A new day at Mong Duong Coal Mine

According to some studies in the coal industry, during the French colonial period, after the peace treaty, the Nguyen dynasty sold the Dong Trieu, Uong Bi, Hon Gai, and Cam Pha regions to France. From 1888, the French conducted exploration in this area, but mainly exploited open-pit coal in places higher than sea level.

Ngo Hoang Ngan, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Board of Members of the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group, inspected the production site at the M6-6A VM chain-type longwall mining operation managed by Mining Workshop 7 (Mong Duong Coal Company).

In those days, deep coal mining was called "underground mine," and open-pit coal mining was called "surface mine." Over time, miners distorted the name to "surface mine," which remains the practice to this day...

Growth in difficult times

The Mong Duong mine has long been famous for its high production and good quality coal. Located near the end of the Northeast coal belt, the mine began construction of the first vertical shaft mine in Vietnam at Mong Duong in early 1934, extracting coal underground at a depth of 97.5 meters. In April 1938, the Mong Duong vertical shaft mine officially commenced operations, initially producing nearly 7,000 tons of coal per year, but after only six years, it had reached over 700,000 tons.

When we took over the Mong Duong mine, during the period from 1967 to 1982, the production of the Mong Duong vertical shaft increased from 200,000 tons of coal per year to 400,000 tons per year. In 1982, the Mong Duong-Khe Cham coal mine was officially established with more than 350 cadres and workers. Over the past 40 years, it seems that there hasn't been a single year when the Mong Duong mine hasn't faced difficulties and challenges.

The first vertical shaft mine relic at Mong Duong Coal Mine consists of five structures: the main vertical shaft block, the auxiliary vertical shaft block, the ventilation fan, the coal storage warehouse, and the production control building, covering an area of ​​over 3,300 square meters. The Mong Duong vertical shaft mine is a product of the intelligence, management capacity, and application of advanced science , technology, and engineering in coal mining, improving labor productivity, production efficiency, and environmental friendliness.

Leaders of Mong Duong Coal Company visit and encourage miners during their production shift.

Every year, the Mong Duong vertical shaft furnace is renovated and maintained in its current state, combining preservation and exploitation. This is a dynamic cultural heritage, preserved and promoted by relevant agencies and units, harmoniously combining economic benefits with historical and cultural values ​​in the process of economic development and monument preservation.

From rudimentary coal mining methods producing only a few thousand tons of coal per year, the Mong Duong vertical shaft mine technology has now made remarkable progress, supplying the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group with approximately 1.6 million tons of coal annually. It is also a pioneering unit in innovating its operational methods and production organization towards modernization, contributing valuable lessons to the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group regarding effective corporate governance models.

In 2025, amidst a volatile coal market and complex geological challenges, the Mong Duong coal mine had to relocate its mining operations 18 times (the most in many years), yet the miners achieved a landmark success. According to the Mong Duong Coal Mine leadership, each relocation disrupted the company's production rhythm, resulting in lost time and capacity.

Many mine faces encountered areas without seams, forcing the company to open additional mines, leading to increased costs and delays. Despite these continuous difficulties, Mong Duong Coal Mine still "reached" its 2025 production plan ahead of schedule, setting a new record with a mining output of 1.68 million tons; a 7% increase compared to 2024. This is the highest coal production achieved since the mine's establishment.

Amidst the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group's tightening safety requirements, upgrading technology standards, and standardizing processes, Mong Duong Coal Mine faces three simultaneous challenges: maintaining stable production; reducing costs; and increasing labor productivity. By 2025, Mong Duong Coal Mine aims to have no Category I or II incidents; no serious accidents; and a reduction of over 53% in the number of accidents, the deepest decrease in many years.

Miners in Mong Duong operate the tunnel boring machine.

With increasingly deep mining operations and significant geological pressure, this demonstrates a clear improvement in risk management thinking, decisive leadership, and labor discipline. The year 2025 also showed that Mong Duong's growth wasn't due to favorable conditions, but rather to adversity and overwhelming challenges. The highest ever production output is the culmination of a series of persistent and correct decisions regarding key investments, technological innovation, and workforce improvement over many years.

A new development

In 2026 and in the subsequent development phase, Mong Duong Coal faces higher demands and challenges, such as deeper mining, greater safety pressure, and the need for more advanced technology. This requires the entire workforce to accumulate experience and build a sustainable foundation to proactively enter a new growth phase.

According to Luong Thanh Chung, Director of the company, this year the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group assigned the unit to mine 1.5 million tons of raw coal. From the beginning of 2026 until now, despite facing many difficulties such as small-scale production areas, frequent site changes; challenging geological conditions, and steep slopes in mechanized longwall mining (sometimes up to 37 degrees), the company's production and business activities have remained stable.

“In the first five months of the year, the company’s raw coal production is estimated at over 632,500 tons, with a projected output of over 785,000 tons in the first six months (more than 52% of the annual plan); consumption is over 637,800 tons, with a projected output of 784,000 tons in the first six months; the average salary of employees is 22.8 million VND/person/month,” Mr. Chung said.

Company director Luong Thanh Chung gave his remarks.

Recently, on the occasion of Workers' Month 2026, Mr. Ngo Hoang Ngan, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Board of Members of the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group, personally inspected the production site at the M6-6A VM chain-supported longwall mining face, from -230m to -190m, managed by Mining Workshop 7 (Mong Duong Coal Company). Following the policy of the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group, Mong Duong Coal Company has invested in a longwall mining face supported by a chain frame system, as part of a project to invest in mobile hydraulic longwall mining equipment linked by chains, which has been approved by the Group's leadership. The use of mobile hydraulic support systems linked by chains is suitable for the conditions of the Mong Duong mine. Since 2021, this longwall mining face has been producing coal steadily.

Mr. Ngo Hoang Ngan acknowledged and praised the competitive spirit of the company's workers in labor and production, and requested that each worker strive to ensure absolute safety in production, always considering labor safety as the top priority, because production must be safe - safety is essential for production. "In the coming time, Mong Duong Coal Company needs to continue to effectively implement labor safety and hygiene, industrial hygiene, apply science and technology, mechanization, digital transformation, equipment modernization, and apply appropriate anchor-supported mine technology to increase productivity and improve safety levels," emphasized Mr. Ngo Hoang Ngan, Chairman of the Board of Members of the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group.

Ngo Hoang Ngan, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Board of Members of Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group, worked with Mong Duong Coal Joint Stock Company.

To maintain stable production, the leadership of the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group requested the company to review and propose additions and adjustments to the Plan for exploration, exploitation, processing, and utilization of minerals for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, to suit actual production conditions and create production space for 2027 and subsequent years. At the same time, they were instructed to strengthen management, strictly adhere to legal regulations and group guidelines; and pay attention to improving working conditions and welfare for miners and their families.

NGHIA NAM

Source: https://nhandan.vn/ngay-moi-o-than-mong-duong-post963049.html