VietNamNet Bridge – Binh Thuan’s titanium reserves, a gift from heaven as precious as gold, will soon be exhausted because of mismanagement and overexploitation.

Ham Thuan Nam, which is considered to have large reserves of titanium

According to the World Titanium Association, the titanium reserves in Vietnam account for 1/5 of the world’s total. The sand mineral is located along the coastal areas in the central region, called ‘black sand’. The titanium reserves in Binh Thuan alone amount to 20% of the country’s total reserves.

Titanium is a precious and rare metal that is being used in more than 30 industries, including aircraft manufacturing, national defense industries, shipbuilding, food processing, healthcare and many other fields.

Realizing the value of and high demand for this metal, many countries are hedging their reserves by buying it up from other countries’. China, for example, has rapidly increased their purchasing of titanium, and their main supplier is Vietnam.

Over the last few years, Binh Thuan’s residents have been mining titanium to sell to Chinese businessmen at very low prices. Mr. Tan, a titanium miner in Tan Hai Commune in Ham Tan District, said a single ton of raw ore can be sold for VND700-800,000 ($50).

Exploiting titanium is much more profitable than rice. Thousands of farmers have given up their agriculture labors, especially in Ham Tan, Ham Thuan and Lagi town, which have large reserves.

In the first quarter of 2007 alone, in Ham Tan District, the police seized 88.5 tons of raw ore which was being illegally transported. Previously, the police seized 60 tons after 14 inspection tours, and also seized 60 tons in Tan Thanh commune.

Illegal titanium mining has become a veritable movement among local residents, which local authorities cannot control.

Though titanium is a precious natural resource, it is being sold by Binh Thuan residents at dirt cheap prices. One ton is being sold for VND800,000/tonne.

According to Nguyen Thanh Long, Chairman of Hop Long Company, which is running a titanium exploitation and processing project in Binh Thuan, after extracting ilmenit, rutil and zircon (the three main elements of titanium), the price would be two times higher, and after refining the metal to 90%, the price would be four times greater.

As such, Binh Thuan residents have been basically throwing away money; money they could be earning by refining this precious natural resource. It is estimated that Vietnam exports 500,000 tons of ore every year, losing trillions of VND.

Meanwhile, every year, Vietnam has to import products made from titanium from other countries, including TiO2 and zircon powder that the country spend $40mil on a year.

Dang Vy