Gemstone mining

Both the miners and brokers at the mining site said the land on which the mining is conducted costs roughly $10,000 per hectare per year in a deal between the rubber plantation owner and a gemstone businessman who they referred to as the “boss”. ...

About 30 kilometres from Ratanakiri’s Banlung town, 10 miners have dug holes deep in the ground in a rubber plantation, hoping to strike it rich. Their tunnels range from 10-15 metres deep and their equipment is basic – everything is done by hand. These men ...

Rattanakiri provincial authorities were urged by a National Assembly commission yesterday to take swift action against illegal gem mining, which they blamed on infrastructure damage and tax revenue loss. Speaking after a meeting with provincial authorities at the provincial hall, opposition member Heng Danaro said the ...

Despite claims from local authorities that illegal mining in Ratanakiri province’s Borkeo district had been stopped, more than 100 people have been seen continuing to mine the area. ...

Provincial environment department officials shut down a gem mine in Pailin province yesterday, after an inspection found that the operators had not obtained proper authorisation. ...

Landmine casualties more than doubled in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period in 2013, according to officials, who are pointing to the wider use of industrial agricultural equipment – such as tractors – as the reason for the uptick ...

District and military police in Ratanakkiri raided an illegal gem mine inside a Chinese company’s land concession on Saturday but failed to make any arrests, according to a rights group representative. Chhay Thy, provincial coordinator for Adhoc, said about 200 illegal gem miners had settled on ...

Hun Sen’s army of student land measurers may have marked ground for them in 2012, but representatives of about 20 ethnic families in Ratanakkiri province said yesterday that their combined 50 hectares of land has now been invaded by hordes of families digging for gems. Chhay ...

In a remote part of Ratanakkiri, Lan Yorn ekes out an existence mining for gems. In his quest to provide for his family, Yorn engages in highly dangerous work illegally digging mines as deep as 12 metres with only the most basic of equipment. Government officials ...

The Pailin provincial governor has ordered a gem-mining firm to stop excavating land in a conservation area, local officials said yesterday. According to Lim Bou, chief of Boya-kha commune in Pailin town, local authorities received the order after it came to light that a firm ...

“These are the best quality stones,” Lat Yun says with a grin. Nestled in his outstretched hand are three unassuming rocks. “I don’t know what they’re called, I just know they’re the best.” The gemstones of Ratanakkiri are a mineral called zircon, but in Cambodia, they ...

Cambodia, with a total population of 14,952,665 as of July 2010, is located in Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. The country mostly has a tropical climate and covers a total area of 181,035 km2 Cambodia’s key natural resources include ...