PUBLISHED: 27 August 2019

Decentralize licensing miners

MME has decided to decentralize the process for small-scale miners and dredgers to obtain licenses, with the government now permitting provincial authorities to directly issue licenses to operators without ministerial oversight. Under the new regulations, small-scale mining operations are defined as: open mines that take up no more than 1 hectare of land and dig no more than 5 meters, and underground miners who operate at a depth of no more than 20 meters under the surface. Provincial mining authorities will have the right to monitor, review and evaluate artisanal mining operations once they are registered. Each provincial mining director will be required to send a license request to the provincial governor,” he said. “If a governor does not agree [to grant the license], the director will have to report to the ministry for a final decision. The main focus is to facilitate local miners to apply for a license.

Phnom Penh Post, 8 April 2015

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