Central Highlands bauxite project to boost economy

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended the ceremony commencing the engineering, procurement and construction package for the Nhan Co alumina refinery plant in the Central Highland province of Dak Nong yesterday, February 28.

“The project is a motivational force for developing the socio-economy in the Central Highlands, and will open up the future for the aluminum industry in Viet Nam,” Dung said at yesterday’s ceremony.

“The authorities should strictly follow the approved design to ensure environmental safety and social security,” he added.

The Prime Minister also pledged that the Government would continue to invest into the railway system, linking the Central Highlands to coastal provinces and sea ports to support the aluminum industry.

Dung urged the two provinces of Lam Dong and Dak Nong that they should review their development master plans related to bauxite ore mining.

This was the second pilot aluminum project, following an earlier one in the neighbouring province of Lam Dong, which kicked off in 2008. The project will have one bauxite ore selection factory, with a cost of around US$155 million, and one alumina refinery plant, worth $500 million, invested in by the Viet Nam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin). The project will cover 850ha, and another 2,650ha will be used for mining.

All of these 2,650ha will be used for forestry after they have been completely exploited.

“Bauxite has the strongest economic potential for Dak Nong Province. We hope the project will bring changes to the economy and improve the living standards for local residents,” said Le Dien, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

The project will proceed in two phases. The first (2007-12) will have a designed capacity of 650,000 tonnes of aluminum per year, while the second will double that capacity.

This plant will use Bayer technology to produce alumina and apply advanced technologies to protect the environment.

The construction of the plant will be finished in late 2012. Once it’s operational, the plant will have revenues of around VND3.7 trillion (US$210 million) per year, creating jobs for around 13,000 people.

To service the plant, an electricity plant with a capacity of 30MW has been constructed. A system of environmental observations will also be set up for the project.

According to Vinacomin, bauxite ore exploited from the Nhan Co mine (with total reserves of 270 million tonnes), will be sifted at an ore sifting plant located near the mining site.

The ore will then be transported by conveyor belts 5.5km in length to the alumina processing plant.

The Chinese Chalieco contractor will finish their work after two years, at the end of 2012.

Alumina is an intermediate product in the manufacturing of aluminum from bauxite ore.

Viet Nam has the third highest volume of bauxite ore in the world, at around 5.4 billion tonnes, mostly located in the Central Highlands. Dak Nong Province is believed to hold about 60 per cent of the nation’s bauxite reserves.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tags: Vietnam bauxite, Vietnam bauxite project, Vietnam Central Highlands