Administration rules to stop unauthorised gold mine exploration

Jajarkot, May 18

The unauthorised exploration for gold mine on the banks of the Bheri River in Bherimalika Municipality of Jajarkot’s has finally been stopped from yesterday following the authorities’ decree to this effect.

After Chinese technicians involved in the search for a gold mine in the name of Dharan-based Om Prasad Aryal Khojtalas Company failed to produce necessary documents, District Administration Office Jajarkot stopped the hunt for the mine, terming it unauthorised.

“At first they lied to us saying they had permission to carry out a search for the mine. Later when we saw their papers we knew that the licence had not been renewed for the past two years.

Then they told us they would bring the necessary papers in a day or two, but when they failed to do so, we had to stop their activities,” said Chief District Officer Janardan Gautam, adding, “Though the papers issued in the name of the Khojtalas company had authorised the search in some 11.70 square kilometres area in Khalanga, they were carrying out their search elsewhere in Bherimalika Municipality, this raised suspicion.”

According to DSP Dan Bahadur Malla of District Police Office, a police team led by an assistant sub-inspector has been deployed at the site to keep an eye on the activities of the Chinese team since the administration’s ruling yesterday.

“Their activities seem doubtful, so we’ve put up our vigil there 24/7,” said Malla, adding that no one is allowed to carry out activities such as searching for mines without government authority in any case.

Earlier, the Chinese technicians’ team had been sending minerals and concrete extracted from a pit drilled into the ground up to 150 feet deep back to China for study.

Meanwhile, with cases of the Chinese teams cheating the local administration by carrying out mine-related works under the name of some authorised Nepali company, the Jajarkot district administration has told the police to strictly check the papers of companies carrying out the excavation for the purported mine search.

Earlier too, a team of Chinese technicians, who were found to be carrying out their activities in the name of a Nepali company - Dharmashree, in Jajarkot, had to return after the administration checked their papers and found that they were working illegally and without permission.

The recent mine-hunting team that was ordered to stop their activities comprised 20 Chinese and 19 Nepali nationals.