PHÚ THỌ — Illegal exploitation of minerals continues in some districts in the northern mountainous province of Phú Thọ, including Đoan Hùng, Thanh Thủy, Thanh Sơn and Phú Thọ town.

This has caused concern among the residents, reported the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

Residents in Thanh Sơn District’s Đông Cứu Commune have complained that their lives are being affected by illegal mining activities.

Phan Huy Biên, vice chairman of Đông Cứu Commune People’s Committee, said some 20 trucks used the road every day, causing air and noise pollution.

As a result, the main road running through the commune is severely damaged, threatening traffic safety.

VNA attributed the prevalence of illegal mining to low awareness of residents on mineral exploitation activities and loose management of the local authorities.

Some residents are willing to sell their land for a sum of money, and illegal miners take advantage of their naivety to earn huge profits.

Using this trick, thousands of cubic metres of kaolin and talc ore have been extracted and transported out of the province by miners.

Nguyễn Xuân Toàn, head of the Mineral Management Office under the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, has acknowledged the problem.

He said the department had proposed the provincial People’s Committee to improve the management of mining activities, including increasing supervision and inspection to prevent illegal mineral exploitation and requesting mining enterprises to recover environmental and other damages caused by mining activities.

Biên said the local authority would continue a dissemination campaign to raise awareness of the local people on environmental protection and encourage them to report violations to authorised agencies. — VNS