Bhutan has over 69 active mines and quarries, but there are only about some six mining engineers in the Country. The officials from the Department of Geology and Mines, DGM, said, due to lack of training and professionals, most of the mining works are not carried out as per the mining rules and regulations.
Only big companies have their own mining engineers. “For mining we need the engineering tactics. We have to look at the stability of the area. We need to understand the mining plans and carry out work with very minimal impact on the environment and society,” said Karma Chopel, Head, Mines and Information Section of the Department. He added that the Department is always highlighted in the media for its incompetency. “In Bhutan, we don’t even have institutes to train mining professionals.”
He said that most of the works are not as planned. “Most of the works are not in line with mining plans. They don’t understand mining,” he added.
Therefore, to train more people working with mines and quarries, a capacity building training is underway in Thimphu. They are trained on various aspects of mining, including sustainable mining.
“We get to understand in-depth about mining as to how we should make plan, and how to execute these plans. The training also includes other safety norms. We are also learning about how to carry out mining in a sustainable way by preserving the environment,” said Karma Wangdi Tamang.
Another participant, Damcho Gyeltshen, said before the training, they used to work as per their own ideas. “But now I think mining is all about doing it in a sustainable way.”
Karma Chopel said that they hope the participants would at least understand how to work as per the mining plan.
To further train the professionals, the department has drafted a proposal for the 11th FYP to make the training an annual programme. The training is being funded by the Joint Support Programme by DANIDA and the UN. The training will end in December.
