The nui phao tungsten fluorite copper gold bismuth deposit, northern vietnam an opportunity for sustainable development

Development of the mine is anticipated to bring the following benefits: remediation of serious pre-existing environmental conditions natural and anthropogenic heavy metal contamination a

The Nui Phao Tungsten-Fluorite-Copper-Gold-Bismuth Deposit, Northern

Vietnam: An Opportunity for Sustainable Development

J.P RICHARDS Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E3

T DANG, S.F DUDKA Tiberon Minerals Ltd.

Hanoi, Vietnam M.L WONG Knight Piesold Ltd.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 2T8

Received December 3, 2002; accepted March 3, 2004.

Abstract — The Nui Phao W-F-Cu-Au-Bi deposit is located in one of the poorest regions of

north-ern Vietnam The deposit is currently undergoing a pre-feasibility study by Tiberon Minerals Ltd.,

with a view to developing what would be the largest WO 3 mine and one of the five largest fluorite

mines in the world The project is being planned in close compliance with World Bank and national

guidelines for environmental and social protection Development of the mine is anticipated to bring

the following benefits: remediation of serious pre-existing environmental conditions (natural and

anthropogenic heavy metal contamination and acid rock drainage); provision of employment and

training, and thereby wealth, to local communities; significant tax and royalty payments to

govern-ment, which will be reinvested as social spending; and development of municipal and industrial

infrastructure to build sustainable post-mining communities The role of governments at all levels is

critical in guiding and facilitating this process This paper was written prior to development of the

mine, and relays the intentions of the developers Future studies will be needed to evaluate the degree

of attainment of sustainable development objectives, both during mine operation and after closure.

© 2004 Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum All rights reserved.

Introduction

The Nui Phao deposit contains a calculated resource of

87.9 Mt at 0.19% WO3, 7.95% CaF2, 0.18% Cu, 0.19 g/t Au,

and 0.09% Bi, including a measured resource of 25.1 Mt at

0.25% WO3, 8.4% CaF2, 0.23% Cu, 0.26 g/t Au, and 0.108%

Bi (based upon calculations done by AMEC E&C Services

Ltd in October 2003 using a 0.2% WO3equivalent cut-off)

When in production (planned for 2006) it is expected to rank

as the largest WO3mine and one of the five largest fluorite

mines in the world; Cu, Au, and Bi will also be recovered as

economically important by-products The deposit is being

explored by a Canadian junior mining company, Tiberon

Minerals Ltd (70% project ownership), in joint venture with

two local partners (15% each), and, if approved for

develop-ment, will be the first internationally developed metallic

mine in Vietnam

The property is located near the town of Dai Tu in Thai

Nguyen province, approximately 80 km north of Hanoi

(Fig 1), in an area of high unemployment (~30%) that

depends almost exclusively on agricultural small holdings

61

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producing tea and rice The advent of mining on the scale proposed by the project investors brings the opportunity for unprecedented social and economic development In addi-tion, the mine plan includes proposals to clean up serious pre-existing pollution, including acid rock drainage and heavy metal contamination, caused by decades of artisanal mining in the area The environmental impact of the mine is therefore planned to be an improvement compared with existing conditions

The mine plan and implementation process described herein is intended to result in sustainable development using mine-generated wealth as a driving mechanism The authors believe that this can be achieved through the confluence of a willing investor group, careful planning and consultation with stakeholders, receptive and empowered local commu-nities, and a facilitating and forward-looking state and provincial legal structure

This paper first reviews the political and relevant legal structure of Vietnam, then describes the geology of the Nui Phao deposit and the mining plan, and concludes with an assessment of anticipated outcomes and impacts

Vietnam’s Political Structure and Mining Laws

Levels of Government

Vietnam is divided into fifty-seven provinces and four

city administrations Government is highly centralized,

although in recent years devolution of power from central

government to local “People’s Committees” has increased

People’s Committee is the term used to refer to the

govern-ment of a province, district, city, town, commune, or ward

The various People’s Committees exercise authority over

those matters delegated to them by the central government,

and enforce its laws and decrees

Taxes are paid directly to the central government in

Hanoi, which assesses target revenues for the provinces and

reimburses them accordingly Royalties from operations

such as mining, however, remain within the province even if

the province is a net recipient of central aid The provincial

People’s Committee thus has primary control on the

distrib-ution of funds within its jurisdiction

Administration of the Mineral Sector

The Ministry of Industry (MOI) has been the primary

State body charged with overseeing mineral resources in

Vietnam since the enactment of the Mineral Law in 1996 Recently, however, the new Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) has been set up to take over the mineral portfolio of the MOI, as well as monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Law on Environmental Protection (Government of Vietnam, 1994; approved by the National Assembly on December

27, 1992, and issued according to order 29-1/CTN of the State Chairman, January 19, 1994) The MNRE is empowered to manage all aspects of the mining industry including issuing licences, and cedes authority to provin-cial People’s Committees only in matters relating to small-scale mining by local Vietnamese concerns How-ever, much of the responsibility for day-to-day adminis-tration is delegated to subordinate bodies, such as the Department of Geology and Minerals, and the Mineral Reserve (and Resource) Evaluation Council The latter body is responsible for the certification of calculated geo-logical resource or reserve estimates before an applica-tion for an extracapplica-tion license or mine expansion is sub-mitted Its findings serve as the legal basis for relevant state bodies to inspect exploration and extraction activi-ties and to protect mineral resources and the environment Responsibility for undertaking environmental inspections and monitoring programs is typically delegated to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Envi-ronment (DNRE)

Fig 1 Map of northern Vietnam showing the location of the Nui Phao W-F-Cu-Au-Bi deposit near the town of Dai Tu, in Thai Nguyen province.

People’s Committee And thirdly, although the MNRE (through the Department of Geology and Minerals) is charged with the duty of evaluating license applications, rel-evant provincial People’s Committees must be consulted whenever a feasibility study is to be evaluated

Mineral Rights

Mineral rights in Vietnam flow from a license system, rather than the claim-staking system found in Canada, the United States, and other common-law jurisdictions The mineral legislation creates four categories of “mineral activities”: prospecting, exploration, extraction, and pro-cessing Each of these activities requires a specific license which must be applied for separately There is no auto-matic progression between one license and the next, except

to a limited extent in the transition from an exploration license to an extraction license Licenses are issued for land areas rather than particular mineral commodities, although applications must specify which minerals will be sought or extracted

Similar to other jurisdictions, each license permits its holder to carry out certain activities, and obliges the holder

to carry out those activities in accordance with general and specific terms stipulated in the mineral regime and in com-pliance with other relevant laws In particular, extraction licenses include obligations to clean up the mine site after expiry or termination of the license

Sustainable Development in Vietnam

The government of Vietnam signed a United Nations agreement on environmental issues in 1995, but has since recognized the additional importance of social, economic, and political development issues, which together make up the broader understanding of sustainable development (e.g., Veiga et al., 2001; MMSD, 2002; Richards, 2002, 2003; Wellmer and Becker-Platen, 2002)

Environmental Management in Vietnam for the next infrastructure building phase is outlined in “A National Strategy for Environmental Protection 2001-2010” and a companion five-year Action Plan (2001–2005), as well as in decisions made during the Ninth Party Congress (March 2001) Vietnamese environmental policy is articulated in the National Plan for Sustainable Development and Envi-ronment, which advocates satisfying the basic material, spiritual and cultural needs of current and future genera-tions of Vietnamese people through the sustainable man-agement of natural resources by enforcement of policies, action plans, and institutional frameworks The policy objectives include broad guidelines for ecological preserva-tion, conservation of abundance and richness of biogenetic diversity, ensuring sustainable use of resources, managing population growth and distribution within Vietnam’s

nat-Article 17 of the Law on Environmental Protection

requires that existing facilities and new investments prepare

environmental impact assessment reports, including

moni-toring plans and mitigation measures More specifically,

articles 7, 33, and 35 of the Mineral Law (Government of

Vietnam 1996; approved by the National Assembly in 1996

— IX Legislature, 9th Session, March 2–20, 1996; see

www.mmaj.go.jp/mmaj_e/asianlaw/vietnam.html) require:

• protection of the interests of people living in the

vicin-ity of mining or mineral processing operations;

• budgeting for socio-economic development and

miti-gation of social impacts (i.e., resettlement plans);

• protection and rehabilitation of the local environment; and

• environmental impact assessment and an

environmen-tal health and safety plan

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) guidelines in

Vietnam are in an evolving state but provide general

guid-ance for a two-step approval process The first step is to

sub-mit a preliminary EIA along with the engineering

prefeasi-bility report to allow screening and direction by appropriate

authorities for three main areas:

1 the current state of the environment in the project area;

2 the impact on the environment and proposed mitigation

measures for environmental protection; and

3 general information on the project

If deemed necessary, an evaluation council or

stake-holder group of up to nine members (scientists, managers,

social organizations, local citizens) appointed by the head of

a relevant agency will evaluate the report, and may call upon

experts from academia, other institutes, ministries, or

departments (e.g., Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

Devel-opment, General Department of Land Administration)

In the second step, feedback from the evaluation

coun-cil is incorporated into a full-scale EIA, where specific

envi-ronmental impact statements and project alternatives are

detailed A performance bond as security for environmental

reclamation is required from the extraction license holder

Fines for violation of environmental regulations may be

issued by the DNRE However, monies from such fines are

currently deposited into general revenues and are not

avail-able for remediation purposes

The Role of People’s Committees

The People’s Committees of the provinces and the more

important cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are

autho-rized to issue extraction licenses for common construction

materials However, this authority does not extend to the

granting of licenses to foreign investors, who must apply to

the MNRE for all mineral licenses Nevertheless, the

provin-cial People’s Committees have authority in several areas

rel-evant to the mining industry Firstly, they administer and

enforce environmental, labor, and land legislation in their

respective territories Secondly, the boundaries of an area

covered by a mineral license must be approved by the local

ural carrying capacity, and ensuring adequate living

stan-dards for the Vietnamese people

Many laws, including those relating to mining and

labor, now include provisions for sustainable development,

typically as a prerequisite for the granting of licenses

How-ever, experience in the enactment of these laws is limited,

and the widespread use of old mining technologies restricts

the capacity for implementation, particularly in the metals

mining sector which is relatively undeveloped Lack of

edu-cation and understanding of the importance of sustainable

development issues in the communities is a further

impedi-ment to impleimpedi-mentation, and illegal artisanal mining is

responsible for widespread and serious environmental

degradation It is intended that the Nui Phao project will

assist in the reversal of these trends by introducing modern

technologies, and by providing employment for and training

of local artisanal miners in proper mining techniques

The central government is committed to establishing an

effective framework for mine development, not least in

order to avoid the types of environmental problems that have

arisen from over a century of coal mining in northern

Viet-nam (e.g., Nguyen and Nguyen, 2001), but also because

these policies can be applied to other areas, such as the

pro-posed large-scale development of bauxite mining in Dak

Lak province to the south

It is at the district level that the impact of development

is felt most, and local government agencies are aware both

of the risk and potential benefits that a large mining project

will bring The need to relocate people from affected areas

is the most direct impact, and a well-defined system for

assessing financial compensation based on the value of

affected land and property already exists in law (Decree 22,

Prime Ministerial Decision 219/1999/QD-TTg, November

1999; Ministry of Finance Circular No 76/2000/TT-BTC)

This code requires that investors provide employment

prior-ity and/or retraining for displaced people, as well as

finan-cial compensation for the costs of acquiring new land,

relo-cating, rebuilding, and loss of earnings for up to six months

The company must also contribute to the costs of

infrastruc-ture improvements (e.g., housing, roads, power, and clean

water) and upgrading of social and economic institutions

(e.g., medical clinics, hospitals, markets, entertainment and

sport facilities, and schools), although the local government

has the responsibility for implementing these measures

Mine development thus has the potential to bring substantial

benefits to the community, including improved

infrastruc-ture as well as employment opportunities during both the

construction and mining phases of the operation

Tax and royalty payments, if reinvested by government

in the affected region, would bring improvements in social

infrastructure such as education and health care, which are

the cornerstones of any long-term (i.e., sustainable)

devel-opment program To this end, the Thai Nguyen provincial

government has enacted a strategic plan to develop industry

in the province through to 2010 Mining is one sector of

interest, but light industry, manufacturing (clothing,

footwear, and mechanical, agricultural, and forestry prod-ucts), crafts, and service industries are also being pursued A major investment such as the proposed Nui Phao mine could provide the springboard for such long-term growth and pros-perity in the region, sustainable beyond the initial mining-led growth

The Nui Phao W-F-Cu-Au-Bi Deposit

Mining and Exploration History

The Dai Tu area has been a focus for artisanal mining

of tin and minor gold for several decades Tin (as cassiterite)

is recovered from regionally widespread veins, which also carry abundant sulfides, most notably arsenopyrite (the source of pervasive arsenic contamination of groundwaters) Mine waste dumps and tailings ponds are widely scattered throughout the area, and environmental baseline studies have detected surface water acidities as low as pH 2.7, and arsenic levels as high as 109 ppm in well waters (based on samples from six wells)

Geologists from Tiberon Minerals Ltd were first attracted to the area in 1997 by this artisanal mining activ-ity, and by the presence of large gossanous zones visible from the road Exploration has consisted of geological map-ping, ground geophysics (magnetic and induced polarization surveys), soil geochemistry, and over 16 500 m of diamond core drilling (as of October 2002) The Nui Phao deposit coincides with a strong, WNW-trending, positive magnetic anomaly, which extends for over 2 km in length and 400 m

to 500 m width Drilling has confirmed polymetallic miner-alization along 1.3 km of this strike length, but the zone is open along strike in both directions

At the time of writing a pre-feasibility study is being prepared, consisting of an assessment of ore reserves, pre-liminary mine plan (including processing operations and tail-ings scheme), and environmental and social baseline studies

Nui Phao Deposit Geology

Nui Phao is a pyrometasomatic W-F-Cu-Au-Bi deposit with both skarn and greisen characteristics, formed near the contact between a two-mica granite of presumed Late Cre-taceous age (the Da Lien granite) and Ordovician-Silurian sediments of the Phu Ngu Formation (Hai et al., 2003) Cross-cutting relationships in drill core demonstrate that the Phu Ngu Formation has undergone two stages of granitic intrusion, the first being emplacement of the biotite-rich Nui Phao granite in the Late Triassic (inferred), followed by the

Da Lien intrusion The two intrusions, Nui Phao to the south and Da Lien to the north, effectively sandwich the package

of Phu Ngu Formation sedimentary rocks (Fig 2) The Phu Ngu Formation consists of micaceous shale, sandstone,

silt-stone, marble, and siliceous rock, and is the host to much of

the mineralization

The distribution of mineralization, especially the

W-flu-orite mineralization, is most clearly related to the Da Lien

granite contact (Fig 3), but the prior involvement of the Nui

Phao granite has not been ruled out Because of the more

mafic, granodioritic character of the Nui Phao intrusion, it is

conceivable that this pluton was responsible for early

intro-duction of Cu-Au-Bi mineralization, which was

subse-quently reworked and overprinted by W-F-rich fluids from

the leucocratic Da Lien granite This could explain the

somewhat unusual metal association of the deposit

The orebody occurs as skarns and greisens formed both

internally and externally to the steeply dipping Da Lien

gran-ite contact (Fig 3) Early metasomatic rocks consist of

pyroxene-(garnet) skarn, retrograde

amphibole-biotite-(danalite) skarn, calc-silicate hornfels, marble, and

mag-netite-(danalite) skarn (Danalite is a beryllium-iron silicate

mineral.) Granitic and pegmatitic dikes and sills intrude the

sedimentary rocks, and are similarly metasomatized

Albite-fluorite greisenization accompanied by biotite and pyrrhotite

overprints the skarn alteration in a halo around the Da Lien

granite contact, and quartz stockworks are also present The

polymetallic mineralization is best developed in the

greis-enized rocks, and consists of fluorite, scheelite (rare

wol-framite), native gold, chalcopyrite, native bismuth, and bis-muthinite Other minor phases are allanite, cassiterite, and rare molybdenite and Pb-Zn sulfides Much of the ore is truly polymetallic with all ore minerals occurring together, but scheelite and fluorite also occur independently from the Cu-Au-Bi mineralization in some zones Detailed geological and paragenetic studies have not been undertaken to date

Preliminary Mine Plan

The Nui Phao deposit is characterized by uniformly high grades of mineralization, amenable to a relatively sim-ple open pit mining operation with a low stripping ratio (waste:ore approximately 1:1) Current plans indicate a final pit size of 1.2 km by 0.8 km, but the deposit is open in its long dimension offering the potential for extension or even underground development The processing plant will be located 0.5 km away from the pit, built on firm Nui Phao granite bedrock

A multi-step processing stream is envisaged, with each stage recovering a component of the ore Sulfides will be separated by flotation from a coarse primary grind, fol-lowed by regrinding and flotation to recover a copper con-centrate containing significant amounts of gold Bismuth Fig 2 Outline geological map of the Nui Phao W-F-Cu-Au-Bi deposit Skarn and greisen mineralization are developed near the contact between the Cretaceous two-mica Da Lien granite and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Phu Ngu Formation.

will be recovered by gravity concentration of the sulfide

separate Gravity treatment of the sulfide tailings will be

used to recover scheelite, which will be further

concen-trated by flotation; additional scheelite recovery will be

achieved by regrinding and scavenger circuits Finally, a

high-grade fluorite concentrate will be floated from the

scheelite flotation tailings

The handling of waste rock and tailings are of prime

concern to the mine planners A quarter of the anticipated 60

Mt of waste material (consisting of sulfide tailings and

sul-fide-rich rock) is potentially acid-generating, and will be

buried in a carefully designed valley-enclosed tailings

impoundment Non-acid-generating waste rock not used for

construction will be piled in front of the retaining dam to

buttress it At the end of mine life, the tailings area will be

consolidated and capped with clay and topsoil to isolate it

from groundwater leaching The pit will be partially

back-filled to prevent leaching and then flooded

A road and railway run across the top of the deposit, and both will have to be re-routed Plans for this re-routing, the siting of all mine facilities, and the relocation of affected com-munities will be included in the pre-feasibility study and EIA Various options are being considered for shipping mine products to port for export, including road and rail; the close proximity of a railway line makes the latter option the most favorable from an environmental and public safety perspective The mine is currently estimated to have a life of approx-imately 20 years, but indications of more extensive resources

in the area could extend this life span considerably

Anticipated Outcomes of Project Development

The following section describes how the planned min-ing operation might contribute to sustainable development

in the Dai Tu region Because at the time of writing the

pro-Fig 3 Cross-section (18569080E: see pro-Fig 2 for location) through the Nui Phao deposit, showing the development of various skarn and greisen facies at the contact between the Da Lien granite and the Phu Ngu Formation sedimentary rocks The Da Lien granite appears partially to envelop the package of sedimentary rocks at this location, which may account for the unusually intense meta-somatism and mineralization Long intervals of high-grade WO 3 mineralization are highlighted on drill hole projections.

Health Organization (WHO) standards by up to 10 times (WHO, 1993)

A human health risk assessment is currently underway

to assess the pre-existing impact of current conditions on the local community, and is scheduled for completion in mid-December 2003 Preliminary results show that current envi-ronmental conditions are seriously contaminated with abnormally high levels of As and Pb, as well as other asso-ciated metals Concentrations of As in soils, groundwater, and biota currently exceed acceptable human health stan-dards and the community is at serious risk of cancer and other illnesses (e.g., toxicity values defined by CCME,

1999, and WHO, 1993) Acceptable risks in North America for individuals developing cancer-related illness from As range from 1:100,000 (Canada) to 1:1,000,000 (United States) Preliminary results suggest that pre-existing risk in the Nui Phao project area is close to 1:20 on average (Shum, 2003) This risk factor does not include cumulative effects from other metals of concern, such as Pb, Be, Cr, and is thus considered to be a conservative value This preliminary result underscores the potential benefits that international project development could bring to the local community through environmental remediation

The pre-feasibility mine plan includes capacity to reclaim or remediate lands previously contaminated by arti-sanal workings This action would include identification, removal, and burial of acid-generating waste rock and tail-ings (which are scattered throughout the project area) in an engineered tailings facility In addition, pre-existing contam-inated areas would be incorporated into the area of the mine plan where possible Thus, the mine is planned to have a net positive impact on the existing environmental conditions Ensuring the environmentally safe handling of mined products and wastes is central to the mine plan, and the site will be developed according to a policy of progressive reha-bilitation, world best practice, and integration of environ-mental aspects into all aspects of its business

A key aspect of the environmental management plan will be to ensure that local authorities acknowledge the pre-existing environmental conditions However, the provincial environmental monitoring station responsible for the Nui Phao area currently has little capacity to conduct a rigorous monitoring program or evaluate an EIA Equipment and lab-oratory facilities were provided by the Danish International Development Agency in the late 1990s, but the follow-up training program was cancelled due to funding cutbacks The Nui Phao Project plans to support proposals for a capac-ity building program for the provincial monitoring station The benefits of this support include increased buy-in from local authorities, and building long-term capacity for self-management in the future

Closure, reclamation, and post-closure planning are critical issues for mine development around the world (Smith and Underwood, 2000; Laurence, 2001; MMSD, 2002) Planning for closure is most effective when it is inte-grated during mine development planning, and closure

plan-ject is only at the pre-feasibility stage, these ideas constitute

objectives Whether or not these objectives are achieved

depends on the actual way in which the project is developed

and by whom, and the actions that various levels of

govern-ment actually take It will be instructive to compare results

in several years’ time with the objectives outlined below

Environmental Impacts

Biodiversity values for the Dai Tu midlands are

consid-ered relatively low due to large pre-existing land-use

impacts from agriculture, forest enterprises, and artisanal

mining A rapid biodiversity assessment (RBA) survey was

conducted by a specialist team from the National Institute of

Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) of the National

Center for Natural Science and Technology (NCST) in

November 2002 (Nguyen et al., 2002) Results showed that

the project would likely have little if any impact on current

land uses Most of the forest cover has been lost as a result

of forest exploitation and land clearing for agricultural

pur-poses The main threats to biodiversity at the site are

over-exploitation of firewood and timber, and forest clearance for

agriculture The vegetation of the Dai Tu midlands is

domi-nated by scrub and grassland, characterized by

Rhodomyr-tus tomentosa, Melatoma candidium, Cratoxylon spp., and

Eupatorium odoratum, typical of early successional habitats

following large disturbance (Scott, 1989) The primary

com-mercial crops are tea and eucaplyptus plantations grown on

the hill slopes Cassava, corn, sweet potato, rice, and other

vegetables are grown on the flat tillable areas No nationally

or globally threatened plant species are found in the area

(IUCN, 2000) Original fauna in the area had seriously

declined but is now recovering, although fauna abundance

and diversity is generally low

The flora and fauna of the Nui Phao Project area plays

an important role in environment protection (erosion

preven-tion, water source regulapreven-tion, climate regulation), ecological

functions (pollination, seed dispersal, etc.), and contribute to

the socioeconomic development of the area However, the

area does not play an important role in conservation of

threatened animals as the species identified are widespread,

the area has low abundance, and is sub-optimal habitat

The Nui Phao project site and surrounding area

cur-rently experience significant impacts from acid rock

drainage originating from the natural hydrogeology of the

area, as well as land disturbance from artisanal mining

activ-ities Metal concentrations in some areas represent a serious

environmental and human health hazard in relation to

drink-ing water, soil, sediment, and bioaccumulation within the

food chain Initial results of baseline studies show irrigation

waters and local drinking water sources (shallow dug wells)

to be characterized by low pH (3.2 to 6.6, n = 16), with

ele-vated concentrations of various metals including As, Sb, B,

Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, and Zn In particular, arsenic in

household drinking water wells locally exceeded World

ning should involve all mine facilities, including open pit,

waste rock storage areas, and tailings areas Mitigation and

remediation measures can be implemented progressively

(i.e., clean as you go) rather than waiting until the end of

mine life, when the operators may be presented with an

unmanageable long-term liability Consideration of

post-closure use of the property and the means to mitigate post-closure

impacts on local and regional economies will be included in

planning from the earliest stages of mine development

Social Impacts: General

Tiberon Minerals recognizes the importance of

stake-holder rights and community engagement, and its mine plan

includes the following norms and objectives:

• respect for values of the local community and a

com-mitment to ongoing consultation;

• open and honest description of the potential impact

associated with mining activities;

• support for capacity building, training, and

socio-eco-nomic initiatives;

• development and maintenance of a strong health and

safety leadership and culture;

• review, test, and audit performance of health and

safety programs;

• development of long-term relationships built on

mutual respect, trust, common objectives, consultation,

and consensus;

• comply with all statutory laws and regulations;

• prepare and develop closure and rehabilitation plans

from outset;

• employ non-skilled labor from the local area wherever

possible; and

• provision of training and education opportunities for

semi-skilled and skilled jobs

The mine plan includes working with local authorities

and other stakeholders in a participatory manner to ensure

that compensation plans, monitoring programs, and

mitiga-tion measures reflect the needs of the community

Social Impacts: Community Relocation

The Nui Phao mine will physically impact an area of

approximately 8 km2, and will encroach on the land of three

communes within the Dai Tu district Of these, the Ha

Thuong commune (1522 households) is likely to be most

affected, requiring relocation of up to 300 households The

welfare of these affected people is a primary concern to all

levels of government as well as the investors, and is

pro-tected by law The following steps will be undertaken to

compensate these individuals properly for the disturbance

Firstly, as noted above, direct financial compensation for

physical losses of land and assets will be awarded based on

an established formula; this process will be overseen by the

provincial Finance Department, and all award amounts are approved by the land/property owners Secondly, in partner-ship with the investors, assistance will be provided for relo-cation and retraining where jobs have been affected And thirdly, the investors will be expected to contribute to infra-structure development in the relocation area Selection of relocation areas will be overseen by the People’s Committee

of Thai Nguyen province, which will set up a compensation committee composed of various stakeholder representatives, including the district of Dai Tu, the three communes directly impacted by the development, and the Nui Phao joint ven-ture company

In addition to meeting national guidelines for compen-sations and relocation, the Nui Phao Project plans to meet World Bank standards for resettlement, including prepara-tion of a Resettlement Acprepara-tion Plan (IFC, 2002) In keeping with national guidelines, this plan will ensure that impacts

on the livelihoods of resettled people are positive over the long term through an assessment and monitoring program

In the broader community, multiple benefits are antici-pated from the mine project Provision of mine-related jobs

in an area of high unemployment and marginal farming will

be the most immediate benefit, but the government, in part-nership with the investors, plans to broaden these employ-ment opportunities through training and diversification, to ensure that the region will have a sustainable economy after mine after closure

Social Impacts: Community Infrastructure and Health

Natural contamination (high acidity and heavy metal content) of the soil and groundwater in the region has been exacerbated by local artisanal mining, which is mostly ille-gal This situation has already improved to some extent through law enforcement by district police, resulting in clo-sure of many local adits that were exploiting narrow but high-grade Sn-Cu-arsenopyrite vein mineralization in the Nui Phao granite located directly south of the greisen-skarn deposit However, acid rock drainage and improper disposal

of arsenopyrite-rich tailings from these operations has left a legacy of acidity and high metal content in soils and ground-waters, which exacerbates the natural condition As part of the EIA, medical assessment of the current health conditions

of local residents will quantify the magnitude of the metal poisoning of some individuals Then, once mining begins, it

is planned that many sites containing waste materials from earlier mining activities will be removed and confined in the mine’s secure tailings facility

As part of government’s contribution to sustainable development, it is expected that royalty payments will be reinvested in the community to pay for infrastructure pro-jects such as schools, hospitals, and roads A proposal to build a $1 million water purification system may be inte-grated into the design of a large facility to supply potable water both to the mine and the community The need for this

tal protection, and social protection and advancement, all supported by strong governance

Specific benefits that are planned to be derived from development of the Nui Phao deposit include: minimal new environmental impact and remediation of serious pre-existing environmental conditions; provision of much needed employment and training to local people; provision

of new infrastructure for social development (e.g., schools, hospitals, potable water, roads), both directly by the mine and indirectly through reinvestment by government of taxes and royalty payments; and provision of new infra-structure and opportunities for business development, which will form the foundation for sustainable communi-ties after the end of mine life

As described above, it is the investors intention to develop the Nui Phao project in accordance with sustain-able development principles However, it is recognized that achieving this goal requires delivery on the various aspects of the development plan by both the investors and government The project is at the pre-feasibility stage at this time, and it will be instructive to re-visit the project

at several points in the future, including after mine clo-sure, to assess the degree to which these objectives have been achieved

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the management of Tiberon Minerals Ltd for permission to publish this work, and for the support

of field studies They also thank the various representatives

of government at all levels, from Central to local People’s Committees, who took time to discuss and explain the vari-ous issues They are grateful to Tom Setterfield, Ian Thom-son, and Jim Franklin for critical reviews of the manuscript, and note that the final version probably still does not mea-sure up to their criticisms Perfectly sustainable develop-ment is probably an unachievable goal, but by docudevelop-menting and applying best practice in planning, followed by best practice in action, we will move toward that objective

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