Developing the bauxite mining and processing industry is a very correct
and necessary policy, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang has
said.
The policy had been carefully considered by
the Party, State, National Assembly and Government before two pilot
projects in the Central Highlands were entrusted to Vinacomin, Hoang
said in an interview with Vietnam Television on March 10.
According to him, Vietnam currently has to import around half a
million tonne of aluminum annually, which costs more than 1 billion USD.
The figure is forecast to be 0.75 – 1 million tonnes by 2020 and 1.6 – 2
million tonnes by 2030.
Besides, the
implementation of the two projects in the Central Highlands provinces of
Lam Dong and Dak Nong will also help the region boost its
socio-economic development and improve local people’s life.
Additionally, bauxite ore is also the basis for the establishment of a
long-term aluminum refining industry and an important source of power
for the industrialisation and modernisation in Vietnam .
Therefore, projects to explore, mine and process bauxite play an essential role for the country, Hoang noted.
Surveys show that Vietnam’s bauxite reserves are around 10-11 billion
tonnes, mostly in the Central Highlands, of which about 4.6 billion
tonnes in Dak Nong and 2 billion tonnes in Lam Dong.
Although the industry is new to Vietnam, the country still decides
to invest in all stages of the projects from mining to processing
bauxite ore because the Central Highlands is a strategic region for
Vietnam and foreign technologies will be only used in the stages the
country cannot develop.
Vietnam considers good
planning for the industry as an important task, and during the
implementation of the planning, it will make timely adjustments. The
country also plans to develop the industry from a small scale to bigger
ones after completing pilot projects. This explains why Vietnam now
invests in only two pilot projects in Tan Rai (Lam Dong) and Nhan Co
(Dak Nong). At present, the two projects are under a slow progress due
to series of reasons, both subjective and objective.
However, at the end of 2012, trial production of aluminum products was
successfully carried out in Tan Rai project. Basically, the products
meet quality standards. Meanwhile, the Nhan Co project is expected to
start operation by 2014.
The two projects are not
purely business-oriented. Vietnam wishes to see socio-economic
effects on the development of the Central Highlands, the bauxite
industry and the whole economy as well.
As the
bauxite planning underwent revision, the government asked concerned
sides to carry out mining and processing projects at smaller scales.
Concretely, combined capacity of the two pilot projects was adjusted to
be around 1.3 million tonnes a year, much lower than the initial
capacity.
Regarding environmental impacts, especially mud
wastes, the minister stressed that people can feel secure as the
projects attracted the participation of various state administration
agencies, and domestic and foreign scientists.-VNA