Ha Tu Coal Mine: Environment-conscious Coalmining

 

Mr Hoang Minh Hieu, Chairman and Director of Vinacomin - Ha Tu Coal Joint Stock Company, said: The company frequently launches emulative programmes to boost productivity and savings. The company has set new records and completed many difficult tasks. Notably, it restored gearboxes for Benla trucks, HD truck chasses and buckets of CAT365 excavators.

 

Since 2005, 111 trucks made company-level records and 49 set records at the level of Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin). Aiming to cut 10 percent of power spending, 8 percent of general expenses and three percent of fuel costs, the company has reduced overall costs and boosted business performance.

 

In the past three years, Vinacomin - Ha Tu Coal Joint Stock Company produced an average of 2.5 million tonnes of coal a year. This proud achievement is a worthy testament to the efforts of the entire company for development.

 

With limited available reserves and declining high-quality coal, Vinacomin Ha Tu Coal Joint Stock Company defines new mine exploration as the top priority. In previous years, the company left substandard unusable coal (ash content of 66.2 - 73.4 percent). To make this material usable, the company invested VND17.8 billion in coal sieving and preparing facilities, allowing the company to prepare poorer quality coal with ash content of 36 percent - 42 percent.

 

Besides, the company built silt pits at the foot of coal stores, successfully covered the Nam Lo Phong dumping sites with green space, and built dams around dumpsites. All these helped prevent landslides, economised natural resources, beautified landscapes, and protected and restored the environment.

We were very surprised at the clean, dustless and noiseless space in a Ha Tu open pit. An exploiting site, which was originally 200 metres above the sea level and was now 100 metres below the sea level, is covered with green trees and operating super-big vehicles. 

 

According to a decision from the central government and Quang Nam province, to ensure the environment for Ha Long Bay - a World Natural Heritage Site, the Ha Tu Coal Mine will have to terminate its operation in 2015. Hieu said “Coal reserves in Vietnam are huge. We are a member of the Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group and we are never worried about unemployment. We must do well what we are doing. For Ha Tu, production - economy - efficiency are the most important principles.”