Long-distance advantages of bauxite
The bauxite planning in Dak Nong for the period 2021 - 2030 shows that bauxite mines are distributed in 5 districts and cities of the province, with an area of about 1,760km2 , accounting for nearly 1/4 of the natural area.
Speaking with reporters, Associate Professor Dr. Luu Duc Hai, Chairman of the Vietnam Economic and Environmental Association, assessed and analyzed the potential for bauxite mining in Dak Nong.
Accordingly, Dak Nong has all the elements to become the national bauxite - alumina - aluminum industrial center. This goal is included in the Central's mineral planning, included in the province's planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, and approved by the Prime Minister.
However, Associate Professor Dr. Luu Duc Hai said that with the characteristics of wide and scattered distribution, exploiting and recovering bauxite in Dak Nong is not easy, especially in terms of immediate economic efficiency.
Because the value of raw bauxite is not high and only has real value when processed. Currently, Dak Nong only has Nhan Co Alumina Factory serving bauxite processing.
Therefore, mining bauxite over long distances will incur huge transportation costs, increasing product prices and reducing economic efficiency. This is accompanied by a great demand for synchronization of infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure.
"While Dak Nong's resources are currently limited, it is difficult to meet the development of infrastructure for bauxite mining. Calling for and attracting more bauxite mining projects in the province is facing many difficulties," Associate Professor, Dr. Luu Duc Hai shared.
The national mineral planning shows that the total bauxite reserves mobilized into the planning are about 2.72 billion tons of raw ore (equivalent to 976 million tons of refined ore).
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Luu Duc Hai, if there is only the current Nhan Co Alumina Factory (capacity of 1.65 million tons of refined ore/year), it will take about 590 years to exploit and use up all the resources and bauxite reserves in Dak Nong.
In addition, according to Decision No. 1277/QD-TTg dated November 1, 2023 of the Prime Minister approving the national mineral reserve area, Dak Nong has 12 bauxite mineral reserve areas, with a total reserve of about 210 million tons of refined ore.
With this reserve, if calculated only for the operation of Nhan Co Alumina Factory (capacity of 1.65 million tons of refined ore/year), it will take more than 120 years to fully utilize it.
Currently, the value of bauxite mining and processing in Dak Nong is very large. Every year, Nhan Co Alumina Factory contributes about 400 - 500 billion VND to the provincial budget, creating jobs for thousands of workers.
However, the investment resources for Nhan Co Alumina Plant are also very large, with many impacts. "In fact, the real effectiveness of bauxite mining projects in Dak Nong is still in the long term, especially when the province has enough resources in terms of human resources, infrastructure, and technology," Associate Professor, Dr. Luu Duc Hai commented.
Wind power makes a big contribution in the near future
Currently, Dak Nong has 6 wind power projects, with a total of 120 pillars, total land area of 31,200m2 . The wind power projects are all located in the bauxite mine planning area.
Each wind turbine foundation occupies an area of 260m2 of land. Parameters from the Nhan Co Alumina Plant show that 1ha of land in the planning can exploit a maximum of about 60,000 tons of bauxite. Thus, if the reserves are ideal, each wind turbine will exploit 1,560 tons of bauxite.
If multiplied by the current bauxite price of 390,000 VND/ton, the value of bauxite at each wind power tower is 608 million VND. This is the bauxite price at the wind power tower location, not including the cost of transportation to the factory and other costs.
It should be noted that the current wind power towers are on average 60km away from Nhan Co Alumina Factory. Therefore, the cost of transporting bauxite to the factory is quite large.
According to calculations, if all the bauxite from each wind power tower is exploited and transferred to Nhan Co Alumina Factory for production and processing, there will be a profit of about 300 million VND/tower.
With 120 wind power towers in Dak Nong, the value of bauxite at current prices is about 36 billion VND. This is a rather modest figure compared to the value that wind power projects can bring in the near future.
According to calculations by authorities, if all 6 wind power projects in Dak Nong go into commercial operation, they will contribute about 1.29 billion kWh of electricity to the grid, paying the budget about 400 billion VND/year.
The planning and plan for bauxite exploitation in Dak Nong must last at least 120 years to exhaust the raw material source. Meanwhile, according to the Investment Law, the operating time of a wind power project must not exceed 50 years. On the other hand, wind turbines in ideal conditions only have a lifespan of 20-30 years.
Therefore, after the end of the turbine's lifespan or the end of the wind power project's operating time, bauxite mining can be carried out.
Although Dak Nong has great potential in both bauxite and wind power, project implementation still faces many difficulties due to regulations that have not been adjusted to suit the characteristics of each industry.
Therefore, having a synchronous and transparent policy on mineral exploitation and wind power development will be a decisive factor for Dak Nong to effectively utilize the potential of resources to serve socio-economic development.
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/bai-toan-gia-tri-bo-xit-va-dien-gio-tai-dak-nong-237250.html
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