Northwest Project: Discovering 110 more precious and important mineral deposits

On March 28, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held a conference to announce the results of the Project "Overall mineral survey and completion of the 1:50,000 scale geological map of the Northwest region to serve the planning of sustainable socio-economic development" (also known as the Northwest Project) - one of the most important geological tasks in the basic investigation strategy of the Vietnam geology and mineral sector, marking the end of a journey and opening up new opportunities to exploit resource potential effectively and sustainably, associated with the socio-economic development of the Northwest region in the coming time.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Quy Kien said that after nearly 8 years of implementation, the Northwest Project has completed a geological and mineral map at a scale of 1:50,000 over 13,381 km, covering the Northwest region; discovering 110 mineral mines of 25 types of precious and important minerals. Among the metal mineral mines, there are up to 40 gold mines with a total resource of level 333 identifying more than 29.8 tons of gold, 5 copper mines with a total resource of level 333 identifying more than 13,000 tons of copper metal.

At a copper mine in Lao Cai province, research units also discovered accompanying minerals with gold with a total resource of level 333, identifying more than 420 kg of gold. The project has also built a modern geological - mineral database, allowing for quick and transparent information lookup, management and sharing, effectively serving the planning and exploitation of mineral resources in localities; delineating 7 areas of deep hidden minerals and forecasting many potential areas for further investigation and evaluation in the coming period.

The results of the project have been integrated into the National Mineral Exploration, Exploitation and Use Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, helping localities have a scientific basis for rational exploration, exploitation and effective management of resources. However, although the project has been completed, in order to maximize the value of the survey results, in the coming time, localities need to use the geological and mineral databases that have been handed over to serve socio-economic development planning, attract investment and ensure sustainable mineral exploitation, Deputy Minister Tran Quy Kien emphasized.

Localities also need to increase the application of information technology and digital transformation in mineral resource management; improve monitoring capacity, promptly detect and prevent illegal mining activities, and protect natural resources and the environment. On the part of state management agencies, relevant units need to continue to conduct in-depth investigations of areas with deep mineral potential and expand the scope of research to clarify more promising areas; focus on training and improving the professional capacity of local geological staff, ensuring access to and proficient use of the new mineral data system.

According to Deputy Minister Tran Quy Kien, the Northwest is not only a strategic border area of ​​the country, but also a rich and diverse mineral resource warehouse. However, in recent times, the valuable mineral potential has not been properly exploited due to the lack of accurate and synchronous scientific data. The completion of the Project "General mineral survey and completion of the 1:50,000 scale geological map of the Northwest region to serve the planning of sustainable socio-economic development" or the Northwest Project not only helps clarify the potential of mineral resources, but also provides detailed, updated and standardized geological maps to serve the management, planning, effective mineral exploitation and sustainable development of localities.

At the conference, Mr. Tran Binh Trong, Director of the Department of Geology and Minerals of Vietnam, said that the Northwest Project has exceeded 200% of the approved target. With 110 mines of 25 types of precious and important minerals newly discovered during the project implementation process - this is a significant and important source of mineral materials providing for industries and localities in socio-economic development if exploited, processed and used in the coming time. The Northwest Project has also completed the investigation and mapping of geology and minerals at a scale of 1:50,000 on a total area of ​​13,081 km2, contributing to basically covering the 1:50,000 scale geological map of the Northwest region; clarifying the geological structure and geological development history of the region, discovering many mineral manifestations and delineating many areas with mineral potential...

In the coming time, the Vietnam Geology and Minerals sector will continue to provide technical support and transfer data to help localities effectively exploit their survey resources; continue to conduct in-depth surveys in areas with deep mineral deposits and supplement surveys as directed by the Ministry. At the same time, support the improvement of management capacity and training of local officials in the use of the transferred geological and mineral databases.

(According to Tin Tuc Newspaper)

Source: https://baoyenbai.com.vn/12/347963/De-an-Tay-Bac-Phat-hien-them-110-mo-khoang-san-quy-quan-trong.aspx