An Australian-controlled gold mine in central Thailand is facing fresh charges of polluting local water supplies with villagers demanding a new probe into the mine's operations.
The Akara (Chatree) mine is controlled by Sydney-based Kingsgate Consolidated Limited located 280 kilometres north of Bangkok.
The accusations follow earlier charges by local villagers over pollution from its operations.
In January the mine was forced to temporarily cease activities after more than 200 local villagers complained they had fallen ill due to arsenic and manganese contamination.
But a month later the Department of Primary Industries and Mines gave the mine the all clear to reopen after separate laboratory tests were carried out on employees of the mine, as well as local villagers.
The company's health checks on its 598 staff, verified by medical teaching institution, Mahidol University, cleared the company of its operations posing a health risk to local people.
But separate tests by the Justice Ministry's Central Institute of Forensic Medicine (CFIS) found more than half of the 600 villagers living near the mine faced elevated levels of arsenic and manganese in their blood, with many falling ill.
Residents from seven central provinces filed fresh complaints alleging the mine's release of toxins in local water sources led to hundreds of people in Phichit, Phitsanulok and Phetchabun provinces falling ill.
The residents also disputed the mine management's claims that it adhered to international environmental management standards.
Local resident representatives called on the Thai government to address the environmental problems due to gold mining, objecting to further mine concessions and ore mineral survey licences being issued.
They also called for bans on agreements allowing mineral surveys on land controlled by the Thai military.
A director of the Special Case Management Centre at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Worranan Sirilum said the DSI was still considering the villagers' application over whether to proceed with an investigation.
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