Miners to dig deep to protect the environment

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Deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency Nguyen Van Thanh sheds some light on mining project developers’ responsibility towards the environment.

What responsibilities do mining project developers hold towards the environment?

Under existing law, developers of mining projects are required to draw projects on environmental rehabilitation at completion of mining activities. They are also obliged to deposit a certain sum as environmental rehabilitation costs at the Vietnam Environment Protection Fund under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) or the fund branches in areas accommodating mining projects when extraction is terminated.

However, current MoNRE regulations in this aspect are unclear, leading to low deposited amounts earmarked for environmental rehabilitation contributed businesses compared to the actual costs.

How are such environmental rehabilitation costs calculated?

It depends on actual mining conditions such as the mining site initial state or the earth and soil actual extraction volume, so calculating the environmental rehabilitation costs is very complicated.

Thereby, there does not exist a common formula for different sorts of mines.

Are environmental rehabilitation costs for Vietnam’s whole mining system tremendous?

That is right.

Formerly, we mandated a consulting firm to calculate the environmental rehabilitation cost of the whole mining system. However, statistics just covered some mining areas in northern Quang Ninh province whose environmental rehabilitation costs alone came to nearly VND7 trillion ($338.1 million).

Who will bear such a huge cost, Vinacomin or the state?

Under current law, Vinacomin will bear the huge cost.

However, in some cases it is rather difficult to define who will take in the responsibility such as for mines where mining activities have been taking place many years ago or for mines with no more extraction.

How do you define whether mining project developers complete environmental rehabilitation obligations? Has Vietnam completed a relevant legal framework?

As far as I know, it is currently almost impossible to legally certify whether developers of mining projects have completed their environmental rehabilitation obligations.

Theoretically, the task involves planting green trees, dealing with earth erosion and so on in order to restore local vegetation cover to its original state as it was before mining activities take place.

Who will be responsible to supervise mining project developers’ environmental rehabilitation obligations or penalise unobedient developers?

Some mines which were licensed by MoNRE are under its management. The remaining mines will be put under control by local departments of natural resources and environment.