Vietnam Licenses Largest Iron Ore Mining Project

Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has licensed Thach Khe Steel Joint Stock Company to mine the country’s largest iron ore deposits in central Ha Tinh province in the open-cast mode, said the company’s director Ho Duc Binh.

 

Accordingly, the company will carry out the Thach Khe iron ore mining project, estimated to cost US$650 million, on an area of 527 hectares at depth of -550 meters within 30 years.

 

In the first four years, the company will prepare infrastructure for the implementation of the project. In the following five years, it will exploit 5 million tons of iron ore per year and from the 11th year onwards it will mine 10 million tons.

 

Iron ores from the mine will be feedstock for the company’s steel refining factory with a capacity of between 2 million tons and 4 million tons a year and for other steel mills in Vung Ang Economic Zone in the province. 

 

Thach Khe deposit was discovered by Soviet and Vietnamese geologists in the 1960s with estimated reserves of 554 million tons, enough for the company to mine in 47 years, Binh added. Zinc content in Thach Khe iron ore is high, at 0.075 per cent.

 

The Thach Khe Steel JSC was established in May 2007 with total registered capital of VND2.4 trillion (US$150 million).

 

The nine founders are Vietnam Coal and Mining Industries Group (Vinacomin) contributing 30 per cent of total capital, Ha Tinh Mining and Trading Company (Mitraco) 24 per cent, Vietnam Steel Corp. 20 per cent, Vietnam Posts and & Telecommunications Group (VNPT) 4 per cent, Song Da Corporation 5 per cent, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) 5 per cent, Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) 5 per cent, Binh Minh Import-Export Co. Ltd. 4 per cent and Thang Long Minerals & Metallurgy Joint Stock Company 3 per cent. (The People)