Necessary amendments and supplements to promote sustainable development

Part 1: The 2010 Mineral Law is an effective tool to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of mineral management.

(TN&MT) - After 13 years of implementing the Law on Minerals, Quang Ngai has achieved many important results, gradually bringing mineral exploitation activities into order, increasing budget revenue and meeting the needs of building key projects.

From spontaneous to structured

According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung, Acting Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quang Ngai province, the province mainly develops minerals as common construction materials, providing for construction and infrastructure development. Mineral exploitation activities have long been considered one of the resources contributing positively to the local economic and social development.

Before the 2010 Mineral Law was enacted, mineral exploitation activities were spontaneous and had almost no unified management. In particular, many places still considered minerals as private property of the locality. Mineral exploitation for common construction materials was mainly manual and spontaneous.

Since the 2010 Mineral Law was enacted and took effect in July 2011, replacing the 1996 Mineral Law and the 2005 Law on Amendments and Supplements to a Number of Articles of the Mineral Law, many new amendments and supplements have been made that are fundamental and comprehensive, enhancing the effectiveness of State management of minerals. Since then, mineral management has undergone many positive changes, and mineral planning has been supplemented in a timely manner, in accordance with the law. Along with that, the issue of consulting on granting exploration licenses, approving mineral reserves and granting mineral exploitation licenses has been carried out according to the planning, order and procedures to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Mineral Law.

*Quang Ngai has great potential for construction materials minerals.*

In particular, mining activities have been linked to the address of use, mineral processing, environmental protection, tourist landscapes, nature conservation, geological heritage and national defense - security. Contributing significantly to the completion of the annual State budget collection task, promptly providing common construction materials for construction works, projects and construction needs in the province, contributing significantly to the development of infrastructure, local economy - society.

Exploiting resource value

Currently, Quang Ngai province has many key projects, especially the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway project. Identifying this as an important political task, the locality has implemented many solutions to effectively exploit mineral resources, in order to ensure the supply of materials for the project's construction on schedule.

*Quang Ngai identifies ensuring construction material sources to serve the construction progress of the North-South Expressway as an important political task.*

Accordingly, the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province has coordinated with Project Management Board 2 (under the Ministry of Transport) to review the areas of mineral mines for common construction materials (soil, stone and sand mines) in the province to prepare for the construction of the main route and resettlement areas, grave reburial areas of the North-South expressway construction project in the East, phase 2021 - 2025, Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon section. In November 2022, Quang Ngai province announced the common construction material mines to prepare for the construction of the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway project, accordingly, the volume of minerals for the project construction has been planned to be more than the reserve demand.

Thus, the basic volume of minerals used as common construction materials to prepare for the construction of the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon Expressway Project through Quang Ngai province has been ensured according to the direction of the Government. Specifically, the planned leveling land is 14,043,666m ³ (demand 8,200,000m ³ ); the planned stone is 35,802,058m ³ (demand 2,000,000m ³ ) and the planned sand is 2,140,213m ³ (demand 1,000,000m ³ ). Currently, there are 10 stone quarries and 15 leveling land quarries included in the Construction Materials Survey File for the Project licensed by the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province. For sand materials, 5/7 mines have auctioned mining rights, of which 3 mines have been licensed and 2 mines are completing licensing procedures.

Regarding the procedures for exploiting mineral mines serving the North-South Expressway Project through the province, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment said that there are still many shortcomings and have not ensured the basis to guide contractors to fully prepare documents and procedures for permitting mining, especially the content requiring contractors to carry out procedures for "granting exploration licenses, approving reserves" and "conducting environmental impact assessments" before mining, land procedures (accepting transfer, leasing land use rights, receiving capital contributions in the form of land use rights for production and business) to put the mine into operation and "implementing mine closure" after exploiting enough minerals to supply the Project according to regulations.

Currently, in Quang Ngai province, there are 34 operating stone quarries for common construction materials with a total granted reserve of 77,017,693m ³ ; 05 sand quarries for common construction materials with a total granted reserve of 1,497,068m ³ ; 42 soil and hill sand quarries for common construction materials with a total granted reserve of 12,438,105m ³ . In addition, 12 areas have been licensed in construction investment projects and projects with a total granted reserve of 5,557,021m ³ .

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