"Three Chinese Companies, One Indian Company to Open Gold Mines sites in Cambodia", 13 January 2022

Across Kratie, Mondulkiri, Preah Vihear and Ratanakiri provinces, four new gold mines are expected to open over the course of 2022, but activists have called for transparency in their operations

Three companies from China and one from India are expected to open gold refineries in Cambodia during 2022, said Ung Dipola, deputy director-general of the General Department of Mineral Resources at the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Three Chinese companies will explore gold in Kratie, Mondulkiri and Preah Vihear provinces, while the Indian company is preparing plans for a gold mine in Ratanakiri Province, Dipola said. [...]

Heng Kimhong, head of research and advocacy at the Cambodia Youth Network (CYN), said the increase of gold mining companies in Cambodia is commendable, but he called for more transparent action, especially with regard to tax revenues. [...]

He stressed that the need for transparency is to combat corruption which he said neither he nor the Cambodian people want, adding that it becomes a problem when foreign companies don’t provide job opportunities for local people, especially in extractive enterprises.

Regarding the environmental concerns, Kimhong said the companies need a clear approach when extracting gold to ensure that there is no discharge of contaminants that could harm ecosystems. On the other hand, the exploration of gold can disturb the lives of people living there, he said, urging the companies to minimize the disturbance as much as possible. [...]