Infiltrating the “great construction site” of gold thieves in Bong Mieu

Although the functional forces regularly organize raids while waiting for the mine’s closure, gold theft continues to recur and is rampant.

In mid-March 2022, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment approved the project to close Bong Mieu mine, Tam Lanh commune, Phu Ninh district, Quang Nam province.

However, while waiting for the closure of the mine, gold theft here is still quite rampant, although the provincial and local functional forces continuously organize raids and chases.

The deeper you go into the Bong Mieu gold mine, the louder the engine sounds, the stronger the smell in the ore yards, and the murky water in many streams because of chemicals.

In Lo 10 area, there are 4 tunnels being excavated by gold thieves. In addition to the mouth of the tunnel, there are motorbikes modified by goldsmiths to carry ore from the tunnel to the outside. Next to it are tents for gold to eat and live and tents to grind stone for ore.

Here looks like a bomb crater, the stone storage yards are piled high in large piles, the chemical tanks, the ore shovels are temporarily buried with gold, and smell strongly of chemicals.

In the Sim Hill area, it is similar with dozens of camps located in the middle of the forest. Phu gold N. (residing in Bac Tra My district, Quang Nam province) said that he was hired here to mine gold with a salary of more than 5 million VND per month.

“I mainly work at night and at dawn, and near noon, I go deep into the mountains to hide from the police force. Working here is very hard and hard, but in return it does not require qualifications, just health…”, Mr. N. shared.

Mr. N. revealed that when the police force came in to raid, he and many other gold men ran away, hid in the forest, and of course the boss would not charge any wages that day.

Mr. T (from Thanh Hoa) confided. Because he did not have a job in the countryside, he followed some people to Quang Nam to work as a hired hand for a yard owner. “At first, I was not used to the job, so I was very tired. Due to transporting ore from the tunnel to the outside, in many places there was water, muddy ground, not familiar with the road, so he often fell…”, Mr. T. said.

Mr. T. added, there were many times when he hit the cliff due to the dark or the slippery road. On average, he runs more than 10 trips per day, each trip takes about 30 minutes and earns 6 million VND per month.

Tam Lanh Commune Police said that from the beginning of 2022 until now, it has organized 5 raids at Bong Mieu gold mine, destroying 16 camps, 12 blasting machines, 26 pools for soaking ore incubation, about 700 m2 of tar, 1,400 m. plumbing and many other tools.

Because the Tam Lanh Commune Police force has only 5 officers and soldiers, while the Bong Mieu gold mine is large, rugged, and adjacent to the mountainous districts, the sweeping work encounters many difficulties.

In mid-March 2022, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment approved the project to close Bong Mieu mine – one of the largest gold reserves in the country.

The closure of the mine is aimed at protecting untapped gold mineral resources, preventing illegal gold mining activities, maintaining regional security and order, and protecting the environment.

The implementation cost is nearly 19.5 billion VND, from the source of Bong Mieu Gold Mining Co., Ltd. has deposited a deposit for environmental renovation and restoration at the state treasury of Phu Ninh district and additional sources from the budget of Quang Nam province. .

In 2005, Bong Mieu Co., Ltd. was licensed to exploit this gold mine and the license expired in 2016. In 2018, the court issued a decision to open bankruptcy proceedings against the company. People in Tam Lanh commune said that Bong Mieu Gold Company has gone bankrupt, but the gold mines here are still operating, releasing chemicals into the environment, which is very scary. Water source is polluted, if buffaloes and cows drink water on Bong Mieu River, they will never grow up and cannot reproduce. In addition, chemicals such as mercury and cyanide seep into the groundwater, causing serious pollution to the drinking water of many households here.

Ho Ca