The gold mine operated by Tungkum Limited (TKL), received the operational licence in 2006. Villagers in the Na Nong Bong community in Loei province live less than 2.5 kilometers from the mine. Since 2006 they have filed complaints against the mine's license in the attempts to mitigate the contamination of their villages. The gold mine was accused of poisoning the villagers’
land and water supplies and causing serious health problems [2] Also, the community organization “People Who Love Their Hometown" (PWLTH) has been fighting to close the mine. Due to the pressure of villagers and NGOs who sent letters demanding the government to carry out chemical analysis of their rivers and soils, in 2009 the Ministry of Health conducted water tests. The ministry reported dangerous levels of contaminants in local rivers and creeks.
Also, according to analysis by the Loei Provincial Office of Public Health and Wang Saphung Hospital, there were cyanide, arsenic, and mercury levels that exceeded safety standards in the villagers' blood. Moreover, the mine operations has been accused in the courts for environmental destruction. The Abhisit administration ordered TKL to stop its expansion in this province since there will be more research on the causes of contaminations.
However, according the PWLTH leader, to stop the expansion was not enough as their goal is to close the mine [6]. Since 2013, the residents of Na Nong Bong have blocked three times the entrance road to the mine by building a wall to block Tungkum Limited trucks. The wall also stands as a symbol of separation between what is good for the company and what is good for the people [3]. These protests resulted in fifteen lawsuits against villagers and a violent episode on May 15th 2014, when residents claimed they were attacked by more than 100 armed men wearing masks at midnight. The villagers claimed it was clearly a planned attack by the mining company. [4,5] On May 31, 2016, "a Thai court found two men guilty of attacking villagers and human rights activists protesting against a gold mine in what an international rights watchdog called an important verdict for people standing up for communities"[8] .
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