Lam Dong and the goal of becoming the national aluminum capital

Lam Dong bauxite - alumina - aluminum industry is opening up many prospects for strong breakthroughs, towards becoming the national aluminum industrial center.

Huge reserves

The national plan for exploration, exploitation, processing and use of minerals for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, shows that Lam Dong owns the largest bauxite reserves in the country.

Lam Dong currently has great strength in bauxite reserves (PRINT NEWSPAPER)

Of which, in Dak Nong (old) there are currently 29 bauxite mines, with reserves reaching nearly 1.8 million tons of raw material. Lam Dong (old) owns 22 mines, with reserves of about 675 million tons.

The first links in the journey of aluminum production in Vietnam are the investment chain of projects of the Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group (TKV) in recent times.

Specifically, TKV is currently operating stably two alumina complexes Tan Rai and Nhan Co. Each complex has a capacity of 650,000 tons of alumina/year. Notably, TKV was recently approved by the Prime Minister for the overall development project of the bauxite - alumina - aluminum industry until 2030, with a vision to 2045. A series of new projects will be implemented in Lam Dong with a total investment capital of up to hundreds of billions of USD.

Nhan Co Alumina Factory will increase capacity to 2 million tons/year (PRINT NEWSPAPER)

Notably, the plan to expand the Nhan Co alumina complex to 2 million tons/year; to build a new Dak Nong 2 bauxite - alumina - aluminum complex with a capacity of 2 million tons of alumina/year and 500,000 tons of aluminum/year.

Along with that, TKV also plans to invest in expanding the Tan Rai Bauxite - Aluminum Complex from a capacity of 650,000 tons to 2 million tons of aluminum/year and invest in a new Lam Dong Aluminum Electrolysis Plant with a capacity of 500,000 tons of aluminum ingots/year.

These are considered the most important conditions for forming on-site aluminum mining, processing and aluminum electrolysis industries, instead of just stopping at export as at present.

Tan Rai Alumina Factory has a capacity of 650,000 tons/year.

TKV Deputy General Director Nguyen Tien Manh said that the Group is currently actively preparing important resources for implementing projects in Lam Dong.

Regarding investment capital, TKV has reported to the owner for permission to increase charter capital by the end of 2025 from VND 35,000 billion to VND 42,000 billion. At the same time, it has worked with domestic and foreign credit institutions to prepare capital sources and ensure sufficient capital arrangements to implement projects.

TKV is preparing resources for project implementation in Lam Dong.

Regarding output, the unit currently has close relationships with alumina and aluminum users and large international trading companies, playing an important role in the alumina and aluminum import and export market such as: Japan, UAE, India... These are markets that will help consume the entire volume of alumina and aluminum in the coming time.

Regarding power sources, TKV has also carefully prepared to meet the production of 1 million tons of aluminum per year. This resource will contribute significantly to mobilizing aluminum electrolysis projects in the future.

TKV's Nhan Co bauxite project complex is one of the first links in the journey of aluminum production in Vietnam.

TKV Deputy General Director Nguyen Tien Manh commented: “The merger of provinces has helped us to be more convenient in overall planning, mobilizing resources, connecting infrastructure and resolving previous policy bottlenecks. This turning point will help the Vietnamese aluminum industry not only serve the domestic market, but also reach out to the world.”

Optimizing the aluminum value chain

The merger not only brings greater geographical scale, but also creates an “industrial super region” with full conditions to develop a closed value chain, from bauxite mining, alumina processing to aluminum electrolysis and finished product export.

Lam Dong will become a super industrial region with full conditions to develop a closed bauxite-aluminum-aluminum value chain.

In fact, alumina products are currently mainly exported in raw form to markets such as Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. Developing the domestic aluminum smelting industry will bring higher added value, reducing the current dependence on raw material exports.

“We have completed more than 90% of the journey. When the final product is produced, the value of bauxite will increase many times,” Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh emphasized at a recent working session in Dak Nong province (old).

Packaging of alumina products at Tan Rai Alumina Factory

Currently, the work of calling for investment in the bauxite - alumina - aluminum industry is being actively implemented with many projects worth billions of USD. In addition to the Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group, large enterprises such as Viet Phuong, Duc Giang Chemicals, Dong Bac, Truong Hai, as well as investors from Japan and Korea are promoting bauxite - alumina - aluminum complexes in Lam Dong.

In particular, the Dak Nong Aluminum Electrolysis Plant project with a capacity of 450,000 tons/year is being completed, which will utilize on-site alumina from the Nhan Co Alumina Plant to produce aluminum metal for supporting industries.

After the merger, the new Lam Dong will become the largest bauxite – alumina – aluminum center in the country. In addition to bauxite mining and alumina processing, products will be exported through Ke Ga seaport.

Lam Dong will have many opportunities to develop an ecosystem of training, production, and scientific research for the aluminum industry in the future.

At present, the locality participates in almost the entire value chain of the aluminum industry from mining, alumina processing, aluminum electrolysis and exporting products related to bauxite and aluminum.

In addition to industry, the province’s merger also opens up opportunities to develop an ecosystem of training, production, and scientific research. Lam Dong currently has a system of vocational schools, universities, and research institutes that can participate in training engineers, technicians, and technology experts for the aluminum industry in the future.

With rich resources, open policies, increasingly complete infrastructure and new position after merger, Lam Dong is ready to break through to become the strategic aluminum production capital of Vietnam.

The work of calling for investment in the bauxite – alumina – aluminum industry is being actively carried out. In addition to TKV, large enterprises such as Viet Phuong, Duc Giang Chemicals, Dong Bac, Truong Hai, as well as investors from Japan and Korea are promoting bauxite – alumina – aluminum complexes in Lam Dong.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/lam-dong-va-muc-tieu-thu-phu-nhom-quoc-gia-290735.html