary team to conduct a comprehensive inspection of compliance with the law in the field of natural resources and environment of enterprises licensed to exploit tin ore in the Suoi Bac area, Quy Hop district.
At the same time, information about the unusual water phenomenon in the area of the Project for exploiting and processing tin ore in the eastern part of Suoi Bac mine, Chau Thanh commune and Chau Hong commune, Quy Hop district of Ha An Tin Company Limited; inspection and verification results;... Thereby recommending: "In order to promptly rectify and handle according to authority, ensuring that no environmental pollution incidents occur in mineral exploitation activities that affect the lives of local people, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment respectfully requests the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to promptly establish an interdisciplinary inspection team to inspect the compliance with the law in the field of natural resources and environment of enterprises licensed to exploit Suoi Bac tin ore, Quy Hop district, Nghe An province".