Vietnam province at risk of losing forest to bauxite mining

As per an approved plan to mine bauxite in the Central Highlands region, Lam Dong will have the state-owned Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) search for and exploit the material on a total area of 21,170 hectares.

Of the total land subjected to bauxite exploitation, 4,906 hectares are forest land and more than half of this is natural forest, Lam Dong Province’s agriculture department said in a recent statement.

As the exploitation of bauxite ore according to the approved plan will reduce a very large area of forest land, said the department, which has proposed that the provincial People’s Committee reconsiders and adjusts the plan.

Tan Rai aluminum project in Lam Dong Province. Photo by VnExpress/Khanh Huong

Vinacomin currently has two projects where it will exploit bauxite in the Central Highlands, Tan Rai in Lam Dong Province and Nhan Co in Dak Nong Province.

Each project has a designed capacity of producing 650,000 tons of aluminum per year.