"Mine company told to reform after deaths", 31 December 2017

...Mesco Gold in Ratanakkiri, where two miners were killed...was asked to take corrective action to replace mineshaft baskets and provide safety equipment to workers....

Two brothers – one of them under the legal age to work at a mine site – were killed when a metal basket designed to carry materials into the mineshaft came crashing down....

The Law on Mineral Resource Management and Exploitation calls for the suspension or cancellation of a licence if the holder breaches the law. It also calls for companies to have technically and financially sound operations, and to ensure the protection of "worker health and safety".

Ministry spokesman Yos Monirath said that the...fatal accident occurred when a rope attached to the basket broke, causing the basket to fall, killing the workers. However, he declined to say whether company was at fault.

Environmental activist Alex Gonzalez-Davidson said "...the Ministry of Mines and Energy [has] the duty to be completely transparent on all matters that concern the industry, especially when it involves extremely serious issues, such as the death of people."