A Change of Guard

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Saturday 31 December 2011

Cambodia's mining exploration licenses cover 13 percent of land area: report

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - Cambodia has approved mining exploration licenses for 128 concessions covering 13 percent of the country's land area, according to a report Friday by Development and Partnership in Action, a non-governmental organization.The report said that in addition to local interests, the government had approved concessions to companies from Australia, China, France, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. The concessions were said to be located in 18 of the country's 24 provinces.

Mam Sambath, executive director of the organization, said he was aware of two extractive testing licenses, one of which may be the Chinese gold mining concession in Kratie where eight Cambodian miners died last week.

"The incident in the mineshaft in Kratie is a good lesson and experience for Cambodia before approvals are given," he said.

Mam Sambath also noted that few companies had conducted environmental impact assessments (EIAs) to avoid damage to natural resources, ecology and the environment or adverse socio-economic and cultural impacts.

Only 10 mining projects, all in the oil and gas sector, have submitted such assessments to the Ministry of Environment, said Danh Serei, deputy director of the ministry's Department of Environmental Assessment.

He said the ministry was drafting a law to force all development projects to do so, especially mining oil and gas projects which can have major environmental and socio-economic impacts.

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