VietNamNet Bridge - Three other major shareholders of Thach Khe iron mine – the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), Song Da Corporation and the Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV) - have just completed the withdrawal of capital. The information was disclosed by the Deputy Director of the Department of Heavy Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on October 25.

Earlier, in July 2011, the Prime Minister asked four out of nine shareholders, including VNPT (contributed 4 percent of capital), Song Da Corporation  (5%), BIDV (5%) and the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) (5%) to disinvest from the Thach Khe iron mine project to focus on their core businesses.

In 2007, Thach Khe iron mine project was established with chartered capital of VND2.4 trillion ($120 million), contributed by the above four shareholders and 5 others – Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group (30%), Ha Tinh Mineral and Trade Corporation (24%), Vietnam Steel Corporation (20%), Binh Minh Production and Export Co., Ltd. (4%) and Thang Long Mineral and Metallurgy Corporation (3).

Caption: Vinashin, VNPT, BIDV and Song Da withdrew from Thach Khe iron mine project.

Mr. Bui Quang Chuyen, Deputy Director of the Heavy Industry Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said Thach Khe iron mine project will hold a shareholder meeting in early November to implement the restructuring and reorganization of production. To date, the project has not sold any ton of iron ore to the market.

Chuyen also said that though the Thach Khe iron mine is scheduled for exploitation in the next 2 - 3 years, a number of steel companies such as Hoa Phat, Thai Nguyen, Van Loi registered to buy iron ore from this mine.

The project had plans of exploiting around one million tons of iron ore every year, to earn about VND700 billion ($35 million) for reinvestment. In 2012, it planned to explore of around 200,000 tonnes.

However, Mr. Pham Chi Cuong, Chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), said some steel companies as Van Loi, Dinh Vu and Hoa Phat are facing difficulty in production so they cannot purchase ore from Thach Khe iron mine as previously planned.

Therefore, the consumption of Thach Khe’s iron ore may be difficult.

Thach Khe iron mine is considered the largest iron mine in South East Asia. It is located in the central province, with a total ore production of nearly 400 million tons.

TBKTSG