Vietnam weighs $1 bln bauxite project with Alcoa http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-09-15T094915Z_01_HAN216685_RTRIDST_0_MINERALS-VIETNAM-ALCOA.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna
Fri Sep 15, 2006
HANOI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Vietnam's government is considering a $1 billion joint venture with U.S. aluminium producer Alcoa Inc. (AA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to mine bauxite and refine alumina in the Central Highlands, a provincial official said on Friday.
The project was submitted for government approval by state-run Vietnam National Coal-Minerals Industries Group, or Vinacomin, said Truong Van Hien, director of the Resources and Environment Department of Dak Nong province. U.S. aluminium producer Alcoa Inc. said in April that one of its affiliates signed a memorandum of understanding with Vinacomin to explore a venture to operate a bauxite mine and alumina refinery in Dak Nong's Gia Nghia district.
Vinacomin would have a 51 percent stake and Alcoa the remaining 49 percent in the venture, with first stage capacity between 1 million and 1.5 million tonnes per year.
If approved, construction of the bauxite mines and an alumina refinery would not affect coffee plantations in Dak Nong in Vietnam's key coffee-growing region.
"The coffee area to be affected by this project will be small, insignificant," Hien said.
Dak Nong has 87,000 hectares (215,000 acres) of coffee under plantation, the third-largest among Vietnam's five central highland provinces after Daklak and Lam Dong.
Vietnam's bauxite ore reserves are estimated at between 5.6 billion and 8.3 billion tonnes, the world's third-largest after Guinea and Australia and mostly unmined.
Bauxite is the raw material used for making alumina, a white powder for producing aluminium.
Most of the ore reserves are located in the Central Highlands where the country's mining industry has planned several bauxite projects.
In August, a study by Vietnam's Mining and Metallurgy Research Institute said Vinacomin was also looking to develop another bauxite project with Aluminium Corp. of China (2600.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) worth $1.4 billion in Dak Nong.
For a table of Vietnam's bauxite and alumina projects, please click on [ID:nHAN234527].
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