Vinacomin to explore bauxite in Cambodia

Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group, or Vinacomin, has started sending its workers to Mundikiri Province of Cambodia to explore bauxite.

Bui Van Khich, deputy general director of Vinacomin, told the Daily that Cambodian authorities had allowed Vinacomin to carry out a bauxite exploration and exploitation project in Mundikiri.

The workers will be responsible for surveying a site covering around 1,500 square kilometers in Mundikiri, which borders Vietnam’s highland province of Dak Nong, to determine bauxite reserves, Khich said.

He said it would take nearly two years to complete the bauxite reserves assessment. After that, Vinacomin will report to Cambodian and Vietnamese authorities before moving on to the next stages of the project.

A preliminary assessment by Vinacomin shows Mundikiri has geological characteristics similar to Dak Nong, which has huge bauxite reserves, according to Khich.

The group is carrying out the first two key bauxite projects in Vietnam – Tan Rai in Lam Dong Province and Nhan Co in Dak Nong. Each project has a total alumina processing capacity of some 600,000 tons a year.

Tags: bauxite in Cambodia, Vinacomin