Local News, page-1179

Hurry up and reopen the mine! This one's titled "Locals warn the government to show sympathy by expediting the reopening of the mine, reveal the impacts on livelihoods." The article mentions how the locals want the gold mining to be the main source of income for the area because of the problems the area has with drought. It says before when the mine was open the economy was vibrant with a lot of money from the mine circulating around the local economy. One guy, Boonyang Boonchu aged 63, says that 90 per cent of the people who live in the areas surrounding the mine are eagerly waiting for the mine to reopen, because ever since the mine was closed the locals have been struggling. Commerce has been quiet unlike when the mine was operating - Covid-19 has made the economy even more sluggish. Another local says that 99 per cent of the people living around the mine want it to reopen.

These are the same personal stories we've seen in other articles and shows what a disaster the mine's closure has been for most people living in the area. These people are desperate for jobs and improved livelihoods. It looks like there's a definite shift in the media's reporting of Chatree now, I haven't seen a negative article for months now. This is the typical story of Thailand though where the concerns of the weak and disadvantaged in regional areas are often ignored by the elite in Bangkok, those who lobbied the PM to make the decision and expect country people to live off subsistence agriculture for the rest of their lives. The story that's easily forgotten by us shareholders making a bit of money here on the side is how the mine will actually improve the peoples lives at at time when the economy needs it the most.

https://www.matichon.co.th/news-monitor/news_2587991