Self-proclaimed "cowgirl" Wanphen Phromrangsan found herself in the media spotlight this year following her anti-gold mining campaigns in her home province of Saraburi.
The 44-year-old ditched her job as a cattle farmer two years ago to take on a full-time role as an activist opposing Pha Rong Ltd, the exploration arm of Thailand’s biggest gold miner Akara Resources, which sought a permit three years ago covering 70,000 rai of land.
But now, despite her attempts to save her community from falling into the hands of foreign capitalists, Ms Wanphen is facing allegations that she has vested interests through two rival companies.
"What happened in Phichit caused so much pain," she said, referring to Akara's previous gold mining operations in the northern province. "That is why I had to take action to defend the rights of villagers," Ms Wanphen said.
CONTESTED CLAIMS: A photograph Wanphen Phromrangsan presented as evidence that Pra Rong Ltd is conducting exploration for gold in Saraburi, which the company denies.
Vested interest?: Cowgirl campaigner Wanphen Phromrangsan conducts mineral research.
SAVING SARABURI
Get off our land: A sign reads, 'Lam Phaya Klang tambon is against mines'.
Ms Wanphen is on a crusade to save what could be the first gold mine in Saraburi by forming a company with the local people to bid for gold exploration.
In 2011, Pha Rong submitted special prospecting licence applications (SPLAs) to the Department of Primary Industries and Mines (DPIM) to undertake exploration for gold in Lam Som Phung and Lam Phaya Klang tambons in Muak Lek district.
The five-year SPLAs, or special atchayabat, are divided into seven plots of land, each covering 10,000 rai. Of the total, 49% is on private property, while the rest covers forest conservation land. If a licence is granted, the company must seek permission from landowners and the Forestry Department before it conducts exploration activities.
No gold has ever been found in Saraburi.
On July 18, 2013, Ms Wanpen, then representing Krungthep Mahasap Co, submitted an application for a gold exploration permit to the DPIM.
The company was registered as Krungthep Mahasap Leasing Co in 1994 for leasing vehicles, but on July 4, 2013, the name was changed to Krungthep Mahasap Co and registered as a mining company with a capital of 35.1 million baht, according to documents Spectrum requested from the Department of Business Development.
One of the board directors was listed as Jua Phonghiran, a 63-year-old former Chart Pattana MP candidate for Bangkok.
Staking her claim: Wanphen Phromrangsan, right, claims to be simply a former cattle farmer turned activist, however she and family members have interests in companies with competing claims.
In the letter obtained by Spectrum, Ms Wanphen claimed that Pha Rong’s SPLA overlapped some of her own land, which was provided to her by the Agriculture Ministry under the Sor Por Kor agricultural title deed.
Mineral law does not require applicants to ask for permission from landowners prior to submitting an exploration lease request, and the law gives priority on a first-come-first-serve basis in the case that two applicants submit a request to explore minerals in overlapping land. However, the law provides an exception if one of the applicants owns deeds over the overlapping land, which is not the case for Sor Por Kor landholders.
Applicants seeking special prospecting licences for gold must also have at least 50 million baht in registered capital, as well as have “sufficient tools, machinery, equipment and specialists to be able to prospect for the reserves as well as to operate a gold mine”.
Looking underground: Several of the images Wanphen Phromrangsan said were proof of gold mining were on the Groundwater Resources Department’s website in 2013.
The DPIM rejected her application, and Ms Wanphen started a campaign of allegations against Pha Rong’s activities, making claims that the company has already conducted exploration prior to obtaining a permit.
To make matters more complicated, a mining company was set up under Ms Wanphen’s name in December — Promrungsun Co — and later had a registered and paid-up capital of 50 million baht.
According to business registration documents, Ms Wanphen holds 300,000 shares at par value of 100 baht per share, giving her a 60% shareholding in the company.
“I used the company to oppose [Pha Rong] in the initial stage. But when the villagers became more aware, of this issue, Promrungsun [company] backed out,” she said. “But I never intended to set it up as a business.”
FALSE ACCUSATIONS?
Ms Wanphen has been in the media spotlight this year, alleging that Pha Rong has already started exploration prior to obtaining a licence, which is illegal under the 1967 Mineral Act.
Taking them on: Wanphen Phromrangsan and supporters take their case to the Industry Ministry, one of several agencies to which she has complained.
She made claims to government agencies and the media that Pha Rong has drilled holes and kicked off landowners, and that the DPIM should reject their application.
“They started drilling last year, and now that they have completed the process, they now know the amount of gold reserves,” she told Spectrum.
Pha Rong said they have never conducted any exploration activities, and they denied knowing if there is any economic occurrence of gold in the area.
“Her aim is to discredit us so that we lose the [business] opportunity,” said Chamrat Sangsrichan, an exploration manager at Issara Mining, Pha Rong’s parent company.
Gold exploration does not require an environmental impact assessment, a process which would require submissions to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, but the applicant must offer special benefits to the state and establish a fund to develop local communities.
Rocking on: Residents of Lam Som Phung village No 2 are taught to identify minerals.
The process to explore and determine mineral deposits includes surface sampling and drilling 100m holes into the ground, as well as cutting down some trees.
If the company finds evidence of gold, it is likely to conduct exploration drilling, which costs 400,000 baht per hole. But all these are not permissible until the special prospecting licences are granted.
Once they are granted, Akara Resources, Pha Rong’s operations arm, will determine whether or not to pursue mining operations on a commercial scale.
“We are not capitalists who can use money to do anything,” said Pakorn Sukhum, chief executive of Akara Resources. “Mining includes community involvement on a large scale. If nearby communities say they don’t want [the mines], then Akara will not proceed.”
Spectrum received photos of Pha Rong’s alleged exploration activities, which include drilling that Ms Wanphen claims has taken place in Saraburi province. She said the photos were obtained from the company.
However, almost all of the photos were found to be identical to those posted on the website of the Groundwater Resources Department. The department hired Water Resource Engineering Co in 2011 to conduct geophysical surveys for a groundwater development project in Saraburi.
Spectrum contacted Jade Julawong, Water Resource Engineering’s managing director, who confirmed that company, which was subcontracted to do the work by the department, completed its operations in Saraburi a few months ago, and that the purpose was not for mineral exploration.
Mr Jade, who is also a hydrogeologist, said the equipment used for mineral exploration and groundwater exploration is quite similar because both involve drilling into the ground.
When asked about the photographs appearing on the Groundwater Resources Department's website, Ms Wanphen was adamant the drilling was conducted for gold exploration purposes. She added that there were more than 200 drilling sites in Saraburi, which was not noted for its groundwater projects.
Ms Wanphen has filed complaints to every single agency that could be related to this issue, including provincial authorities, the National Council for Peace and Order, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and the Forestry Department.
Ms Wanphen formally lodged a policy-corruption complaint against Akara Resources, Pha Rong and several government authorities with the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission in April.
DPIM director-general Panitan Jindapoo is one of the government officials Ms Wanphen has filed a complaint against. He said he received a letter from the NACC and has already responded to the claims.
Mr Panitan said Saraburi villagers have submitted several complaints asking the DPIM to investigate Pha Rong’s practices, and the department sent officials and local authorities to look into the issue.
“However, we did not find any evidence of exploration,” he told Spectrum.
Mr Panitan said Ms Wanphen submitted an application for an exclusive prospecting licence (EPL) last year for steel in Nakhon Ratchasima, which was approved by the Industry Ministry. EPLs are valid for one year and is limited to an area not exceeding 2,500 rai.
A Nakhon Ratchasima industry source familiar with the issue told Spectrum that four EPLs were submitted last year by Ms Wanphen, her son Jirawat, Suphawan Ponghirun and Ekachai Ponghirun.
Ms Suphawan and Mr Ekachai are board directors of Krungthep Mahasap, of which Ms Wanphen was previously a representative.
“It’s like she is complaining that [gold exploration] will produce a negative effect, but on the other hand she is also requesting an exploration licence,” Mr Panitan said.
A LONG BATTLE
Pha Rong’s operations arm, Akara Resources Plc, has been attempting to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand since 2009. The two firms are subsidiaries under the gold miner Kingsgate Consolidated, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and has a 49% indirect shareholding in Pha Rong.
Kingsgate operates two gold mines in Thailand and South Australia, together producing approximately 200,000 ounces of gold per annum.
In September last year, Akara submitted its listing application and prospectus to the Thai Securities Exchange Commission and the SET for an initial public offering of its shares.
If the IPO proceeds, Kingsgate will retain a 49% interest in Akara and will have a majority of directors on the Akara board.
Akara chief executive Pakorn told Spectrum that Pha Rong’s operations will have no effect on Akara’s listing, but that the company might not be able to list until next year due to a decline in gold prices and the military coup in May, which lowered confidence among overseas financial institutions. “[Pha Rong’s presence in Saraburi] is only part of Akara’s overall activities, which include exploration in neighbouring countries,” Mr Pakorn said. “And once we go public, we have an ever bigger obligation to be more open [to meet disclosure standards].”
For the 2013 fiscal year ending in June, Akara reported a net profit of 1.75 billion baht, down from 2.54 billion in 2012. It sold 130,502 ounces of gold in 2013, up from 117,465 in 2012. The average selling price was $1,578 per ounce, compared to $1,663 in 2012.
Market analysts have forecast the gold price will average $1,200 per ounce this year, which may result in an even lower profit for Akara, which has been facing a tough battle of its own with communities surrounding its Chatree gold mine in Phichit province.
Meanwhile, Kingsgate’s Thai subsidiaries have not received new mining leases since July 21, 2008, when the industry minister approved five mining leases in Phichit and four mining leases in Phetchabun for mining gold and silver.
IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE
Ms Wanphen may have been a cowgirl who graduated from sixth grade, but she has been mobilising villagers to take control of their own fate. During the past two years, she has taken villagers on exploration trips, while providing education on the types of minerals and the mineral law.
Chao Ban Tum Eang Co (literally “villagers doing it by themselves”) was registered as a mining company on Aug 6, with the purpose of recruiting village shareholders. With registered capital of one million baht, Jirawat Phromrangsan, Ms Wanphen’s 25-year-old son, was one of the three founders.
Mr Jirawat put in 900,000 baht of the paid-up capital, the amount of a company’s capital that has been funded by shareholders.
On Aug 16, Mr Jirawat sold off all his shares, bringing the total number of shareholders to 20, all coming from one of the 28 villages in two sub-districts. Ideally, Ms Wanphen’s goal is to set up one company per village, similar to the One Tambon One Product scheme.
Under Ms Wanphen’s business model, the majority of the company’s revenue will go towards community development.
“Villagers will become entrepreneurs and employers, and they will decide whether or not to move ahead with a project,” she said. “We will be the ones who determine the type of management that will help us coexist with nature.”
Although initial operations will start out small and might not involve gold digging, Ms Wanphen’s intention is to eventually turn the company into a medium-sized firm. Operations are expected to be funded by government loans, using the amount of mineral reserves as collateral.
But she admitted that the majority of villagers in the two tambons do not support her, and that the local administration has become upset about the public’s misinformation of Pha Rong’s local activities.
“They think I want to set up my own mining company, so most villagers are against Chao Ban Tum Eang,” she said. “But if what I am doing is successful, Thais will not be robbed of their rights to their own resources.
“Akara does not provide opportunities to the poor.”
Ms Wanphen has sold her land to hire firms to survey the area in two tambons in Muak Lek district, a process which took a year to complete. A December 2013 report she provided to Spectrum identified 38 minerals in the area, including gold, silver, quartz and granite.
Lertsak Kumkongsak, an environmentalist who has been involved in the mining industry for 10 years and heard of Ms Wanphen’s model from the woman herself, called the idea “interesting, but unpredictable”. The issue, he said, lies not in Ms Wanphen’s obstruction, but whether or not she and the villagers have the right to set up a company in order to compete.
“There have been allegations from [Pha Rong] that Ms Wanphen’s model is an attempt to block the company’s SPL so that she can obtain the permit herself,” Mr Lertsak said.
“But I believe this issue is similar to when a private company wants to attack the other side by saying things like NGOs accept money from overseas.”
He said is it highly possible that the model will be successful, but only if it is a pure community model done on a small scale that is in proportion with small communities, which will limit environmental problems.
This can be seen in Phichit’s Ban Khao Phanom Pha, where a small group of villagers gathered and asked the provincial administration for a small-scale permit, using manpower and small machinery to conduct gold mining operations.
Mr Lertsak dismissed claims that a company managed by villagers will be less likely to cause environmental damage, as the environmental standards should be applied equally under the Mineral Act, which requires health and environmental impact assessments for mineral operations.
“The model will be very beneficial if [Ms Wanphen] is honest. But if there is a hidden agenda to obstruct the permit by using villagers to support other private businesses, then that is unacceptable,” he said.