VietNamNet Bridge – The investor and contractor of the Tan Rai bauxite project in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong on November 6 told the National Assembly’s working group that they had agreed to adjust the design of the red mud reservoir to heighten its safety after the incident in Hungary.

The National Assembly's working group at the construction site of Tan Rai bauxite mining project.

The working group of the National Assembly and the government, led by Dr. Dang Vu Minh, Chair of the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, spent a lot of time to survey the site for red mud reservoir in the morning of November 6.

The investor, Vietnam Coal and Mineral Group (Vinacomin) said that some major works like the alumina and the thermo-power plants have been completed. Tan Rai will start producing alumina in April 2011.

Vinacomin representative told the working group that by the end of October 2010, around 90 percent of the equipment were imported, worth around $240 million.

According to the investor, the construction of the alumina plant is being carried out according to the scheduled pace but the assembling of equipment is slower. The construction of the ore refinery is also slow owing to delayed site clearance and other reasons.

Vinacomin said that the thermo-power plant will run on a trial basis in late November while the alumina plant will operate experimentally in March 2011. It also said that the Tan Rai bauxite project will operate at around 12 percent of profit.

Vinacomin officials also guaranteed the safety of the red mud reservoir, saying that one more dam will be built.

“If the reservoir is broken, I will be ready to go to jail,” stated engineer Tran Van Trach, who was introduced by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang as the leading expert on alumina in Vietnam.

Trach said he and foreign experts began surveying the Tan Rai project in 2001. The wet mud treatment technology used at Tan Rai is much more modern than the one used in Hungary.

Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Science, Technology and Environment Committee Nghiem Vu Khai said he was confident that the country's bauxite projects were safe after completing an inspection trip.

According to Khai, the projects' locations are quite favourable for bauxite mining and the red sludge that is producedas side-effect, is being safely contained..

The mine's waste will be stored in reservoirs within an enclosed valley far from residential areas and large river basins. The reservoirs are divided into multiple compartments so that there are additional storing compartments.

The compartments' dykes are said to be able to withstand earthquakes that register a 7 on the Richter magnitude scale.

A contingency dyke has been built 100 metres away from the last red sludge reservoir dyke to prevent the toxic waste from leaking into the valley.

"It's not until the red sludge reservoirs meet all required technical standards that the plant will begin operating," said Khai.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment set up an environmental task force to monitor the two bauxite projects in the Central Highlands.

The task force will inspect the sites on a quarterly basis to ensure that the projects are adhering to the country's strict environmental regulations.

PV