Illegal mining of opal has devastated rice fields and landscapes in a commune in the Central Highlands Province of Dak Nong.

Dak Gan Commune, Dak Mil District, which has borne the brunt of theillegal mining, is pockmarked with large, deep holes spread overdozopaens of ha.

The illegal exploitation in Dac Mil began in2005 but it has become more intensive and blatant in recent months,especially with the Vinamin Joint Stock Company bringing in 10 powershovels for excavating.

An opal market has opened on Highway 14 just a kilometre away from the Dak Gan People's Committee.

Areport by Dac Mil District agencies, which sent an inspection team,said 15 power shovels were being used in Dak Gan, mostly by people fromother localities who had bought lands, mainly farming, from locals.

Withthe miners paying high prices for land, many farmers were ready to chopdown coffee, pepper, and cashew trees to sell their land.

NguyenXuan Khue, head of Dac Mil district's Natural Resources and EnvironmentSub-Department, said since opal was a precious stone, only the Ministryof Natural Resources and Environment had the authority to issue mininglicences.

So far not a single individual or organisation had been licensed to exploit opal in the area.

However, local agencies had been unable to stop them due to lack of personnel, Khue said.

Nguyen Xuan Anh, Khue's colleague, said most of the opal mined illegally was exported to China.

The penalties for mining were too lenient to deter offenders, he said.

Forinstance, Nguyen Thanh Don of central Nha Trang City was recentlycaught with six cubic metres of opal and chalcedony but fined a mere 3.5million VND (170 USD), he added./.