The main cause of damage done to houses in Trại Cau Township and Cây Thị Commune was the mineral exploitation activity of three local enterprises.— Photo dantri.com.vn |
THÁI NGUYÊN — In a Wednesday announcement, authorities in the northern province of Thái Nguyên revealed that the main cause of damage done to houses in Trại Cau Township and Cây Thị Commune was the mineral exploitation activity of three local enterprises.
The three involved companies were Thái Nguyên Iron and Steel Joint-stock Company (TISCO), Thái Nguyên Black Metallurgy Joint-stock Company and Anh Thắng individual enterprise, reported Dân Trí online newspaper.
These enterprises must be responsible for compensating affected households, local authorities said.
Five years ago, many households in Trại Cau Township and Cây Thị Commune (Đồng Hỷ District) started complaining to local authorities about their houses subsiding and about the lack of clean water. They also suspected that the cause was mineral exploitation activities. An iron mine belonging to TISCO is located in Trại Cau.
The Đồng Hỷ District People’s Committee invited experts from the Việt Nam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources to identify the cause of the issues.
According to the research results published by Thái Nguyên Province authorities on Wednesday, the main causes of subsidence, water shortage and cracking of buildings in the area were the Thái Nguyên Iron and Steel Company’s mining activities.
This phenomenon occurred in a wide area. The area has cracked limestone and underground caverns, so geological hazards are more likely to happen in the presense of mining activities.
Experts also recommend measures to ensure the safety of future mining.— VNS