Lear of worry
At the end of January 2025, the manganese mine of Chien Cong Mineral and Industry Joint Stock Company (Chien Cong Company) in Bung Pau village, Phuc Son commune, Lam Binh district, Tuyen Quang was in a state of silence. Mining has stopped for nearly a year now due to the expiration of the license, but the people's worries are still there.
Although it is not the rainy season yet, looking at the mine that has been devastated and the sedimentation tanks with millions of cubic meters of mud left after a decade of exploitation, Mr. Ma Cong Phuong (Bung Pau village) cannot help but worry. Because even when it is operating or has stopped, this manganese mine still leaves many consequences.
According to Mr. Phuong, since it started operating in 2006, Chien Cong Company's manganese mine has caused many impacts on people's lives and production, such as soil and rock from the mine spilling into people's houses, burying streams and agricultural land.
"This mine has up to 4 sludge dams on a high hill, below are the houses of dozens of households. When the flood season comes, we are very worried, afraid that the dams will break and we won't be able to run in time. During the mining period, machines were rumbling, scooping up minerals and taking them away. Now that the mining period has expired, they have not restored the environment, reinforced the dam banks, leaving the environment alone, affecting people's lives," Mr. Phuong said indignantly.
Just over 1km away, the manganese mine of MIMECO Minerals and Mechanical Joint Stock Company, Tuyen Quang branch (MIMECO Company) in Phia Lai village (Phuc Son commune) is also in a similar situation.
Mr. Nguyen Van Le (Phuc Son commune) said that the mine has expired for many years now but the mining unit has not restored the land. The land is barren because the process of mining ore affects agricultural production.
"My sugarcane fields and those of about a dozen other households are still buried by rocks and soil from the mine after each rainy season. The most worrying thing is that the deep pits in the mine have not been reclaimed. If people and livestock fall in, they will die," Mr. Le could not hide his anxiety.
Delay in closing the mine
Speaking with reporters, Ms. Ma Thi Ly - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuc Son commune confirmed that the commune government has recorded the people's petitions about the impact of the mineral mines that have stopped operating in the area.
"At the end of 2024, the provincial and district authorities came to inspect. As for the commune, we can only record recommendations and report to the higher authorities because our authority is limited," said Ms. Ly.
In fact, the violations of not closing mines and restoring the environment by Chien Cong Company and MIMECO Company have been pointed out by authorities, even punished, but still persist, causing resentment among the people.
In April 2022, the People's Committee of Tuyen Quang province fined MIMECO Company VND 230 million for violating regulations on mine closure at the Phuc Son manganese mine. Meanwhile, for also failing to close the mine at the Linh Duc coal mine and the Khuan Phuc gold-antimony mine in Chiem Hoa district, Chien Cong Company was fined VND 240 million in April 2024.
At the end of December 2024, the monitoring delegation of the People's Council of Tuyen Quang province pointed out the shortcomings and violations in mine closure of these units such as Chien Cong Company has not yet closed the mine and has not yet carried out environmental rehabilitation and restoration even though the deadline has expired for more than 8 months.
Similarly, MIMECO Company was granted a mining license by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on February 25, 2003, valid until February 25, 2013. Up to now, although it has expired for 11 years, this unit is still delaying the mine closure.
