April 16, 2009
Montagnards: Mining Threat
Opponents of a new mineral exploration in Vietnam’s northern province have voiced their concern at the disastrous effects of mining on the local ethnic Montagnards.Below is an article published by: Mercury News
Not content with leaving its imprint in the Parcel Islands, Vietnam's northern provinces and the Spratly Islands, China is now resorting to mineral exploration in the country itself as a new strategy in its relentless expansionism.
In November 2007, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung reportedly approved China's large-scale project to mine aluminum ore, or bauxite, in the Central Highlands in exchange for financial aid. The decision of the Communist Party triggered a torrent of criticisms and objections from scientists, intellectuals and military leaders.
The project's opponents voiced concerns about the disastrous effects of mining on the environment [and] the uprooting of local ethnic Montagnards […]
In an open letter to Dung, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, North Vietnam's famed war hero, asked that the aluminum ore mining plan be postponed until international scientists had a chance to study its impacts on the environment.
Toxic mining
Despite the outcry, mining operations by China's Chalco Group began in 2008.
According to the Mineral Information Institute, bauxite is first processed into aluminum oxide, which is then refined into aluminum by energy-intensive electrolysis.
According to Nguyen Thuy Trang, a United Nations official in charge of a program to protect the environment in Africa, bauxite conversion into aluminum oxide generates two toxic chemicals known as "red dust" and "red mud." Red dust inflames the lungs and can cause cancer of the respiratory system. Red mud, an iron-rich residue, can harm the reproductive system and cause birth defects.
It is estimated that the production of one ton of aluminum requires four tons of bauxite and releases three tons of carcinogenic red mud. In the long run, toxic chemicals would foul waterways in the Central Highlands and damage the flatland ecology of the Mekong Delta.
Moreover, the destruction of forests and cropland to make room for the mining operations and the establishment of camps and villages for the Chinese workers would displace indigenous tribes, leading to the irreparable loss of their culture and way of life.
The presence of Chinese workers and soldiers in the strategic Central Highlands constitutes a serious threat to Vietnam's national security, critics say.
[…]
Not content with leaving its imprint in the Parcel Islands, Vietnam's northern provinces and the Spratly Islands, China is now resorting to mineral exploration in the country itself as a new strategy in its relentless expansionism.
In November 2007, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung reportedly approved China's large-scale project to mine aluminum ore, or bauxite, in the Central Highlands in exchange for financial aid. The decision of the Communist Party triggered a torrent of criticisms and objections from scientists, intellectuals and military leaders.
The project's opponents voiced concerns about the disastrous effects of mining on the environment [and] the uprooting of local ethnic Montagnards […]
In an open letter to Dung, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, North Vietnam's famed war hero, asked that the aluminum ore mining plan be postponed until international scientists had a chance to study its impacts on the environment.
Toxic mining
Despite the outcry, mining operations by China's Chalco Group began in 2008.
According to the Mineral Information Institute, bauxite is first processed into aluminum oxide, which is then refined into aluminum by energy-intensive electrolysis.
According to Nguyen Thuy Trang, a United Nations official in charge of a program to protect the environment in Africa, bauxite conversion into aluminum oxide generates two toxic chemicals known as "red dust" and "red mud." Red dust inflames the lungs and can cause cancer of the respiratory system. Red mud, an iron-rich residue, can harm the reproductive system and cause birth defects.
It is estimated that the production of one ton of aluminum requires four tons of bauxite and releases three tons of carcinogenic red mud. In the long run, toxic chemicals would foul waterways in the Central Highlands and damage the flatland ecology of the Mekong Delta.
Moreover, the destruction of forests and cropland to make room for the mining operations and the establishment of camps and villages for the Chinese workers would displace indigenous tribes, leading to the irreparable loss of their culture and way of life.
The presence of Chinese workers and soldiers in the strategic Central Highlands constitutes a serious threat to Vietnam's national security, critics say.
[…]
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