Decision No. 2427/QD-TTg Approving the Mineral Strategy to 2020, with a vision to 2030

Pursuant to …;

Approving the Mineral Strategy to 2020, with a vision to 2030

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PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Law on Minerals No. 60/2010/QH12 dated November 17, 2010;

On the basis of Resolution No. 02-NQ/TW dated April 25, 2011 of the Politburo on the orientation of the mineral strategy and mining industry to 2020, with a vision to 2030;

Pursuant to the Strategy for Socio-Economic Development 2011-2020;

CONSIDERING THE PROPOSAL OF THE MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approves the "Mineral Strategy to 2020, with a vision to 2030" with the main contents as follows:

1. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

a) Minerals are non-renewable resources, important national assets that must be managed, protected, exploited, and used reasonably, economically, and effectively to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization of the country, sustainable economic and social development in the short and long term, and ensure national defense, security, and environmental protection;

b) Mineral exploration and assessment must precede by one step, clarifying the potential of mineral resources to establish plans for exploration, exploitation, processing, and utilization of minerals and national reserves;

c) Exploration and exploitation of minerals must be linked to processing and utilization in accordance with the potential of each type of mineral and the needs of various economic sectors;

d) Mineral processing must use advanced technology, environmentally friendly, producing high-value products; mainly serving domestic demand, exporting processed products with high economic value for large-scale minerals;

đ) Promote international cooperation to absorb modern science, apply advanced technology in exploration, exploitation, and processing of minerals;

2. Strategy

Prioritize investment in basic geological surveys of minerals on both land and sea, islands to clarify the potential of mineral resources. Link exploration and exploitation of minerals with efficient processing and utilization. Balance between exploitation and mineral reserves; sustainably develop the mining industry linked to environmental protection and ensuring national defense and security;

3. Objectives

a) Complete the work of mapping geological maps and mineral surveys at a scale of 1/50,000 across the territory; complete the work of marine geological and mineral surveys at a scale of 1/500,000; assess and clarify the potential of mineral resources to serve exploitation and national reserves;

b) Exploration must meet the needs of exploitation and processing until 2050 for coal, uranium, titanium-zirconium, rare earths, apatite, iron, lead-zinc, copper, tin, manganese, chromite, bauxite, glass sand, and other minerals;

c) Exploitation of minerals must be linked to processing, creating high-value products; by 2020, end small-scale, technologically backward mineral processing facilities with low economic efficiency and causing environmental pollution; form centralized mineral processing industrial zones with advanced technology corresponding to the potential of each type of mineral;

d) Only export processed products with high value for large-scale minerals. For other minerals, exploit and process according to domestic demand, strengthen national mineral reserves as a foundation for sustainable economic and social development;

đ) Encourage cooperation in exploring, exploiting, and processing some types of minerals abroad, prioritizing minerals in Vietnam with high demand;

4. Development Orientation

a) Basic geological survey work on minerals

- Prioritize completing the work of mapping geological maps and mineral surveys at a scale of 1/50,000 across the territory and islands; conduct marine geological and mineral surveys at a scale of 1/500,000, focusing on surveys and discoveries of minerals in areas with favorable geological structures for ore formation;

- Conduct an overall assessment of the potential of some important minerals: brown coal in the Red River Delta; bauxite and lateritic iron in the Central Highlands; rare earths-uranium, lead-zinc in Northwest, North Vietnam, Central Vietnam; lithium, gold in Central Vietnam; white marble in Northern Vietnam; decorative stone in Central Vietnam; uranium and other minerals in structures with favorable conditions up to 500 meters deep, some areas up to 1,000 meters deep;

b) Exploration, exploitation, and processing of minerals

- Coal minerals: Intensify deep exploration below -300m for mines in the Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, and Quang Nam coal basins; select some promising areas in the Red River Delta for exploration down to -1000m. Invest in new and expand deep exploitation of some mines in the Quang Ninh coal basin; upgrade and expand centralized coal washing industrial zones in Quang Ninh and Thai Nguyen to meet safety and environmental standards; test mining methods in some areas of the Red River Delta coal basin to ensure environmental safety, not affecting economic and social development on the surface, forming a basis for proposing comprehensive exploitation solutions for the post-2020 period;

- Radioactive minerals (uranium): Complete exploration of uranium ores at Pa Lu-Pa Rong, Khe Hoa-Khe Cao mines in Quang Nam and other promising areas; research technology, improve uranium processing techniques and safety measures during exploitation and processing to meet the needs of nuclear power plants;

- Metal minerals

+ Titanium-zirconium ores: Large-scale exploration and exploitation to supply raw materials for concentrated processing projects in Lang Son, Binh Thuan province. Accelerate the construction progress of titanium ore processing plants (synthetic rutile, pigment, expanded titanium, metallic titanium) using advanced technology without causing environmental pollution. Form a titanium-zirconium mining industry commensurate with discovered resource potential. Plan national mineral reserve regions in stages in Binh Thuan to implement ground economic and social development projects.

+ Bauxite ore: Complete exploration work for bauxite mines in the Central Highlands region and Bình Phước province which have been investigated and evaluated. Implement mining activities at Tân Rai mine and Nhân Cơ mine to supply raw materials for two aluminum production projects in Lâm Đồng and Đắk Nông provinces. Other mining and production projects of aluminum in Lâm Đồng, Đắk Nông, and Bình Phước shall only be carried out after the aforementioned two projects commence operations and prove economically effective. Study the feasibility of an aluminum production project in Vietnam to be implemented after 2015.

+ Iron ore: Conduct exploration activities for iron ore mines with potential in Yên Bái, Lào Cai, Sơn La, Hà Giang, Phú Thọ, Bắc Kạn, and Quảng Ngãi provinces. Mining activities must be linked to specific usage addresses, serving domestic steel and pig iron production projects, and iron ore shall not be exported.

+ Rare earth ore: Complete exploration work for rare earth mines in Lai Châu and Lào Cai provinces. Implement mining and processing projects for rare earth ores at Đông Pao mine (Lai Châu) and Yên Phú mine (Yên Bái).

+ Copper ore: Complete exploration work for copper mines in Lào Cai, Lai Châu, Yên Bái, and Sơn La provinces. Invest in expanding copper metal processing facilities in Lào Cai. Mining projects must be linked to specific usage addresses for domestic processing projects; copper ore shall not be exported.

+ Lead-zinc ore: Conduct deep exploration and expansion of Chợ Điền and Chợ Đồn mines to supplement ore reserves for ongoing mining projects; complete exploration of potential mines in Điện Biên, Yên Bái, Tuyên Quang, Hà Giang, and Cao Bằng. Mining of lead-zinc ore shall only serve deep processing projects to produce lead and zinc metals; lead-zinc ore shall not be exported. New ore areas developed in Bắc Kạn and Cao Bằng shall be included in the national mineral reserve area.

+ Manganese ore: Complete exploration work in Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang, and Cao Bằng provinces to provide raw materials for ferromanganese and electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) production projects serving domestic needs; manganese ore and processed products shall not be exported.

+ Chromium ore: Base on the demand for chromium ore processing products in industries until 2030 to grant mining and processing licenses in line with usage requirements; balance between mining and national reserves to form a chromium ore mining and processing industrial zone in Cổ Định, Thanh Hóa province. Chromium ore and processed products shall not be exported.

+ Gold-bearing minerals: Only conduct exploration and mining of primary gold mines. Processing of gold ore must use advanced technology without adversely affecting the environment and water sources; do not conduct exploration or mining of alluvial gold.

+ For other metallic minerals: Exploration and mining must be linked to deep processing projects mainly serving domestic needs; metallic ore and processed products shall not be exported.

- Non-metallic minerals

+ Cement raw material minerals: Conduct exploration and mining of mines serving cement projects within approved cement industry development plans. Do not mine limestone along the sides of national highways to protect the landscape.

+ White limestone: Large-scale mining and centralized processing of white limestone in Nghệ An and Yên Bái provinces; limit small-scale mining; do not export large blocks of stone.

+ Raw material minerals for ceramic and glass production: Conduct exploration and mining of kaolin and feldspar areas in Tuyên Quang, Yên Bái, Phú Thọ, Lào Cai, Quảng Bình, Thừa Thiên Huế, Bình Dương, Bình Phước, Kon Tum to serve raw material projects for ceramic tile and porcelain production. Conduct exploration and mining of white sand deposits in Quảng Ninh, Quảng Bình, Thừa Thiên Huế, Quảng Trị, Khánh Hòa to serve raw material projects for glass production, molds, frits, and non-fired bricks.

+ Raw material minerals for cladding: Conduct exploration and mining of granite and gabro cladding stones in Yên Bái, Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Bình Định, Phú Yên, Khánh Hòa, Ninh Thuận, Đắk Lắk, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Tây Ninh provinces and sedimentary cladding stone mines in Cao Bằng, Thái Nguyên, Yên Bái, Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An to meet construction needs. Do not export large blocks of stone.

+ Apatite ore: Complete expanded and supplementary exploration of surveyed areas. Study technology for using second-grade ore to invest in processing projects. Mining permits must be linked to processing and production projects for phosphate rock, DAP, phosphoric acid, and molten phosphate fertilizers; do not export apatite ore. Balance domestic demand to adjust the national mineral reserve area.

- Common building materials

Mining and processing of common building materials must be linked to labor safety, landscape protection, and environmental protection. Do not extract building materials from the foot of hills and mountains along national highways to protect the landscape.

- Hot water and mineral water resources: Vigorously conduct exploration to determine reserves and quality of hot water and mineral water resources to exploit and utilize effectively and reasonably according to socio-economic development needs.

- Petroleum and natural gas: Implement the Vietnam Oil and Gas Industry Development Strategy approved by the Government with the goal of developing the oil and gas industry into an important, integrated economic and technical sector including: exploration, extraction, transportation, processing, storage, distribution, services, and import/export.

c) International cooperation: Prioritize international cooperation and foreign investment in geological surveys, exploration, and mining of coal, iron ore, gypsum, salt, and other types of minerals abroad. Strengthen cooperation with developed countries to absorb advanced technologies in basic geological surveys, mineral exploration, and mining and processing of rare earth, titanium-zirconium, lithium...

5. Policies

a) Policies for the protection, utilization, and reserve of mineral resources

- Utilize mineral resources efficiently and economically to meet sustainable development requirements;

- Balance to ensure mineral resource reserves to meet the needs of economic sectors in both the short and long term;

- Prioritize the exploitation, processing, and utilization of minerals to serve domestic production; mineral import and export activities shall be conducted on the principle of balance, ensuring domestic production needs; only export processed products with high economic value for large-scale minerals.

b) Science and technology policy

- Encourage cooperation in transferring advanced and environmentally friendly technologies in mineral exploitation and processing;

- Enhance capacity, update equipment and technology; develop policies to foster high-level human resources in management, investigation, exploration, exploitation, and processing of minerals.

c) Investment policy

- Prioritize investment to accelerate basic geological surveys related to minerals;

- Diversify sources of capital for basic geological surveys related to minerals;

- Encourage investment in deep processing and environmentally friendly mining technologies.

6. Solutions

a) Management and planning

- Improve the system of legal regulations on minerals; enhance management capacity from central to local levels;

- Closely coordinate between central and local authorities to intensify inspection and supervision of mineral activities; strictly handle violations of laws in mineral activities, creating mechanisms and restructuring the mining and mineral processing industry;

- Develop mineral plans in accordance with the Minerals Law and strategic orientations; delineate national mineral reserve areas.

b) Science and technology

- Train high-level scientific and technological cadres through various forms;

- Gradually apply advanced techniques and modern equipment in mineral investigation, exploration, exploitation, and processing;

- Enhance underground mining technology capabilities at great depths;

- Establish technical standards for mining and processing equipment and technology to protect the environment and prevent resource wastage.

c) Finance

- Annually prioritize sufficient funding from the state budget for basic geological surveys related to minerals according to approved plans and programs;

- Increase investment in scientific research and application of new technologies in geological surveys related to minerals, exploration, exploitation, and processing;

- Adjust financial policies related to mineral export activities towards exporting only processed products with high value for large-scale minerals;

- Establish incentive mechanisms suitable for occupational characteristics, ensuring stable development of human resources for investigation, exploration, exploitation, and processing of minerals.

d) Environmental protection

Intensify supervision and monitoring of environmental protection regulations implementation; strictly handle violations according to the law.

Article 2. Implementation

Ministries, sectors, People's Committees of provinces and cities, and relevant organizations and individuals shall cooperate and implement according to the content of the Mineral Strategy and build programs and tasks according to the Government's Action Program to implement Resolution No. 02-NQ/TW dated April 25, 2011 of the Politburo on strategic orientations for minerals and the mining industry until 2020, with a vision to 2030.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect from the date of issuance.

Article 4. THE MINISTERS, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL MINISTRIES, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL AGENCIES, AND CHAIRMEN OF PROVINCE AND CITY PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES DIRECTLY UNDER THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCING THIS DECISION./.