Promote the use of mine waste rock and soil as landfill material

Take advantage of abundant material resources

With a large amount of mine waste rock in the area, while the current demand for rock to level the ground for projects and constructions in Quang Ninh province is very large every year, an average of about 130 million m3 per year. Meanwhile, local hill mines only meet about 25% of the demand in the area. In addition to industrial and construction development, Quang Ninh province is focusing on developing tourism, services, and green economy , so the requirement is to minimize the exploitation of hill mines in the province.

The hundreds of meters high mine waste rock dumps in Cam Pha City always pose a potential risk to people and vehicles participating in traffic.

According to the report of Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (TKV) and Dong Bac Corporation, the total reserve of mine waste rock and soil that can be exploited and used as landfill material is about 1,374 million m3, of which TKV's waste dump can provide 1,228 million m3, Dong Bac Corporation's waste dump can provide 146 million m3.

The results of analysis and testing of samples by specialized agencies show that the components in mine waste rock and soil are mainly minerals, minerals that ensure standards and quality as filling materials, replacing traditional filling materials. In particular, through practical results of environmental control in the recent past, it has been shown that there is no increase in environmental pollution factors for projects using waste rock and soil as filling materials.

Based on the above-mentioned bases, in the past time, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province has reported to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for permission to use mine waste rock as construction materials for projects in the province. Up to now, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has agreed to allow Quang Ninh province to exploit mine waste rock at 4 waste dumps with a total volume of about 12.43 million m3, specifically: Waste dump of Nui Beo Coal Joint Stock Company (0.7 million m3); Tay Khe Sim - Tay Lo Tri waste dump of Dong Bac Corporation (3.5 million m3); Suoi Lai waste dump of TKV (3.5 million m3) and Nam Trang Bach waste dump of Dong Bac Corporation (4.73 million m3).

During the rainy season, many households living around the mine waste dump in Mong Duong ward, Cam Pha city always live in anxiety due to the risk of landslides and rocks from the waste dumps above.

In addition, two waste dumps, Nam Trang Bach (phase 2) and the waste dump of Coc Sau Coal Joint Stock Company with more than 21 million tons, are being considered by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for permission to be used as landfill materials.

Talking to reporters, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quang Ninh province - Ngoc Thai Hoang said: The exploitation and use of mine waste rock and soil at the above-mentioned dumps has initially solved the need for filling materials of a number of key projects in the province such as the Cua Luc 3 Bridge Project, Bai Tu Long II Urban - Tourism - Service Area Project, River Road Project connecting from Ha Long - Hai Phong Expressway to Dong Trieu Town and construction investment projects in the province.

New effective direction

Recently, the Department of Construction of Quang Ninh province coordinated with the competent authorities to survey the production line of mine waste rock and soil for making K95 and K98 foundation materials, which was jointly researched and installed by two units in the province, Dong Khe Environmental Sanitation Services Joint Stock Company and S&D Trading Company Limited, in Dong Trieu town, to meet the needs of projects and construction works in the province.

The screening and crushing system of waste rock and soil of Dong Khe Environmental Sanitation Services Joint Stock Company has come into operation.

According to Document No. 4437/SXD-KT&VLXD of the Department of Construction, the unit has assessed the suitability of the production line, needs to adjust the detailed construction planning and adjust the project investment certificate to be able to implement according to the direction of the Provincial People's Committee. Through a field survey, the Department of Construction of Quang Ninh has issued a document proposing to the Provincial People's Committee on implementing this model, at the same time the Department also requested relevant functional agencies and localities to guide and support the unit.

Accordingly, Dong Khe Environmental Sanitation Services Joint Stock Company and S&D Trading Company Limited have coordinated and piloted the production and processing of mine waste rock and soil as K95 and K98 embankment materials. Specifically, Dong Khe Environmental Sanitation Services Joint Stock Company has installed a production line on the premises on an area of about 1.4 hectares. The source of raw materials used for the operation is taken from the mine waste rock and soil source of Nam Trang Bach landfill, which is licensed for exploitation and transportation and is assigned to S&D Trading Company Limited.

Sharing with reporters, Mr. Nguyen Van Luyen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dong Khe Environmental Sanitation Services Joint Stock Company, said: The company has researched, successfully installed and tested a production line for processing solid construction waste and mine waste into foundation reinforcement materials. The mixed aggregate products through crushing, screening and mixing have been tested by the Quang Ninh Institute of Planning and Construction Design and samples have been taken by specialized agencies to evaluate their ability to serve the needs of reinforcement and foundation filling. The production line has been installed and tested at the Company's warehouse with a capacity of about 1,000 m3/day and night. This is one of the units in Quang Ninh that pioneered the research, testing and installation of production lines for processing mine waste into foundation reinforcement materials K95, K98.

Some projects in Quang Ninh province face the risk of delays due to lack of land for leveling the ground.

Quang Ninh province is allowed to use waste rock and soil from coal mining as filling materials, especially K95 and K98 backfill materials to replace hilly land, which will contribute to increasing the efficiency of mineral use, reducing the area of land used as external dumps, lowering the height of dumps, reducing the risk of landslides, reducing the cost of environmental restoration, and reducing the risk of air, soil, and water pollution. At the same time, it will create jobs, increase local budget revenue, remove difficulties in the demand for filling materials for projects and works in the province, as well as limit the exploitation of hilly land.

In the coming time, Quang Ninh province will continue to closely coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in state management of mine waste rock and minerals associated with coal in the area, control the organization and implementation of mine waste rock management plans, as well as enhance the effective and sustainable use of resources, ensure the security of construction materials and develop a circular economy - Mr. Ngoc Thai Hoang added.

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