Thai villagers continue to fight Chinese plans for potash mine
- Resentment among community groups in northern Thailand reflects growing concern about Chinese investment across Southeast Asia, observers say
- But Bank of China’s decision to review dam project in Indonesia suggest times may be changing
When Samrit Boranmun heard that a Chinese company was planning to open a potash mine near her village in northeast Thailand she was determined to stop it.
“I’m not going to allow that to happen,” the mother of two said.
In environmental terms, such a project would be disastrous for the community, she said.
Locals had already had to suffer a contaminated water supply and subsidence after salt mines were opened in the area, and the scale of the potash project was much bigger, she said.
Samrit’s fight has been going on since 2015, when the Thai authorities granted state-owned China Ming Ta Potash Corporation an exploration licence covering more than 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) to study the feasibility of opening a potash mine in Wanon Niwat, a district of Sakon Nakhon province. In that time local protest groups have done all they can to stymie the company’s efforts.
“Our lives depend on the environment,” said Sompan Srimarat, 50, a rice farmer and mother of two. “We need to stop it.”
