Akara fights Phichit mine suspension

Akara fights Phichit mine suspension

Akara Resources Plc, which operates a gold mine in Phichit province, will appeal against the government's order to suspend operations this week.

It hopes to resume operations as soon as it can and will seek legal action against the government if its appeal is rejected with no appropriate explanation, chief executive Pakorn Sukhum said yesterday.

"We have discussed [the case] with our lawyers as we realise this is severe. We are in the process of appealing the case to the Primary Industries and Mines Department and we are about to look for a legal action against the government if our appeal is rejected," he said.

The department issued a 30-day suspension order on the mine on Jan 13 after blood tests on local residents showed higher than normal levels of toxic heavy metals.

However, Akara reiterated that although the company agreed on the issues of health and well-being of communities near the gold mine and also welcomed the involvement of Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan in testing the blood samples, the company was still sceptical about how the tests were conducted because it did not use any toxic substances.

"The simple fact of the matter is that arsenic and manganese have not been used or stored at the Chatree gold mine now or at any time in its history," Mr Pakorn told the Bangkok Post.

Industry Minister Chakramon Phasukvanich said the ministry had not received an appeal letter. However, it was Akara's task to prove whether toxic metals found in blood tests were caused by the mining operation or by the villagers' use of insecticides on their own farmland.

Akara says manganese and arsenic can be naturally found in ground water, rocks, insecticides, fertilisers, green vegetables and other sources — and lifestyle factors also play a role, with some of these elements found in foodstuffs.

Tension between the company and communities has grown after villagers submitted their complaints to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Villagers and non-governmental organisations claim that Akara threatened villagers to stop complaining by saying the company would no longer provide the communities with clean drinking water.

"We recently heard that the gold mining company plans to cut support such as water as a retaliation after it was ordered to halt operations," said Arom Khamchring, a coordinator of environmentalists, referring to the 15 gallons of clean water given to each family every month.

A senior Akara official denied the claim and said the company was still providing clean water as part of its corporate social responsibility programme.

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