VietNamNet Bridge -  Vietnam can exploit coal on the Red River basin on a trial basis with UCG technology (underground coal gasification), and If it is not successful, it should forget about the coal basin, scientists say.

Under the coal industry development plan, Vietnam would run pilot projects with both undermining and UCG methods in some explored areas of the Red River coal basin.

It is expected that by 2020, Vietnam would build new coal sifting plants, while the Khe Than ore sorting plant would be upgraded to increase capacity to 5 million tons per annum from 2.5 million per annum in 2021-2030.

Scientists have voiced their concern about the feasibility of the plan to exploit coal on the Red River basin.

Truong Duc Du, deputy head of the Mining Technology Institute, also said that the plan was ‘quite unfeasible’.

Nguyen Thanh Son, former director of the Management Board of the Coal Projects in Red River Delta, an arm of Vinacomin, the national coal miner, commented that there were too many problems in the plan.

Vietnam can exploit coal on the Red River basin on a trial basis with UCG technology (underground coal gasification), and If it is not successful, it should forget about the coal basin, scientists say.

Regarding the exploitation methods mentioned, Son affirmed that underground mining was not feasible because of the complicated geological conditions of the Red River Delta.

There is much water in the Red River, but it is not on a coal bearing layer. The soil is soft and spongy which will make it easy to dig, but braziers will not be able to stand firmly.

The key problem now is finding a suitable technology to exploit coal without causing bad effects to water resources, the earth's surface and agricultural production.

However, to date, no experiment has been carried out in the Red River Delta.

Son does not believe that Vietnam can begin exploiting coal on the Red River basin in five years because the Delta is densely populated with tens of millions of people. This will make it uneasy to organize exploitation, while it will be risky to ‘exchange rice for coal’.

If Vietnam insists on exploiting coal from the Red River basin, it should try the UCG technology. “If the technology cannot help, it would be better to forget about the coal basin,” Son commented.

Meanwhile, if Vietnam utilizes UCG, it will need to cooperate with foreign partners.

Nguyen Dinh Hoe from VACNE (the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment) warned against the coal exploitation on the Red River basin, saying that Red River Delta is a low-lying area with brown coal structure, and if billions of tons of coal are exploited, it would become empty. 

If so, subsidence will occur, paving the way for saltwater to intrude, which will lead to severe consequences to the environment.

Dat Viet