A legal change will allow mines to cover up to 50,000 rai, leading to fears that Thailand's forests will be damaged. The Mineral Resources Department (MRD) is to amend the Mining Bill. It will also cover large underground mines for coal and rock salt. Mining licences at present only allow mine areas of up to 300 rai. Investors exploited a legal loophole by applying for a number of licences and then linking the plots. But operators were unhappy with the red tape needed to get all the licences and want the process simplified to allow them to cover the larger area, with one agency coordinating the process.