Research on deep processing of rare earth to serve the semiconductor chip industry

According to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, for rare earth, it is necessary to consider deep and refined processing to serve industries such as semiconductor chips; at the same time, research must be done to export this special mineral.

Continuing the 7th Session, during the question and answer session in the Hall, many delegates were interested in issues related to mineral exploitation, using sea sand for landfill and processing rare earth.

Will transfer to investigation agency to strictly handle violations in mineral exploitation

Delegate Dang Bich Ngoc ( Hoa Binh delegation) said that in recent times, to solve difficulties in exploiting minerals, especially materials for filling key traffic works, the National Assembly has allowed the application of a special mechanism to handle this issue. The delegate asked the Minister to inform how this content should be legalized to ensure state management requirements, create unity and initiative for local authorities to organize implementation.

Responding to delegates, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh said that with the special mechanism of the National Assembly, the strong direction of the Government, the Prime Minister, and the consensus of localities, in the past time, a special mechanism has been implemented on the provision of filling materials for key national projects and expressway projects. Implementing the Resolutions of the National Assembly, the Government has issued documents guiding the implementation and direction. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has also issued instructions on construction materials for projects, and so far, all projects are ahead of schedule.

"The special mechanism of the National Assembly has been implemented very effectively, as demonstrated through the progress of important national projects and works," the Minister affirmed.

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A stone mining and processing facility in Thanh Hoa. (Illustration photo)

To legalize this content, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh stated that previously, the law stipulated the process of granting mines for landfill materials to be the same as for precious metals that had not been classified or grouped. After applying the specific mechanism, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has summarized and is currently the agency in charge of drafting and submitting to the Government to submit to the National Assembly the Law on Geology and Minerals.

"In particular, four mineral groups have been classified: precious metals, high-grade construction materials, common construction materials, and soil, rock and gravel materials. Soil, rock and gravel materials will be thoroughly decentralized to localities, without having to issue a mining license, but only need to register, then pay tax obligations according to regulations," said the Minister.

Responding to delegates about measures to limit illegal exploitation of resources, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh said that according to the 2010 Law on Minerals and guiding decrees of ministries and branches, mineral exploitation activities are strongly decentralized and managed at the local level, especially construction materials.

In recent times, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and related ministries have strengthened inspections and supervision with localities. In 5 years, the Ministry has conducted 12 inspections and 40 compliance checks on minerals with a total of 933 licenses, detected 258 organizations and individuals in violation, and issued 258 decisions to handle administrative violations with a total fine of 30 billion VND.

Through inspection and examination, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh found that the mine project owners had violated the permitted capacity, exploited outside the boundary, or exploited without ensuring conditions and requirements for environmental protection.

Faced with the above situation, the Minister emphasized that these violations will be strictly handled, especially those that are continuous and consecutive. After administrative sanctions, if violations continue, they will be transferred to the competent authorities for investigation to strictly handle these violations.

Using sea sand for landfill must ensure the environment and marine ecosystem.

Also interested in landfill materials, delegate Tran Kim Yen (Ho Chi Minh City delegation) raised the issue that, in the context of a shortage of river sand to carry out projects, especially particularly important projects such as the highway project in the Mekong Delta, the option of using sea sand as a replacement is a direction to seek.

Delegates raised questions such as whether the salt content in sea sand affects the surrounding environment over time or not? Some opinions also said that using sea sand instead of river sand is "bringing salt into the middle of the field" causing floods, depressions... especially in the current increasingly complex and unpredictable situation of saltwater intrusion. Delegates asked the Minister to propose immediate and long-term solutions to have enough raw materials for projects without negatively affecting the environment, ensuring water security.

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Minister Dang Quoc Khanh answers questions from delegates. (Photo: THUY NGUYEN)

Responding to the concerns of delegates, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh also expressed his opinion that it is necessary to assess the environmental impact and that it is best to use it in saline areas.

“Depending on the construction, the project will be assessed for impact with the principle of not affecting surface water. Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Construction will have specific procedures for each construction project,” said Minister Dang Quoc Khanh.

Minister Dang Quoc Khanh also noted that the use of sand materials for key national projects, especially the recent highway project, has been very difficult. Therefore, the Prime Minister has directed relevant ministries and branches to study the use of sea sand.

For more information, the Minister said: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is assigned to evaluate reserves and areas for sand extraction. The Ministry has completed the assessment of reserves in the Soc Trang area, with reserves that can be extracted immediately being 145 million cubic meters.

Responding to the debate of delegate Nguyen Ngoc Son (Hai Duong delegation) on the impact of sand mining on biodiversity, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh said that with the sand mine in Soc Trang province, the Ministry has assessed the environmental impact, ensuring that it does not affect biodiversity.

“The depth of the mine is 7m, we only recommend taking 2m; the sand mine is also far from shore, 20km from the coast,” said the Minister.

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Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi participated in explaining and clarifying the issue of using sea sand as filling material for traffic works. (Photo: THUY NGUYEN)

Participating in explaining and clarifying the issue of using sea sand as a filling material for traffic works, Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi said that the Ministry has issued standards for sand products as alternative construction materials. For saline sand, the Ministry has developed and issued standards for saline sand for concrete and mortar.

Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi said that the national standard TCVN 9436:2012 on Roadbed for Automobiles - Construction and Acceptance has determined the technical requirements for roadbed materials. The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Transport to preside over the development of a project to research, evaluate and pilot the use of sea sand for roadbed filling.

"The Ministry of Transport has reported on the pilot, accordingly, it is recommended that localities continue to expand the pilot use of sea sand as filling material for traffic works based on their needs and actual conditions," said Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi.

Deep processing of more than 20 million tons of rare earth to serve the semiconductor chip industry

Responding to questions about the exploitation, use and management of rare earths, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh informed: Vietnam has important strategic mineral resources, with relatively large reserves such as bauxite of about 5.8 billion tons; titanium of more than 600 million tons and about more than 20 million tons of rare earths.

"The exploitation and processing of important and essential minerals, especially rare earths, must consider deep processing and refined processing to serve Vietnam's industries, especially the semiconductor chip industry. In addition, research can also be conducted to aim for export," Minister Dang Quoc Khanh affirmed.

In addition, the Minister also acknowledged that the processing of rare earths has not been comprehensively studied. Therefore, the implementation process must be linked to Vietnam's potential and advantages, and Vietnam's industry. The Minister also requested that ministries, branches and localities with the potential to exploit rare earths should strengthen the management of rare earths to avoid illegal exploitation and trade.

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