Phichit: Our mine is not the source of heavy metals in locals' blood, Akara Resources says

[webfact]

Our mine is not the source of heavy metals in locals' blood, Akara Resources says
SAYAN CHUCHAM
THE NATION
PHICHIT

PHICHIT: -- AKARA Resources has dismissed any suggestion that its gold mine in the North is responsible for elevated levels of manganese and arsenic in locals' blood.

The public company released a statement in response to recent news reports that tests by the Central Institute of Forensic Science and Rangsit University showed hundreds of local people in northern provinces including Phichit were contaminated with heavy metals.

Lately, several Akara officials have come forward to address problems allegedly caused by its gold mining operation.

"Akara Resources does not use manganese and arsenic in any of its operations," chief executive officer Pakorn Sukhum said in the statement.

The company said an investigation by an internationally recognised environmental specialist, commissioned in early 2014, confirmed that the mining operation was not the source of elevated arsenic or manganese in surrounding areas.

"We take the health of local people, employees and the environment very seriously," Pakorn said.

According to the statement, the company tested 598 employees as well as contractors for a number of compounds, including arsenic and manganese, and they were all well below World Health Organisation (WHO) thresholds for this type of work.

It had also undertaken extensive testing of drinking water around the mine and International Organisation for Standardisation-accredited national healthcare systems stated: "The results show that concentrations of all metals are lower than the limit values of the WHO regulation.

"Thus the water is suitable for drinking."

Yesterday, Akara collected tap-water samples from Phichit's Tab Khlo district following complaints that locals felt itchy after using tap water.

"Preliminary tests show the acidity level is within standard limits," said Pratuan Pheungjui, who works for the company's environment division.

Pratuan said he had worked for the company for more than |six years without health problems.

"I have undergone blood tests and there is no contamination detected," he said.

Pratuan said he would continue working for the gold mine.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Our-mine-is-not-the-source-of-heavy-metals-in-loca-30252570.html


-- The Nation 2015-01-24

[rasmus5150]

Of course this is not the fault of the mine. All the residents of Phichit loves to listen to AC/DC and Iron Maiden all day, and that is the reason for heavy metals in their blood.

[borisloosebrain]

Hey Pakorn and Pratian I'm looking for a scriptwriter for a new Fantasy movie are you available mate ! What a load of toxic waste you speak...how the hell else did they get sick. Thru osmosis from some other galaxy or jangwat ? Let's make a deal, you and your families and your comrades families use the same water as the villagers for the next twelve months , nothing else , and then we'll talk again okay ?

[worgeordie]

It all must be a coincidence,it could never happen

regards Worgeordie

[oneday]

These reports would all be much more believable coming from an independent agency that was not paid by the company to run the tests.

[bangkokfrog]

Hey Pakorn and Pratian I'm looking for a scriptwriter for a new Fantasy movie are you available mate ! What a load of toxic waste you speak...how the hell else did they get sick. Thru osmosis from some other galaxy or jangwat ? Let's make a deal, you and your families and your comrades families use the same water as the villagers for the next twelve months , nothing else , and then we'll talk again okay ?

Boris, it is always easy to jump to conclusions in this country when a 'farang' owned company and possibly huge compensation claims are involved.

"How the hell did they get sick?" Maybe it was the mine... but also how about the tonnes of chemicals that Thai farmers feel they must use every year. We should all wait and see rather than jumping to a conclusion based on what may well be a media beat-up designed to squeeze money from the company.

[chainarong]

Until you prove otherwise the finger of suspicion points at you Akara, take into account the length of time 15 plus years that this mine has been operating, the large amount of land that you have as leases ,primarily to lock anybody out of the area, where else would this contamination come from, who else in the area would contribute to groundwater contamination to cause heavy metals in the blood, putting out a news report is not going to make the problem disappear , time to set up a working committee and try to establish where this contamination comes from and the mine remains closed until you do find the cause.

[monkey dog]

sound to me like some rabid NGO trying to do extortion as usual

[Ozziepat]

Does Thailand, with all of its committees and ministries and departments, not have even one chartered to address concerns about public health? And, for all you graduates of the "Big corporations are evil and always assumed guilty." school of Marxist thought, would you believe a report coming out of a Thai committee on the issue? How about a report from an "objective" agent appointed by a Thai committee? ...Thought not. Well, heck. Guess you are just stuck with the unwarranted assumption, sort of like the one I just made.

[fxe1200]

Akara Resources does not use manganese and arsenic in any of its operations," chief executive officer Pakorn Sukhum said in the statement.

What a hypocritical statement!!!

Manganese and arsenic is regularly found, where you find gold. Therefore the improper disposal of the arsenic soil is responsible for the contamination.

[Bluespunk]

"AKARA Resources has dismissed any suggestion that its gold mine in the North is responsible for elevated levels of manganese and arsenic in locals' blood."

Were their pants on fire at the time they said this?

[Rykbanlor]

Don't waste time thinking about it. The judiciary will no doubt end up on the side of Akara.

[Time Traveller]

Akara Resources does not use manganese and arsenic in any of its operations," chief executive officer Pakorn Sukhum said in the statement.

What a hypocritical statement!!!

Manganese and arsenic is regularly found, where you find gold. Therefore the improper disposal of the arsenic soil is responsible for the contamination.

So you mean these are naturally occuring chemicals

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

and who s#!t in my pants?

[Bung]

Some interesting facts about arsenic in the mining industry

http://www.miningfacts.org/Environment/What-is-the-role-of-arsenic-in-the-mining-industry/

[maidee]

my mine problem is your problem, not mine

or

your mine problem is not my problem

might be a typical quote overhere

[fxe1200]

Akara Resources does not use manganese and arsenic in any of its operations," chief executive officer Pakorn Sukhum said in the statement.

What a hypocritical statement!!!

Manganese and arsenic is regularly found, where you find gold. Therefore the improper disposal of the arsenic soil is responsible for the contamination.

So you mean these are naturally occuring chemicals

Yes, the element Manganese is common and arsen ist often found with gold. Manganese dust is toxic and arsen as well. The problem is, that with the digging process for gold, both elements find their way into the atmosphere and therefore into water also. The company is right with their statement: "Akara Resources does not use manganese and arsenic in any of its operations", but they do not mention, that the poisons are being distributed by their own massive excavating and earth moving activities, as well as their negligence to control the toxic material, and avoid the contamination of water and the air as well.

[BillyBobThai]

The wife's family have lived in this area, as the crow flies about 5 km from this mine, for over a hundred years. Her grandmother is still kicking at 102. She has an uncle who lives directly across the road from the backside of the mine, he is 85 or 86. I lived their for almost 3 years using well water daily with no harmful effects.

The wife worked at the mine for 18 months, and from what I saw on a daily basis, I took her to work and picked her up, it appears to be a well run operation. They have huge water trucks that are spraying water to keep the dust down. They have a yearly open house where the public is taken on a bus tour of the mine area. For a huge mine, it is very clean. She had a blood test on an 6 month basis.

One day while out riding I saw another farang and stopped to talk. They were drilling a water monitoring well in a small community about 3 km from the mine. This was 4 to 5 years ago.

My feeling is that the chemicals used by the locals to spray rice should be investigated.

I personally think that these people have been whipped up into a frenzy by someone who believes they can make a quick baht and are showing their true Thainess.

Globally, an estimated 50% of arsenic produced continues to be used to make arsenic-based insecticides and herbicides, and another 30% is used to make chromated copper arsenate (CCA) wood preservatives. - See more at: http://www.miningfacts.org/Environment/What-is-the-role-of-arsenic-in-the-mining-industry/#sthash.AXaXrTLZ.dpuf

Edited January 24, 2015 by BillyBobThai

[IAMHERE]

Akara Resources does not use manganese and arsenic in any of its operations," chief executive officer Pakorn Sukhum said in the statement.

What a hypocritical statement!!!

Manganese and arsenic is regularly found, where you find gold. Therefore the improper disposal of the arsenic soil is responsible for the contamination.

So you mean these are naturally occuring chemicals

Yes, they are, especially arsenic. Arsenic is found in gold deposits, free the gold and you also free the other chemicals that are in the soil.

[otherstuff1957]

Placer gold deposits, where pure or nearly pure gold nuggets or gold dust can be found, are all pretty much mined out. Modern gold mines usually process large amounts of low grade ore in order to get fairly small amounts of gold. Frequently, gold ores will contain other minerals, such as arsenic, lead, copper... In fact, one way to find gold ore is to look for high concentration of arsenic:

Since valuable metals such as copper and gold can also be found in sulphide mineral deposits, mining exploration companies will often look for soil and water with a naturally high arsenic content as a means of locating an ore body.

^

http://www.miningfacts.org/Environment/What-is-the-role-of-arsenic-in-the-mining-industry/

So, there may not be a 'smoking gun' pointing at the gold mine, the first thing to investigate would be their disposal of arsenic rich tailings.

[slapout]

The complaints, finger pointing has been ongoing for several years. The ministry personnel who over see this mine, if as qualified/knowledgeable about the concerns, as other Thai monitoring/enforcement agencies, may be as worthless as teats on a boar hog.

The next step is the civil servents will point fingers at another government group who have not followed up, a report is unsigned, someone retired, etc. If problem solving was approached as diligently as ''doing nothing'' Thailand could be be running on all cylinders, setting the standards for other southeast Asia countries.