The company has invested in modern, environmentally friendly mining technology.

The 2010 Mineral Law was born as a "breath of fresh air" for Ninh Thuan province. After 13 years of implementation, Ninh Thuan has achieved many important results. Putting mineral mines into public auction has raised a large budget for the State, contributing to socio-economic development, creating jobs and income for many local workers. However, over the time of implementation, the Mineral Law has revealed some shortcomings. TN&MT Newspaper reporter had an interview with Mr. Le Huyen - Vice Chairman of Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee about this issue.

b1.-ong-le-huyen.jpg — Mr. Le Huyen - Vice Chairman of Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee

PV: Could you tell us about the mineral exploitation situation in Ninh Thuan before the 2010 Mineral Law took effect?

Mr. Le Huyen: According to the published Geological - Mineral documents and mineral planning documents, minerals distributed in Ninh Thuan are mainly minerals used as common construction materials, such as: construction stone, split stone, construction sand, filling materials, brick clay; some other high-value minerals such as: titanium, tin, mineral water, paving stones but mainly on a small scale.

Before the 2010 Mineral Law took effect, mineral exploitation activities in the province mainly focused on minerals used as common construction materials such as construction stone, split stone, construction sand and filling materials. The scale, capacity, and reserves were small and the exploitation technology was simple. In many cases, exploitation was done manually. The time for granting mining licenses was short and the licenses were granted mainly without exploration, so the licensed mineral reserves were not reliable; the annual exploitation output was low, so the local budget revenue from mineral activities was low.

Reporter: After the 2010 Mineral Law took effect, how did the province implement it and what impact did mineral exploitation have on socio-economic development, sir?

Mr. Le Huyen: Immediately after the 2010 Mineral Law took effect, the province synchronously deployed many contents and measures to contribute to improving the effectiveness of state management of minerals in the province, such as: Promoting propaganda and dissemination of mineral laws to contribute to raising awareness of the law as well as the roles and responsibilities of all levels, sectors, organizations and people in mineral management and protection;...

In addition, the province has directed the development and approval of the Mineral Planning; delimited areas where mineral activities are prohibited or temporarily prohibited; delimited areas where mineral exploitation rights are not auctioned; auctioned mineral exploitation rights; approved the Plan to protect unexploited minerals according to the provisions of the Law on Minerals. In particular, on January 25, 2022, the Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution No. 21-NQ/TU on strengthening the Party's leadership in the management and effective use of land, mineral resources, and environmental protection until 2025, with a vision to 2030.

Up to now, the situation of mineral activities has gradually become orderly, complying with legal regulations, limiting and gradually ending the situation of small-scale, fragmented licensing; withdrawing or terminating ineffective mines. Licensed mines must conduct exploration and approve reserves; enterprises must invest in modern, advanced, and environmentally friendly mining technology to effectively exploit resources; the work of granting mineral exploitation licenses through auctioning mining rights has also been promoted.

ninh-thuan-cam-hoat-dong-khoang-san-tren-1236-vi-tri-35-.4772.jpg

Post-inspection and supervision of mining activities and mining output after licensing have been closely and promptly implemented; inspection, examination and handling of violations in mineral activities have been strengthened, strictly and drastically, contributing to the socio-economic development of the province, increasing revenue for the local budget, creating jobs, and minimizing negative impacts caused by mineral activities.

PV: Could you tell us about the difficulties in implementing the Mineral Law in the province and solutions?

Mr. Le Huyen: In addition to the achieved results, some regulations in the 2010 Mineral Law also revealed some shortcomings in the management practice at the local level, such as: Regulations on reserves used to calculate fees for granting mineral exploitation rights as geological reserves are not suitable.

The law does not have specific regulations and instructions on the order and procedures for granting mineral exploitation licenses in cases of losing the priority right to grant licenses according to Clause 1, Article 45 of the 2010 Law on Minerals; it does not have regulations on the form of handling violations in cases of not submitting mining license applications when winning auctions in areas without exploration results.

Regulations on the CEO being only allowed to manage one mineral mine, regulations on procedures for granting mineral operation licenses are still cumbersome, time-consuming, and not suitable for many types of minerals, especially minerals used as common construction materials and simple technology mining...

To thoroughly resolve the above difficulties, in the coming time, the province will direct departments, branches, sectors, and districts to continue to promote propaganda, dissemination, and education of mineral laws to clearly see the position and role of the mining industry in the overall development of the province, and the rights, obligations, and responsibilities in managing, protecting, and exploiting, using mineral resources reasonably, economically, effectively, and sustainably.

Review and research to specify mechanisms and policies to develop the mining industry in the direction of using advanced, modern, and environmentally friendly technology; Organize the auction of mineral exploitation rights, collect fees for granting mineral exploitation rights to avoid loss of revenue and select enterprises with experience, capacity, advanced technology, environmentally friendly, creating products of high economic value...

PV: Thank you very much!

Source