Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha called for tighter inspections and control over mining activities in 2015 at the conference of General Department of Geology and Minerals of Vietnam in Hanoi on January 13.

He stressed the need for the department to devote greater attention to supervising mineral reserves exploited by businesses in order to prevent the depletion of the country’s natural resources.

He proposed following the Mineral Law and its guiding documents to intensify mining management.

Deputy Head of the General Department Bui Vinh Kien said the office imposed financial fines on 67 organisations and individuals in 2014, totalling nearly 5 billion VND (235,000 USD). It also conducted unscheduled inspections at relevant offices across Thai Nguyen, Lam Dong, Thua Thien-Hue, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces.

Last year, geological mineral surveys produced positive results. The General Department, in collaboration with the Japan Caving Association, announced the discovery of a volcanic cavern system in Krong No district in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong, said to be the longest volcanic grotto in Southeast Asia.

Surveyors also unearthed a coal mine along the coast of Tien Hai district in northern Thai Binh province with nearly 1,460 million tonnes of reserves, according to Kien.-VNA