Scientists raise environment issues in Vinacomin’s bauxite project

Dr. Dang Trung Thuan, Chair of the Vietnam Geochemistry Association, feels that Vinacomin, the investor of the Central Highlands’ bauxite project – will find it hard to revert to the original state and recover the environment at the mining site.

Vinacomin has committed to follow necessary steps in the mining and post-mining land rehabilitation when implementing the bauxite project. However, scientists have warned that it would be very costly to rehabilitate the environment, which would make the production costs high.

Scientists have every reason to have doubts if the rehabilitation can be carried out in a true way. Thuan has recalled the coal mining in Quang Ninh province and titanium exploitation in Binh Dinh province, which was also implemented by Vinacomin, to prove that “it’s easier promised than done.”

However, the expert has the worry about the possible water pollution in the rainy season and the red dust in the dry season.

In the rainy season, the heavy rainfall would pour large quantity of red soil to the rivers and streams, thus seriously affecting the quality of the water. Meanwhile, in the dry season, the mining would pollute the environment with the dust and the waste from the machines used at the sites and the ore sifting factories. Vinacomin promised to carry ores with the trucks with the tonnage of 15-20 tons to protect the roads. However, with such light tonnage vehicles, it would be very costly to carry ores, which would make the production costs higher.