Post bauxite-mining land to be returned

Over 130ha of post bauxite-mining land was proposed to be utilised to construct resettlement areas for households whose land was revoked for bauxite ore exploitation, and for high-tech agricultural production in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Nông.

The proposal was made after Đắk Nông Aluminium Company under Việt Nam National Coal - Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited recently submitted a report to the Evaluation Council of the Mineral Mining Closure Project under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, regarding the return a portion of the area used for bauxite ore extraction at Nhân Cơ bauxite mine, which is located within the administrative boundaries of several communes and a town in Đắk R’lấp district in the province.

Upon completion of the procedures, the company is expected to return the land to the local authorities for use according to the approved land use plans by the provincial People's Committee.

According to the provincial People's Committee, the closure of mines to return the land to the local authorities has been rather slow. Therefore, the committee has proposed that the ministry pay attention to and expedite the approval of phased mine closure projects, allowing the corporation to return the land to serve the province's socio-economic development.

Earlier, during a meeting with leaders of the province on March 12, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Đặng Quốc Khánh instructed the subordinate units of the ministry to coordinate with the provincial People's Committee to review the adjustment of returning post bauxite-mining land to align with reality and current regulations.

Khánh also said that for land areas already mined for bauxite, those meeting the closure criteria must be closed immediately and handed over to the local authorities for management and use, avoiding the waste of land resources.

According to the mineral mining licence 2624/GP-BTNMT, dated November 11, 2016, issued by the environment ministry, the corporation is permitted to mine bauxite ore using open-pit methods at the Nhân Cơ bauxite mine in communes of Kiến Thành, Đắk Wer, Nghĩa Thắng, Đạo Nghĩa, Đắk Sin, Nhân Đạo, Nhân Cơ, and the township of Kiến Đức in Đắk R’lấp District in the province. The total licensed mining area is 3,074 ha, with a 30-year mining period and reserves of nearly 55 billion tonnes of bauxite ore.