The Siam Cement (Lampang) Company Limited welcomes all parties’ opinions on requesting a coal mining concession at Ban Bom Sub-district, Mae Ta District, Lampang Province. The process of applying for a concession certificate is still in the beginning stage.
Mr. Prapas Kaewpongpun, Director of Business Relations and Sustainable Development – Northern Region, The Siam Cement (Lampang) Co., Ltd., said that “The company welcomes all parties’ opinions especially the local community and neighboring communities. The initial hearing was held on September 6 by the Lampang Provincial Industrial Office at Moo 6, Ban Bom Sub-district, Mae Ta District, Lampang Province. Ban Bom is a community within a radius of 1 kilometer around the area of requesting a license. The public hearing is a process required by law to take all the concerns into account to find all parties’ best interests.
The submission of the request for the concession normally takes about 3-5 years for consideration. The process includes hearing from the people in the area. After the first community hearing, the next important step is preparing the Environmental Impact Report (EIA). The company has previously provided external environmental experts to study and assess the environmental impacts and propose the various preventive measures that may arise from the mining operation. The company must submit the EIA report to the Mining Project Review Committee, the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), and the National Environment Board for consideration and approval. With the results from the environmental impact assessment, the company then will hold hearing sessions for communities living within a radius of 5 kilometers around the area requesting a license.
For this area, the company has received a special license from the Ministry of Industry for coal mining exploration and found sufficient economic potential. Therefore, the company has submitted a request for a coal mine concession following the law requirements. Most concession areas are in the economic forest zone (zone E), whereby the law allows some economic activities and issues permit to use. The company welcomes all communities’ and all concerned parties’ opinions to establish a measure for the prevention and impact mitigation on the community and the environment to minimize impacts. The company fully expresses the intention to operate the mining with environmentally and socially responsible”.
Published on: Jun 9, 2021