News

The Senate yesterday passed an amendment on a law regulating mineral resources management and exploitation in a bid to regulate the mining sector and punish offenders. The Senate issued a statement yesterday, saying that the amendment was adopted unanimously by all senators. ...

A Chinese-based oil exploration company and a Canadian partner have entered into preliminary negotiations with the government to obtain an exploration license in Block D in the Gulf of Thailand, according to a government spokesman. ...

Australian mining firm Medusa Mining has announced plans to begin exploration for gold, copper and oil in Kratie province’s Prek Kampi commune, about 35 kilometres west of a stretch of the Mekong River that is home to endangered river dolphins. ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy has publicly announced that companies can bid for four mining exploration permits in both Kratie and Kampot provinces, marking the first time since the ministry was formed in 2013 to issue fresh licences for private companies to investigate mineral ...

Villagers from Stung Treng whose homes stand to be flooded by the Lower Sesan II dam met with representatives of the Ministry of Mines and Energy at an NGO Forum-sponsored meeting in Phnom Penh yesterday, in hopes of establishing a dialogue towards a long-awaited compromise. ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy collected $20.3 million in non-tax revenue last year, a 20 percent increase over the previous year, it said yesterday. ...

Cambodia’s electricity regulator is set to roll out seven new plans designed to reduce electricity fees beginning in April and through 2020, with some fees dropping as low as 480 riel per kilowatt hour. ...

Sand exports will remain suspended amid questions about a 56 million-ton discrepancy in deliveries to Singapore. Dith Tina, a secretary of state and spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said yesterday that no date had been set for the exports to resume. ...

The owners of two Chinese mining companies that attempted to transport illegally mined copper from Siem Reap province to Phnom Penh have been fined and handed suspended prison sentences, the Ministry of Mines and Energy announced on Thursday.   ...

Environmental NGO Mother Nature has hired a Singaporean law firm to investigate alleged irregularities in the country’s importation of Cambodian sand, the organization’s founder said on Wednesday. ...

More than 500 villagers in Mondulkiri’s Chung Phlas’ mining community thumbprinted a letter sent to Prime Minister Hun Sen, and to the Ministry of Mines and Energy and its provincial counterpart, requesting that those holding a community mining licence be allowed to dig below the ...

The Royal Group, Cambodia’s biggest conglomerate, will be involved in funding future phases of a massive coal-fired power plant under construction in Preah Sihanouk province, a government official said yesterday, although details of the size of the investment or its timeline remain hazy. ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy is set to issue the country’s first commercial underground mining license to Indian company Mesco Gold in two weeks, despite opposition by residents of two villages concerned about compensation and environmental damage. The company plans to break ground on its ...

The 42nd Asean Council on Petroleum members’ meeting will be held in Siem Reap next month, a senior government official told Khmer Times. The meeting, which will include representatives from the national petroleum companies of the nine other Asean members, plus Cambodia’s Ministry of Mines and ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy is in talks with the Chinese government to build a research and training school, in order to boost the staffing capabilities of the country’s growing mining industry, according to a senior ministry official. Following recent news that gold deposits ...

The Cambodian government is on track to provide electricity to all villages in the Kingdom by 2020 as this year’s seven-month data, from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, indicate that 71 percent of rural areas now have regular power supply. Ith Praing, secretary of state ...

Cambodia needs to focus on solidifying its national grid and shoring up its energy efficiency and transmission lines before expanding into more costly renewable technology, a visiting executive of German engineering giant Siemens said yesterday. ...

Timor-Leste’s fledgling economy depends on oil and gas production and Cambodia is seeking assistance from Asia’s youngest nation to help develop its draft petroleum law which is expected to be adopted into legislation by the Council of Ministers next year. ...

Locals in Kandal province’s Sa’ang district are worried that renewed sand dredging will damage their land as the Ministry of Mines and Energy gears up to hand out licences that will make the practice legal once more. ...

People who have accepted relocation from the future reservoir zone of the Lower Sesan II hydropower project have called for the suspension of the resettlement program for one year and help to repair homes built by the Cambodian-Chinese energy firm constructing the dam.Villagers who held ...

Cambodia will implement new standards for its electricity system – modelled after Singapore – in order to reduce the risk of electrical fires, officials said. ...

Cambodia’s new mining law is on track for adoption by the end of this year and will introduce a raft of reforms to the sector, a senior official said, although the country’s mining tax will likely remain the same. Meng Saktheara, secretary of state at the ...

Authorities in Ratanakkiri province are searching for four Vietnamese nationals and a local official who were discovered to be operating an illegal gold mine in an area allotted to an Australian exploration firm. ...

After almost a month, the Ministry of Mines and Energy has officially announced the four companies that have been granted sand dredging licenses this past Tuesday. When the ministry notified the companies who won the bidding for one of four available licenses, it also gave them ...