EQUIPMENT
Laos' Xaysomboun Province will have a Chinese company exploring iron mining soon According to RFA, a Chinese company has signed an agreement with the Xaysomboun province in central Laos to begin preliminary studies for iron mining operations, raising concerns among villagers and environmentalists about contaminated rivers and fields.
A
n official from the provincial Energy and Mines Department told RFA's Lao Service Tuesday that the province and the Tai Xan Meng Sino-Lao Minerals Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Feb. 11 that enables the 14 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW April 2021
company to conduct feasibility studies in Xaysomboun's Anouvong district. Over the last two years, the province of Xaysomboun, founded in 2013, has been a common target for foreign mining companies. Around a dozen, such com-
panies have been granted permission by provincial authorities and the Lao central government to investigate the possibility of mining operations during that period. “Xaysomboun is a new province and it is poor, but rich in natural resources,
