Mrs. Luong Thi Hang's house in 2 Nui Vi village, Hung Khanh commune, living close to the mine foot, water, mud spilled into the house damaged many furniture ... (Photo: Tuan Anh / VNA)
The incident twice in a row happened to break the dam of the pit foot at the 300 iron ore mining mine of Minh Duc Mining Joint Stock Company located in Tran Yen district, Yen Bai province on August 4. once again alarmed about the risk of unsafety in mining activities in the area.
Due to heavy rains lasting for many days, in the morning of August 4, two dams blocked the foot of the sedimentation pit at the mining area of the 300 mountain iron ore mine, in 2 Nui Vi village, Hung Khanh commune and Yen Ninh village, Hung Thinh commune, Tran Yen district was broken.
At the dam base to protect the environment of the 300 mountain iron ore mining mine in Yen Ninh village, Hung Thinh commune, right after detecting a landslide, Minh Duc Mining Joint Stock Company carried out the remedy by how to dig a ditch on the right side of the dam body to allow water to drain downwards.
The local government has identified the incident and assessed the potential level of the risk of damage to the people.
The incident occurred at the sedimentation dam barrier in village 2 Nui Vi, Hung Khanh commune causing more serious damage, nearly 5,000m3 of wastewater and mud spilled over and buried 1 ha of cultivated land of 25 households in village 2 Nui Vi and 300m of rural roads. In which, two households living close to the mine foot got water, mud overflowed into the house, damaged many things ...
Ms. Luong Thi Hang in 2 Nui Vi village, Hung Khanh commune said that the day of the incident, it rained heavily, she heard a loud noise, and the mud above the mine rumbled downwards.
Water kept rising and pouring into the floor on the floor. Looking down from the house, she saw that the water flooded all the household items to stay under the house such as generators, motorbikes, paddy boxes ...
Looking out in the yard, the running water dragged along with the large piles of firewood, causing chickens and ducks to scatter. Grapes and fruits and trees in the garden were swept away by the water. Her family's wealth kept flooding and drifting with the water. Although she was very pitiful, Ms. Hang did not dare go downstairs to save because she was afraid that the power line could open up to death. It is known that the mine for exploiting 300 iron ore of Minh Duc Mining Joint Stock Company was licensed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on June 24, 2011 with a mining reserve of nearly 10 million tons. The factory was started construction in December 2012 with a total investment capital of over 400 billion VND in both phases, the processing capacity of 250,000 tons of iron ore per year with an iron content of over 65%. In the rain and flood that happened in July 2018, there was also an incident when tens of cubic meters of rock and soil from the mining area of the 300 Mountain Iron Ore Mining Mine spilled over and buried many areas of rice and ponds. The fish of dozens of households in Yen Ninh and Khang Chinh, Hung Thinh, form a deserted field that cannot be cultivated anymore.
Minh Duc Mining Joint Stock Company gave means and machines to overcome the damage immediately after the dam failure. (Photo: Tuan Anh / VNA)
Mr. Tran Van Tam, Chairman of Hung Khanh Commune People's Committee, said earlier, on July 22, the commune established a working group to inspect the dam of the deposition pit of the 300 mountain iron ore mine. The working group of the commune determined that the dam was not safe in case of rain and flood, so there was a written request for the company to suspend the dam, but Minh Duc Mining Joint Stock Company continued to implement it. Signed a commitment to ensure safety in the exploitation process without affecting the people.
However, the Company did not foresee a situation of heavy rain, leading to the breakdown of the dam body. At the meeting between Hung Khanh commune, representatives of Minh Duc Mining Joint Stock Company and households on the afternoon of August 6, the commune requested the company to complete the review of people's damage before 15 /. 8 and complete damage compensation before September 6, 2020. In addition, the local government requires that during the mining and mineral processing activities Minh Duc Mining Joint Stock Company must strictly abide by the provisions of the law on the environment; not letting incidents occur causing damage to the ecological environment, property and people's lives.
Mr. Ha Manh Cuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Yen Bai Province, said that for the dam failure to block the pit in the mining area of the 300 Mountain Iron Ore Mining Mine, the Department requested the Joint Stock Company Minh Duc Mining section immediately takes remedial measures, does not allow water and mud from the sediment pit in the mining area to flow down and affect housing, arable land and roads of people in the area. . The company needs to work closely with the local authorities to inventory the damage, compensate and support the affected households. Mr. Cuong added that, from the beginning of the year, the Department issued a written request to mining units, hydropower plants and irrigation companies to proactively cope with rain, storm, and flood situations. landslide; strengthen inspection and assessment of the flood control capacity of the project and immediately implement protection measures. At the same time, the units assess the safety of mining areas, dams; take initiative in measures to ensure safety in mining, mineral processing, hydropower reservoir operation, irrigation ... /.