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| The reservoir at the Nam Suối Nhum titan mine, Bình Thuận Province. -- Photo infornet.vn |
Viet Nam News
BÌNH THUẬN — The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) has suspended the titan exploitation at Nam Suối Nhum mine for three months due to a reservoir collapse.
MONRE Deputy Minister Nguyễn Linh Ngọc on Tuesday signed a decision suspending operations of Tân Quang Cường Ltd. after the General Department of Geology and Minerals (VNGDGM) reported on the collapse breakdown of reservoir when employees taking water for sifting titan.
The 3,000-cubic-metre reservoir of Tân Quang Cường Ltd. in the Hàm Thuận Nam District of Bình Thuận collapsed on June 16, spilling over onto a 19.600-square-metre area of residential houses and a resort, and isolating 200 metres of roads.
An inspection team urgently set up by VNGDGM and MNRE examined the site and issued its report yesterday.
The investigation showed that the company regularly pumped water to the reservoir without checking its level. As the lake is surrounded by sand, over time, water infiltrated through the sand, creating underground streams that eventually erupted and flooded the lake.
MONRE has asked the company to clean up the site, repair the damaged area, and compensate local people who suffered loss.
“Within three months, if the company doesn’t carry out all the demands to the letter, the ministry will revoke its exploitation license, “ a MNRE official said.
The ministry asked the Bình Thuận Province People’s Committee for its help in tackling problems related to the reservoir collapse and to Tân Quang Cường’s titan mining. — VNS
