The Ministry of Mines and Energy ordered a Cambodian-Vietnamese gold mining operation to remain shut yesterday after a site visit revealed that the company had failed to comply with mining regulations, a ministry official said yesterday.

Suy Sem, Minister of Mines and Energy, conducted a personal inspection tour of a mine operated by Phu Yang (Cambodia) Co Ltd in Battambang province, announcing at the end of the tour that he was disappointed that the company had failed to remedy the compliance issues that resulted in the ministry suspending its licence last year.

“The company claimed it had fulfilled the criteria [to resume operations], but the minister found that it had not and ordered the suspension to be continued,” said Meng Saktheara, a secretary of state at the ministry.

In February 2015, the Ministry of Mines and Energy suspended the mining licence of Phu Yang after it failed to perform according to the conditions of the licence. The company was ordered to resubmit its mining and investment plans, and to secure Ministry of Environment approval of its social and environmental impact assessments.

According to Saktheara, the renewed licence suspension was the company’s final warning. If it fails to comply with mining regulations the ministry will permanently revoke its mining licence, he said.