Mining industry to modernise

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is one of the few countries maintaining an annual economic growth rate of around six percent and this growth has been the momentum for modernising its mineral sector, BT Tee, deputy head of the representative office of Singapore Exhibition Services, said.

Tee, who is also a member of the United Kingdom’s All World Exhibition Alliance, told the conference on improving safety in mining processes in Vietnam by improving technologies at the Mining Vietnam 2016 held in Hanoi on March 29, that the mineral sector has played an important role and is actively contributing to the economy.

“Basically, the sector has met with demand of materials, coal and metals for several other industries such as thermo-power plants, cement, chemical and iron,” he added.

Last year, the mineral sector produced around 40,000 tonnes of coals, 109,000 tonnes of iron ore and hundreds of tonnes of other ores such as copper and tin.

“We expect that the exhibition this year which showcases modern and advanced machines, technologies for the coal sector in particular and construction sector in general, as well as experiences from international exhibitors would bring good results for businesses," he said.

Sherwin Morgan, manager technical solutions of Outobec Southeast Asia Pacific, said in the current tough mining environment with lower commodity prices, improving operational profitability while maintaining good health and safety standards have been key factors in attracting investment. The efficiency of the installed process equipment plays a crucial role and inferior process equipment could pose a risk to both staff and operating margins.

“Mining operations facing these challenges usually need to invest in new equipment and to modernise their existing equipment,” he said.

Experts also updated new trends to improve productivity and maintaining competitiveness of local industry to take opportunities of the country’s deeper international integration.

Mining Vietnam 2016 attracted 171 businesses from 22 countries and territories in the world.-VNA