People panning for gold urged to mind their health
The Department of Mineral Resources is formulating a plan for tougher measures overseeing ore mining concession applications, deputy chief Adisak Thongkhaimuk said yesterday.
The move followed the department's detection of some 700 tons of ore, which could be refined into pure gold worth Bt900 billion, in 76 locations nationwide - and reports that people panning for ore risked cyanide and mercury poisoning which could also contaminate water sources.
Assigned by the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry, Adisak's department should complete by year's end the systematic mineral management and development plan and pass it on to the Department of Primary Industries and Mines, he said.
Besides ore, the management plan covered other valuable minerals and was hoped to be a guideline for public or private sectors wishing to develop environmentallyfriendly and sustainable mines with community help, he said. He hoped this would prevent future land disputes between miners and local farmers.
Besides detecting the 700 tonnes of ore in 31 provinces, especially in the Korat basin's western rim and upper central Thailand, the department also found several sources of secondarydeposited ore - such as 24 tonnes at LampangTak.
The amount of gold at these sources varied from 12 and 510 grams per tonne, Adisak said, but only a handful of sites were regarded as having high future potential. They were: Huai Kham On at the border area between Lampang and Phrae; Doi Tung on the Chiang Rai's Mae Chan side; Khao Chong Kai in Udon Thani's Nam Som district; the border area between Tak's Muang district and Sukhothai's Dan Lan Hoi district; and Ban Bo Thong in Chon Buri.
Mineral Resource Office director Pitak Rattanajarurat expressed concern that people had started panning for ore, causing pollution to water sources and threatening public health through cyanide and mercury usage. He urged gold prospectors to be cautious of exposure to such substances, saying they could lead to nerve disease, minamata (mercury poisoning) and cancer, as well as disabilities among the newborn.