Gold mines ordered to suspend from Jan 1

[webfact]

Gold mines ordered to suspend from Jan 1
By THE NATION

 

 

BANGKOK: -- THE National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) yesterday exercised its absolute power to tackle conflict and alleged impacts caused by gold mines by ordering them to suspend operations from January 1, 2017.

 

NCPO chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha exercised the special power under Article 44 of Interim Charter to issue order 72/2559 to tackle problems allegedly linked to gold mines. The order will suspend the operation of mines and restrict related agencies from issuing or renewing gold exploration concessions, mining concessions, and metallurgy permits from January 1, till a national mining commission is set up and able to make other decisions.

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30302060

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2016-12-14

[Brer Fox]

So a decision has been made not to allow any more decisions to be made on mining concessions until a National Mining Commission has been set up which will then allow decisions to be made.

So what about the decision made a week or more ago to allow the re-opening of gold mines at Loi and Phichit which were previously issued with shut down orders? Does this latest decision overrule that earlier decision to create a new Bill to allow them to re-open.

The decision making process in Thailand is something to behold.

[NongKhaiKid]

3 minutes ago, Brer Fox said:

So a decision has been made not to allow any more decisions to be made on mining concessions until a National Mining Commission has been set up which will then allow decisions to be made.

So what about the decision made a week or more ago to allow the re-opening of gold mines at Loi and Phichit which were previously issued with shut down orders? Does this latest decision overrule that earlier decision to create a new Bill to allow them to re-open.

The decision making process in Thailand is something to behold.

Yes indeed and the only successful part of the process here seems to be making the decision not to make a decision.

[NanLaew]

I used to be indecisive but now I'm not so sure...

[ezzra]

This akin to throwing the baby with the bath water, mining have been,

and widely operated responsibly all over the world among villages and

small cities without problems and with full care of the environment

and the people, somehow in this country it's impossible to find a way

that everybody is happy, and it's sad, very sad.....

[SaintLouisBlues]

2 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

I used to be indecisive but now I'm not so sure...

How to resolve your procrastination habit:

1

[doremifasol]

Yeah, why not? Let's call a meeting to call a meeting........

[aussieinthailand]

16 minutes ago, ezzra said:

This akin to throwing the baby with the bath water, mining have been,

and widely operated responsibly all over the world among villages and

small cities without problems and with full care of the environment

and the people, somehow in this country it's impossible to find a way

that everybody is happy, and it's sad, very sad.....

Sorry mate but you sound like the public relations yes man for the minening industry.

There are many many way's the envirionment can be badly affected due to minning in open cut/underground and sharft mines.

Talings would one of the most common issues.  Also the oils and fluids for machinery like trucks/loaders

EG; The reportable amount of  hydrolic oil lost from a truch/loader is 20 liters which requirs paper work by the fitter and enviornomental officer, so offen the lossof oils is verbaly reported to the shift boss as 15-19 liters so no official report required and all looks good.

This kind of stuff is not isolated to small show mines, I worked for one of the planets largest minning company's and it is common...

Also the same creative numbers goes for the safty and rules for staff,  eg; you can follow the official rules and be labeled a trouble maker and find yourself unemployed or you can go along to get along.

[worgeordie]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

This akin to throwing the baby with the bath water, mining have been,

and widely operated responsibly all over the world among villages and

small cities without problems and with full care of the environment

and the people, somehow in this country it's impossible to find a way

that everybody is happy, and it's sad, very sad.....

Tell that to the people of Kilty Creek,suffered for years 

and still suffering although mine closed for years.

regards worgeordie

[webfact]

PM invokes Section 44 to suspend gold mining operation in the country 

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The government yesterday issued an announcement suspending relevant state agencies from licensing gold exploration and  mining, and from extension of existing gold mining concession, and gold mining operators to stop operation pending the resolution of the National Mining Commission.

 

The announcement came after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha decided to invoke Section 44 of the interim Constitution to end gold mining activities to resolve environmental consequences.

 

The announcement was published in the Royal Gazette and released to the public yesterday.

 

It  came shortly after the meeting between the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and the Cabinet to discuss the environmental problems caused by the gold mining operations.

 

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.

 

The invocation of Section 44 was seen to directly affect Akara Resources Co Ltd which is the only company still  doing gold mining in Phetchabun, Phichit and Phitsanulok provinces.

 

The company is licensed to do mining in a vast area of 3,000 rai. It has recently laid off 1,000 workers.

 

The announcement stated in the NCPO Order 72/2559 takes effect on January 1, 2017.

 

Apart from suspending relevant state agencies to do licensing work on gold mining, and exploration, and mining companies to suspend gold mining operation, it mandated however that mining companies still will be committed to perform activities dealing  with the revival of the environment in their environmental impact assessment reports.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/pm-invokes-section-44-suspend-gold-mining-operation-country/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2016-12-14

[freebyrd]

6 hours ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Yes indeed and the only successful part of the process here seems to be making the decision not to make a decision.

 

When I was in the army, officers used to attend training execises called a TEWT (Training Exercise Without Troops). Us soldiers referred to it as Talking Endlessy Without Thinking. Methinks this is quite apt when applied to officialdom in Thailand.

[yellowboat]

Laws in Thailand are funny things.  Why would you have to invoke martial law if there is a legitimate law being broken ?  Article 44 is going to hang over the heads of Thais for a long time to come.

[Srikcir]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

gold mining operators

Quick. Bring in a truckload of abbots for the front gate as "greeters."

And the government will back off closure.

[saminoz]

This, amongst the other idiotic ideas and actions by the silly little General, will further decrease inward investment and foreign investor confidence in this despotic little state.

[Basil B]

Todd Hoffman and crew just canceled flight to Thailand... 

[freebyrd]

Sounds like the guy who called me to ask if I had received his SMS regarding the email about the Fax........

[leeneeds]

Accountability , enforcement of such accountability unfortunately, has been 

disregarded. Now the industry as a whole is tarnished by the same brush and is a blight on those who do the right thing ,of which there are many, from my own experience.

Having inspections on a lightning basis on sites with no prior warning other than turning up at the gate, is a small way of ensuring correct environment inspections, 

 

Due diligence then falls upon the inspector who may need not accept the brown paper bag for infringements, 

If a  companies own environmental policy is enforced from within then as I have seen, working on a mine site in Thailand there will be no problem.

 

Planning and budgeting ahead for controls and  rehabilitation has been lacking in many instances,

then the problems occur and accrue. 

 

[WhizBang]

On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 3:51 PM, ezzra said:

This akin to throwing the baby with the bath water, mining have been,

and widely operated responsibly all over the world among villages and

small cities without problems and with full care of the environment

and the people, somehow in this country it's impossible to find a way

that everybody is happy, and it's sad, very sad.....

 

That is because here, greed rules the day.  Money is more important than anything else, including people's lives.  We see this every day in Thailand.
 

[ChrisY1]

Somebody doesn't like the Australians......do they want them out so the mine could eventually be 100% Thai owned

[chainarong]

11 hours ago, NanLaew said:

I used to be indecisive but now I'm not so sure...

Well I can tell u so are the companies concerned , even their own Thai government medical team couldn't find anything wrong with the villagers nor the water , nearly half a billion invested at Phichit wasted,  not to mention the unemployment it will cause,  say's something about sovereign risk in Thailand.

[chainarong]

4 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Somebody doesn't like the Australians......do they want them out so the mine could eventually be 100% Thai owned

Some millionaire did put in a price,  which at the time looked highly suspicious,  however so far the Junta has ignored him.

[djjamie]

Definitely see a few more Thais' coming across to Laos now looking for work with MMG and PAN Australia as supervisors or above.

 

From memory only 4 or 5 Aussies worked in Thailand in the Gold mine up north so will no doubt see a minimal migration of expats moving across. 

[Acharn]

4 hours ago, WhizBang said:

 

That is because here, greed rules the day.  Money is more important than anything else, including people's lives.  We see this every day in Thailand.
 

 

Yeah, we see it every day in the U.S., too. Pipeline in North Dakota just broke (again) and dumped 176,000 gallons of oil before they noticed. Nestle is buying water for pennies in California that isn't going to be there to drink as the drought continues for another five or ten years. Meanwhile there's no money to replace the lead pipes in Flint, and Nestle is buying clean water in Michigan, too. Coal mines are never restored as required by law, and forests are not replanted. Thailand is really no worse, they just aren't as good at covering up the news.

[pattayahenry]

http://www.worstpolluted.org/projects_reports/display/56
environmental concerns outweighed the economic benefits
 more than 300 people tested positive for arsenic and manganese at Chatree, which is run by Akara Resources Public Company Limited, a subsidiary of Australia's Kingsgate
mining activities poisoned residents, their water supply and crops.

[Old Croc]

Consequences.

http://www.watoday.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/shuttered-thai-gold-mine-shows-investors-risks-of-absolute-power-20161219-gte2jq.html

[Srikcir]

12 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

Consequences.

http://www.watoday.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/shuttered-thai-gold-mine-shows-investors-risks-of-absolute-power-20161219-gte2jq.html

 

The article loses some credibility however when it concludes, "When you have an elected government, Article 44 will disappear."

Very naive to believe that the military's control over the nation will end with an elected government as the constitution was designed to preserve military control over the affairs of any elected government and even legitimize a military coup of an elected government.

 

[Old Croc]

38 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

 

The article loses some credibility however when it concludes, "When you have an elected government, Article 44 will disappear."

Very naive to believe that the military's control over the nation will end with an elected government as the constitution was designed to preserve military control over the affairs of any elected government and even legitimize a military coup of an elected government.

 

Perhaps the writer should have said a democratically elected government to satisfy pedants.

However, for me, the main focus of this article is the effect the use of A 44 has had, and will have, on foreign investment in the Kingdom.

This sort of misuse of this power will scare much needed investment away. Investment Thailand can't afford to lose in an already shaky economy.

[PatOngo]

6 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

Perhaps the writer should have said a democratically elected government to satisfy pedants.

However, for me, the main focus of this article is the effect the use of A 44 has had, and will have, on foreign investment in the Kingdom.

This sort of misuse of this power will scare much needed investment away. Investment Thailand can't afford to lose in an already shaky economy.

 

When you bite the hand that feeds.............................!