THE PRIME MINISTER

Decision No. 1388/QD-TTg of August 13, 2013, approving the master plan on basic geological survey of minerals through 2020, with orientations toward 2030

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to of November 17, 2010 L 60/2010/QH12 on Minerals;

Pursuant to Politburo Resolution No. NQ-TW of April 25, 2010, on the mineral strategy and mining industry orientations through 2020, with a vision toward 2030;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister s Decision No. 2427/QD-TTg of December 22, 2011, approving the mineral strategy through 2020, with a vision toward 2030;

Pursuant to the 2011-2020 socio-economic development strategy;

At the proposal of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment in Report No. 36/ TTr-BTNMT of May 7, 2013, and official Letter No. 2629/BTNMT-DCKS of July 10, 2013,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the master plan on basic geological surveys of minerals through 2020, and orientations toward 2030, with the following principal contents:

1. Viewpoints:

a/ To plan the survey and discovery of minerals together with the making of maps of area geology, hazard geology, environmental geology, marine geology and mineral resources, and geological and mineral research maps of 1:50,000 scale for the mainland and of 1:500,000 or larger for Vietnam’s maritime zones along with detailed surveys, aiming to clarify the structure, genesis and development of the earth’s crust to serve socio-economic development, national defense and security demands.

b/ To prioritize the assessment of the potential of each kind and group of important minerals, especially in geological settings with mineral prospect up to the depth of 500 m and 1,000 m in some regions so as to clarify the potential of each kind of mineral to serve mineral exploration, exploitation, processing and use and reasonable national mineral reserves;

c/ To step up detailed surveys of minerals with prospect in Vietnam’s maritime zones;

d/ To mobilize domestic resources in combination with international cooperation aiming to raise the technological level and increase investment funds and speed up the basic geological survey of minerals;

e/ The results of basic geological survey of minerals must actively serve the management of mineral resources in association with environmental protection and constitute important sources of data for forecast about and formulation of measures to control natural disasters in Vietnam, meeting the international integration requirements.

2. Objectives:

a/ To make geological and mineral survey maps

To complete the making of geological and minerals survey map of 1:50,000 scale in concentrated mineral areas and in association with regional economic development planning; mineral survey maps of 1:500,000 scale in association with detailed surveys of regions with mineral prospect in Vietnam’s maritime zones, to continue with surveys about geological hazards and environmental geology and geological research; to further clarify the geological settings and mineral distribution, and zone off areas with mineral prospect, serving as a basis for socio-economic development, national defense and security planning.

b/ Mineral assessment

By 2020, to complete the overall assessment of the potential of minerals, focusing on coal, iron, lead-zinc, gold, tin, manganese, radioactive ore, kaolin, felspat, walling and flooring stones and minerals of great domestic demands, which serves as a basis for planning mineral exploration to serve the sustainable development of the mineral exploitation and processing industry and national mineral reserve.

To invest in the assessment and discovery of new mines in favorable structures at the depth of up to 1,000 m and marine minerals at the depth of over 300 m.

c/ To enhance capacity and international cooperation

To raise the scientific and technological level: To step up research and training, renew equipment and use advanced technologies; to establish and consolidate a national geological and mineral database.

To formulate projects on basic geological survey of minerals, attaching importance to international cooperation for application of high technologies and large investment.

d/ Environmental protection

To establish a geological and mineral database by 2020, satisfying the formulation and application of measures for effective environmental protection and hazard prevention and control.

3. Tasks:

So far, the survey for making geological mineral maps of 1:50,000 scale has been completed on 196,000 km2, accounting for 57.37% of the mainland area; the survey for geological, geochemical, mineral and environmental maps of 1:500,000 scale at the depth of from 0 to 100 m underwater has been completed on 245,261 km2, representing 24.5% of the Vietnam’s maritime zones; a number of  onshore marine areas have been surveyed for making maps of 1:50,000 and 1,100,000 scales. This covers the following major tasks:

a/ To make geological and mineral survey maps; establish a geological and mineral database

-       To make geological and mineral survey maps

+ The period up to 2015:

To complete the making of geological and mineral survey maps of 1:50,000 scale, investigating and assessing geological hazard risks of 10 groups of sheets already made before 2010. To survey, assess and forecast areas prone to land slide and erosion. The mineral geological surveys of maritime zones will concentrate on tasks being underway and projected at stage I of the project on “detailed survey of mineral geology, hydrological geology, engineering geology, environmental geology and hazard geology on islands and sea areas adjacent to islands of Vietnam”, giving priority to islands of Truong Sa archipelago.

To survey the geological characteristics, geodynamics, mineral geology and environmental geology and forecast geological hazards in Binh Thuan- Ca Mau sea areas at the depth of 300 m underwater, at 1:500,000 scale. To research, survey and assess geological structures with hydrate gas prospect in Vietnamese maritime zones.

To conduct airborne magnetic and gamma spectrometric and gravity surveys at 1:50,000- 1:25,000 scale in western Nghe An. To conduct airborne magnetic and gamma spectrometric and gravity surveys of Vietnamese maritime zones.

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