Difficulty In Relocation For Chinese Miners

The mining industry in China has been facing some issues. Due to some rumors of government repression, China-based mining operations have begun relocating even though, mining in the country is still allowed. Most Chinese miners have relocated to areas in Southeast Asia like South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. But some are still searching for cheaper Chinese electricity tariffs and they have moved to the border towns in Yunnan.

As reported by a relocated miner by name Zhang Han, government officials and residents in these regions have been giving miners a hard time.

Zhang said that some of his miners’ friends had already occupied the surroundings of Cambodia and Myanmar. He found out after his research that areas in Southeast Asia are still offering much cheaper electricity than other countries worldwide. But he says he is not really happy about the move and regrets it.

Zhang had also found that Cambodia was expensive in some areas of operations, but better of in other areas, if comparing to other regions.

He said in a recent interview that: “compared with other miners who choose Vietnam and Myanmar, the electricity in Cambodia is slightly more expensive, but it costs less in other expenses.”

“It costs almost the same in Cambodia as industrial electricity price in China, 1.3 yuan ($20 cents) per kilowatt-hour (kWh), but you can take advantage of electricity theft from streetlamp facility with the help of some insiders.”

Zhang goes deeper in his explanations, “Maintenance and accessories are very big problems, and it can also be said that the cost of supplies is very high.” He details, “But hardware maintenance is a challenge, it would cost you a great sum – at least 3 times higher than the cost back in China, especially in hot days when entering March. Buying parts here is really a big headache, we have no choice but to purchase them from China, which would take days or even weeks to have it available in operation here.”

“At times we turn to local miners for help, while they would seize the opportunity to ask for an unfairly high price for a tiny fitting.”