The current standing of laws on environmental protection and minerals in Vietnam are being called into question after the collapse of Bong Mieu gold mine, with locals paying the price for the damage left behind.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Illegal mining has become a complex issue, especially the toxic chemicals utilised in the process, as they are a serious health hazard for the surrounding neighbourhood.  

The two gold mining plants of Bong Mieu and Phuoc Son have to pay nearly VND400 billion (nearly $19 million) of tax debts before being licensed to export gold, said a Government official at a government press conference last week.

VietNamNet Bridge – Besra will have to dispose of the fake cyanide it imported from China within a definite time, says Le Phuoc Thanh, chair of Quang Nam province, head of the Quang Nam provincial National Assembly’s Deputies.

VietNamNet Bridge – Illegal logging and gold mining are threatening to destroy Kim Hy Nature Reserve in this northern province in spite of local authorities' prevention efforts. 

A Besra Group representative said on September 29 that while waiting to settle tax debts with relevant agencies, the Group would formally restore its production at the Bong Mieu gold mine from September 30 after more than two months of closure.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Efforts made by Quang Nam provincial authorities have not helped stop illegal gold mining there, as farmers’ rice fields and land have been used for large gold mining sites.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Finance Ministry wants the two largest gold factories – Bong Mieu and Phuoc Son in the central province of Quang Nam - to resume operation. However, local tax authorities have not agreed.

 Rumours that a 16 kilogramme nugget of gold had been found at a disused mine sparked a gold rush in Hoa Vang district in the central city.

  VietNamNet Bridge – Many Vietnamese businesspeople who have been the creditors for Besra Vietnam, the Canadian gold mining company, are concerned they might not bet their money back.  

 VietNamNet Bridge – Besra Group, the gold mining company operating at the Phuoc Son and Bong Mieu mines, will have its investment license revoked if it violates the law, Vietnamese economists have said.

 VietNamNet Bridge – In Nam Giang District in the central province of Quang Nam, many gold mining sites are located only several hundreds of meters or kilometers away from the local authorities’ headquarters, forest-ranger stations and border posts.  

 VietNamNet Bridge - The Besra Vietnam Group accused over 100 local people of breaking in its gold factory to rob assets, but the local government and residents have strongly opposed the accusation.

 Besra Company on July 23 announced that they have suspended operations at Phuoc Son and Bong Mieu mine sites in the central province of Quang Nam after their bank accounts were blocked by the province’s Tax Department for delaying tax payment.

 Canada’s Besra Gold Inc. will avoid nearly $12 million in tax arrears following after-clearance inspection results conducted by the General Department of Customs on its two gold mines in Vietnam.

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 VietNamNet Bridge – The great efforts by the Quang Nam authorities to stop the illegal gold mining have just brought modest effects. More gold diggers have died, while the environment has got seriously polluted.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Nang River, which was green, romantic and peaceful, has turned muddy because of the gold mining activities.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Officials of the Bong Mieu gold mining company and Phuoc Son Gold Company said that they had asked the customs office to reconsider the export tax of nearly VND250 billion ($12 million).