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Attracting attention: a worker transporting dredged sand and gravel along the Perfume River in Hue, Vietnam.
Jessica Roberts |
On 1 July 2011, the Vietnamese government introduced a controversial new mining law in an effort to make the country more attractive to foreign investors, while improving conditions for the local population.
Several presentations at IM’s inaugural Vietnamese Industrial Minerals conference, held 28-29 June in Hanoi, addressed the implications of the new law - and with not all of these in agreement, they pretty accurately reflected the mood of delegates in attendance.
Although none of the delegates argued against the obvious benefits of the new law - including longer exploration licences and a subsequent priority right to acquire mineral mining licences, in addition to a tougher stance on illegal mining - the room was split over the addition of the auction process, under which...