Delegates worried about 'billions of dollars left underground' at Thach Khe mine

Delegate Nguyen Van Than (Hung Yen) said that to achieve economic goals in the 2025-2030 period, with a vision to 2045, the most important things are digital transformation and technology development, increasing labor productivity, and second is minerals.

"Our sea area is three times larger than our land area. Under the sea there are many minerals, including rare minerals that geologists and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment basically know about.

However, currently, budget investment for surveys is very little, even on land," the delegate said, adding that budget investment should be focused on taking advantage of mineral resources.

Delegate Nguyen Van Than. Photo: National Assembly

Regarding beach sand, Mr. Than stated that many scientists, businesses and the Government are interested because "we are in great shortage while exploiting it in rivers will greatly affect the environment."

"We have raised this issue but I have not seen a specific scientific report on 'whether or not sea sand can be used to build roads and for what purpose'. If this question can be answered, I think there will be no shortage of sand," the delegate said.

Regarding onshore minerals, the delegate said there are many reserves but many projects have existed for 5-10 years only because the mechanism has not cleared them. "Only by exploiting minerals quickly, neatly and ensuring the environment can we meet the country's economic needs," he affirmed and suggested the Government focus on the budget.

Analyzing the Thach Khe iron mine in Ha Tinh , Mr. Than acknowledged, "Currently, billions of dollars are lying there, but if exploited, they are left behind. This is an example, there are many other mines. Science and technology have developed a lot, the world has solved the current environmental problems, scientists have also proven it. So why do we leave such natural potentials underground just because of the impact on the environment?" Mr. Than suggested a solution to both exploit and ensure the environment.

Proposal to strictly control rare earth mining

Delegate Trinh Thi Tu Anh (Lam Dong) affirmed that rare earths are the foundation of semiconductors, electric vehicles, defense, medical equipment and many other key industries. The female delegate said that the draft law needs to affirm the principles of rare earth resource management based on science and strict risk control, in which environmental requirements must be placed at the highest level.

"Rare earth is not only a strategic mineral but also a group of resources with a very high environmental risk coefficient throughout the entire separation chain, all generating natural radioactive substances... Countries that have developed rare earth massively but without control have had to face areas contaminated with residual radioactive contamination. The cost of environmental treatment and restoration is many times greater than the economic value gained," the delegate said, adding that this is an expensive lesson for Vietnam.

According to her, only enterprises with technological capacity, financial capacity and international environmental management systems are allowed to participate in exploitation.

Delegate Trinh Thi Tu Anh. Photo: National Assembly

Rare earths are linked to key industries, affecting the supply chain of high-tech materials and energy security. Therefore, delegates affirmed that all exploration and exploitation projects in sensitive areas need to be carefully assessed in terms of security.

According to her, before submitting applications for exploration and exploitation licenses in sensitive areas, there must be appraisal opinions from the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) assessed that Vietnam has rare earths but they are not concentrated but scattered, even in ethnic minority residential areas. He raised the issue that exploration to know where there is or is not rare earths is extremely important, "if there is, how to exploit it?".

He said that there are many mechanisms to protect other minerals, but rare earths are very difficult. If not strictly managed and well protected, it will lead to over-exploitation, and even people will exploit them. He suggested that the drafting agency and environmental management agency pay attention to and manage rare earths well.

Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung (HCMC) agreed with the regulation on investigation, evaluation, exploration and exploitation of rare earths applied as group 1 minerals. He suggested adding clear export control mechanisms and minimum domestic deep processing ratios to ensure that rare earths are truly strategic resources, avoiding the risk of raw exports and dependence on foreign technology.

Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung. Photo: National Assembly

The delegate said that this is a special strategic resource, but the draft has not yet stipulated a mechanism to ensure environmental safety and handle radioactive and chemical waste, which is the biggest risk in deep processing of rare earths. "If environmental management is not carried out by law, many localities may face long-term pollution like rare earth mines in the world, which have left serious consequences," the delegate analyzed.

Mr. Hung found that the draft did not clarify the mechanism for selecting enterprises for exploration, exploitation, and processing of rare earths based on criteria of technological security, deep processing capacity, and environmental management capacity, while this is a sensitive field with the risk of resource acquisition or leakage of basic technology. Like delegate Trinh Thi Tu Anh, Mr. Hung proposed to add a process of approving economic and technological security before transferring technology, exporting deep-processed products, or forming international joint ventures.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dai-bieu-tran-tro-khi-hang-ty-do-la-trong-long-dat-bi-bo-lai-o-mo-thach-khe-2468101.html