National—
On January 19th, 2024, Mr. Jatuporn Buruspat, the Permanent Secretary of the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, publicly revealed an alleged discovery of Lithium resources of 14.8 million tonnes. However, it was not confirmed whether Thailand was in the top three global ranks or not.
Jatuporn would issue an order to the Thai Department of Mineral Resources on a national rare-mineral exploration plan using geophysical methods or satellite surveying systems.
If it was true that Thailand had a massive amount of Lithium, Thailand would greatly have commercial benefits in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, said Jatuporn.
Meanwhile, Mr. Maitri Jongkraijak, the President of the Phang Nga Civil Society Happiness Society, said to the public that he was not convinced that Phang Nga had massive Lithium reserves.
However, Phang Nga would willingly accept mining Lithium resources as it would generate income and national economic value, said Maitri.
“Even though having income from mining, it would not sustainably make a better quality of life for locals as most of the income would go to only certain groups of people who invest in mining, especially foreigners.” Stated Maitri.
Meanwhile, Phang Nga had previously survived crisis after crisis as agricultural, tourism, and fishing industries were strong points,” added Maitri.
Maitri pleaded with the Thai government to clarify whether there was a massive amount of Lithium reserves in Phang Nga or not.
On Saturday, January 20th, 2024, however, the Thai Deputy Government Spokesperson walked back the announcement, saying the quality and size of Lithium found was likely to be significantly less than first reported but were still under review. Some reports appeared to show the amount of Lithium was actually only 0.45 percent of the original claimed discovery, but again, were still under review by the Thai government.
