Ministry of Industry looks into allegation

The Basic Industries and Mineral Resources Department under the Thai Ministry of Industry is looking into an allegation that a major cement producer’s limestone and shale stone mines may be encroaching onto national reserve forests in Saraburi Province, department director-general Anusorn Nuangpolmark said on Thursday.  Anusorn disclosed that Forestry Police had received a complaint alleging that the mines operated by Siam City Cement Plc under his department’s concession may be encroaching onto national reserve forests. The police also asked the department to inspect the sites in question and to give details of the mine concessions.

He said there are several such mines in the area operated by the country’s two top cement producers, Siam Cement Plc and Siam City Cement Plc, some of which are overlapping. Most of these mines are located in Kaeng Khoi district of Saraburi supplying raw materials for cement production.  The director-general said that he had ordered aerial protographing of the area to try to substantiate the police complaint. These concessions used to be renewable every three years but the department had shortened their duration to one year, he said, adding that the concessions are issued and renewed under the strict condition that the mines must not encroach onto national reserve forests. If they are found to have encroached national reserve forests, the concessions will have to be revoked.