Vietnam is one of the countries that have large bauxite resources. Bauxite reserves in Vietnam total about 5.5 billion tonnes, concentrating in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) provinces. A master plan for bauxite utilization in Tay Nguyen has been made. Vietnam Economic News Hai Nam spoke with Nguyen Manh Quan, the director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Heavy Industry Department, about this plan.

Bauxite is a kind of metallic mineral that is available on the earth surface. There are large bauxite reserves in Vietnam. Bauxite ore is used to produce alumina (AL203) which is the material to produce aluminum.

The master plan for bauxite utilization in Tay Nguyen is the first plan of its kind that has been made in Vietnam. Some people do not believe in the feasibility of this plan because it was made by a Vietnamese consulting organization. What is your opinion?

I think the former Ministry of Industry (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade) has made a right decision to assign the Institute of Mining - Metallurgical Science and Technology, which is a Vietnamese consulting organization, to make the master plan for bauxite utilization in Tay Nguyen. If we hired a foreign consulting organization to do this, the cost would have been much higher.

During the process of making the plan, the institute maintained tight cooperation with the concerned organizations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade as well as other ministries and departments at the central and local levels. It also consulted some large alumina and aluminum producers in the world such as Chalco (China), BHPB (UK), and Alcoa (USA). The institute took into account the results of the latest surveys and researches on geology and technology as well as the research results of the Lam Dong bauxite-aluminum complex project, and the feasibility study report that was made for the Vietnam Alumina Project (in Dak Nong province). The institute has collected the opinions of different ministries, departments and local administrations about the plan. The plan has been assessed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and approved by the Prime Minister.

Though this is the first plan of its kind in Vietnam, it has been made, assessed and approved under a cautious process.

The zoning plan for exploration, exploitation, processing and utilization of bauxite resources in 2007-2015 with a vision for 2025 has been approved by the Prime Minister via Decision 167/2007/QD-TTg dated November 1, 2007. The main objective of the plan is to utilize bauxite resources to produce quality alumina for aluminum electrolysis. The alumina production output in Vietnam is projected to be 0.7-1.0 million tonnes by 2010, 6.0-8.5 million tonnes by 2015, and 13-18 million tonnes by 2025. Vietnam expects to electrolyze 0.2-0.4 million tonnes of aluminum and produce 0.4-0.8 million tonnes of aluminum per year. In the time period prior to 2015, alumina will be exported. And after 2015 it will serve domestic needs for aluminum electrolysis and exported.

For the time after 2015, only orientations and forecasts have been made. The pace and the scale of projects to be carried out after 2015 will be decided later based on the results of negotiations with foreign partners and the practical market demand as well as the pace of construction of rail routes and seaports, the actual condition of the infrastructure system (power, water, land...) and the assessment on the regional environmental impacts.

The Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) has been assigned to take the main responsibility for implementing bauxite projects in Tay Nguyen.

There are concerns about the risks that may occur during the implementation of bauxite projects - the risks that are related to human and natural resources as well as market and technology. What is your opinion?

Those concerns are reasonable. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is keeping a close watch on preparation activities to ensure effective implementation of bauxite projects.

In terms of human resources

Vinacomin has sent 77 people to Chinese universities and colleges to attend specialized training courses in metallurgy and mining industry. As many as 1,739 people are attending intermediate-level specialized training courses in metallurgy and mining industry. Some classes have been opened at the Bao Loc School in Lam Dong province and the Gia Nghia School in Dak Nong province to provide technical worker training courses to the children of ethnic-minority people in these localities. Investment projects to build alumina plants will be carried out mostly in the EPC (Engineering - Procurement - Construction) form as full-package, turnkey projects. Foreign partners will be responsible to design, provide materials and equipment, build, operate and transfer the technology to run alumina plants.

In terms of bauxite ore resources

In the Tay Nguyen region, the Tay Tan Rai bauxite deposit in Lam Dong province, the 1-5 and Gia Nghia bauxite deposits in Dak Nong province have been explored. Surveys are being carried out to assess the bauxite reserves at other deposits. The exploration of bauxite deposits in Tay Nguyen in 2008-2015 is and will be accelerated. The results of exploration at the Gia Nghia deposit in Dak Nong province show that the explored reserves of bauxite here are higher than the previously forecasted reserves. If the process goes on at the current pace, the exploration of bauxite resources in Tay Nguyen will finish in 2011.

In terms of marketing

Presently, alumina sales in the world market total about 15-16 million tonnes a year. China alone has the demand to import about six million tonnes of alumina each year. Thanks to its geographical proximity to China, Vietnam has the advantage over other countries that also export alumina to China such as Australia and America. Vinacomin has signed a principle contract to sell the Yunnan Metallurgy Group 600,000-900,000 tonnes of alumina products of the Lam Dong bauxite-aluminum complex and the Nhan Co bauxite-alumina complex within a time period of 30 years.

Foreign partners have expressed their willingness to buy alumina products of large-scale cooperation projects (Dak Nong 2, 3 and 4). Therefore there will be no problem in terms of marketing alumina products.

In terms of technology

Investment projects in the field of alumina production will be implemented in the form of turnkey projects. The foreign side (experienced producers) will be responsible to design, provide materials and equipment, build plants, train workers and transfer technology to the Vietnamese side. This form of investment will help minimize the risks related to technology during the implementation of bauxite projects.

There are neither scientific nor practical grounds to consider red mud to be dirty bomb. People do have the reasons to worry that the exploitation of bauxite in Tay Nguyen may have an adverse impact on the ecology of this region. However, the technology that the world is applying to exploit this kind of natural resources allows us to believe that it will help minimize environmental pollution. Anyway, minimizing environmental pollution during the process of bauxite exploitation is always important. The construction and operation of bauxite processing plants must be put under strict supervision. In the past, the exploitation and processing of bauxite has caused no environmental disaster in the world.

I would like to emphasize that 99 percent of bauxite reserves in Vietnam concentrate in Tay Nguyen and this is an important factor to help boost socioeconomic development in this region. Vietnam still lags behind other countries in the field of alumina and aluminum production, therefore it must make use of every favorable condition to promote the development of this industry in accordance with the resolution of the 10th National Congress of the Communist Party.

Nguyen Hieu - Dinh Hieu