Continue research and consolidation of information for a national level database tracking extractive industry activity and impacts
The DPA-EISEI Secretariat staff continues to collaborate and build relationships with the Provincial Department of Industry Mine and Energy and the Provincial Department of Environment in provinces such as Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri in order to collect the licence, contract and agreement of extractive industry companies and use it in the database system for the national database.
The 2011 EISEI database contains information on 128 known mining concessions granted for mineral exploration, dredging and quarrying throughout Cambodia. The research result showed that these 128 concessions cover more than 24,000 square kilometers, or approximately 13 percent of Cambodia’s total land area.
During this reporting period, the DPA-EISEI secretariat staff received a number of mining concessions from government agencies and other departments at the sub national level, totalling approximately 190 exploration licenses and a few exploitation licenses for gold and gemstones in Battambang, Preah Vihea, and Kratie provinces. Throughout these licences, the process of commenting license. This reflects on the negative impact on social, environmental and rules of law in Cambodia. DPA-EISEI network secretariat staff plan to publicise this information on the DPA website by the end of this year.
In addition, China’s Guangxi Nonferrous Mental Group plans to invest 500 million US dollars in a steel plant and an industrial zone in Cambodia by 2014. Guangxi Nonferrous Metal Group has already invested 30 million US dollars in exploration of iron ore in Roveang district of Preah Vihear province in northern Cambodia and this exploration has reportedly been successfully completed. The presence of BHP was replaced by the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group or Vinacomin, which sent workers to Mondulkiri province to explore for bauxite. The workers are responsible for surveying a site of approximately 1,500 square kilometres in Mondulkiri province which border Vietnam’s highland province of Dak Nong.