Illegal gold mining recurs in Xiangyang

On the morning of October 27, 2018, we were at the mountain named Pha Toc in Yen Tinh commune, Tuong Duong district (Nghe An). Before that, some sources said that this place had some people bringing machines to dig for gold.

From milestone number 27 on Provincial Road 543C in Yen Na commune to Xan village, Huu Khuong commune, Tuong Duong district, about 100m further we met a stream that the locals called Khe Pha Toc. From here, the reporter team spent more than 20 minutes riding a motorbike upstream and another half an hour walking up the mountain to reach the location where a gold mine was operating. From more than 300m away we could hear the sound of an engine coming from a small stream in the mountain.

An excavator operates in the middle of a stream on the morning of October 27. Photo: PV

Following the path leading down to the stream, we came across a generator operating to dig for gold. The yellow soil mixed with water typical of gold filtration activities overflowed into the stream bed, leading to a roughly built settling tank. A group of people were operating, seemingly calm at our presence. The man with a northern accent said he was from Thai Nguyen, working for a boss named Quynh in Yen Tinh commune (Tuong Duong).

The silhouettes of gold diggers can be seen in the mining tunnel. Photo: PV

There were two gold miners’ camps about 20-30 meters from the stream. In one camp, a group of people were cooking lunch. A short, stocky man claimed to be one of the gold miners. He did not give his full name at first, but our guide recognized the man as Tuan (also known as Fat Tuan) and lived in Hoa Binh town (Tuong Duong).

The gold sedimentation tank right on the stream. Photo: PV

Mr. Tuan said that he and his group of workers had just started gold mining 3 days before. He lamented that his business had failed so he went up the mountain to "steal" gold. "We just went to steal, it was not official or anything. I live in Hoa Binh town and work with the local people here" - Mr. Tuan said.

Mr. Vi Van Thieu, resident of Hat village, Yen Tinh commune, has a small farm at the foot of Pha Toc mountain. The farmer, born in 1961, has been on the farm for the past 15 years and said that the gold mining group had started mining activities nearly a month before. Mr. Thieu expressed concern that if the gold mine continued to operate for a long time, it would affect his family's livestock. Mr. Thieu said that his family had dug a pond to raise fish in the stream and was afraid that his buffalo and cows would drink water containing toxins from the chemicals used to process the gold.

Gold miners' huts. Photo: PV

Mr. Vi Van Thieu also said that he did not want gold miners to operate upstream where he had set up his farm for many years. “Last year, some people came to dig for about 2 months, but then the local government came and chased them away.”

Speaking over the phone, Mr. Vi Van Khiem - Chairman of Yen Tinh Commune People's Committee said that until the afternoon of October 28, he and local authorities had not known about illegal gold mining activities in the area. "I will set up an inspection team to handle the problem" - Mr. Khiem said.