Potential and Status of Mineral Exploitation in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam

Considered to be the second mineral-rich province in Vietnam, Thai Nguyen Province has shown its potential and developed the mineral exploitation industry in recent years, making an important contribution to the socio-economic development of the province. This paper uses secondary information, focusing on analyzing and assessing the potential as well as the results of mining activities, the impacts of this activity on local socio-economic development. In Thai Nguyen province, among the minerals, Wolfram has the most outstanding potential, with the largest reserve in the world (excluding of China); mining enterprises are diverse in types of businesses, mining activities are diverse, contributing to the province's total value of industrial production and creating jobs for labors. However, the mining industry also has a negative impact on the local socio-economic life, because this activity creates the risk of resource depletion, environmental pollution, security instability, social order, and does not guarantee employment sustainability for workers. From the results of analyzing and assessing the situation, the study proposes a number of solutions to improve the efficiency and sustainability of mineral exploitation activities in Thai Nguyen province.