"Chinese mining firm demands ransom to free Lao gold diggers" 23 August 2023

A Chinese mining company in northern Laos’ Luang Prabang province has detained as many as 50 villagers for illegally digging gold on their concession and is demanding a ransom for their release, sparking an outcry on social media, according to residents of the area.

Employees of Tianjin Huakan Mining Investment, which operates in Pak Ou district, allegedly beat some of the detainees who were unable to pay the 10-15 million kip (US$520-775) for their freedom – an exorbitant amount for any worker in impoverished Laos, where the average annual income is around US$2,200.

“[The Chinese operators] detained 40-50 people and demanded that they pay 10 million kip,” said a resident of Pak Ou with connections to the mining sector... “Some were unable to pay it and after a few days the owners changed it to 15 million kip,” he said. “There are a few local villagers among those detained.”

A source who works at the mine confirmed to RFA that he has seen Chinese employees detain Laotians discovered to be digging for gold at the site. “The numbers are different every day – some days there are as many as 40-50 people in detention at a time,” he said...

The situation prompted an outcry online after a villager posted a message about the detentions and beatings on social media last week...

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A Luang Prabang official responsible for mining in the province said that authorities are looking into the situation at the concession. “We’re still investigating the issue along with officials from other sectors,” he said. “We’re concerned about people making problems for the community.”

Tianjin Huakan Mining Investment began excavating gold in Pak Ou in 2015 on a 13-year concession site of 600 hectares (1,480 acres). In 2021, the company mined 90,000 tons of rock containing gold, but little of the wealth it generated has benefited the local community, residents said.

Villagers told RFA that this isn’t the first time employees of Tianjin Huakan have detained people for digging on company land.

In May 2020, Chinese employees detained three ethnic Hmong villagers and released them eight days later after their families paid ransoms of 5 million kip (US$260) each, they said.

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